Just a week after the ONC published the final version of Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements, AirStrip Technologies announced a new addition to its mobile health platform -- a meaningful use tracker.
In June San Antonio-based AirStrip Technologies announced that it was expanding its suite of mobile patient monitoring applications to enable physicians to more easily access information housed in various electronic health record systems (EHRs) via their mobile devices via an acquisition of San Diego-based healthcare system Palomar Health’s EHR-agnostic and mobile-enabled MIAA (Medical Information Anytime Anywhere) platform. Because of increasing consolidation between organizations that own healthcare facilities and the fact that it is not unusual for the same healthcare system to have different EHR systems installed in its various facilities, the need for a mobile app that can access data from multiple records systems is crucial.
Similarly, keeping tabs on health IT systems utilizations among a healthcare organizations many facilities can prove to be a challenge, especially when multiple hospital information systems and EHRs are being used.
AirStrip acquired the software for its new meaningful use track from San Diego-based Care Automation, in a deal similar to the one it inked with Palomar: "AirStrip owns the global licensing, marketing and distribution rights to the Meaningful Use Tracker, along with the ability to modify the solution to seamlessly integrate with the existing AirStrip platform," the company wrote.
The company is now looking to pilot the technology and more news on that front should be coming in the weeks ahead.
More in the press release below:
PRESS RELEASE -- AirStrip Technologies, Inc. has announced an expansion of its leading mHealth platform to incorporate the Meaningful Use Tracker, giving clinicians the ability to follow and measure clinical quality and meaningful use (MU) compliance in a single mobile solution - including real-time tracking and daily analytics updates in a customizable dashboard format.
"AirStrip is deploying measurement tools to run on top of our mobile patient monitoring solutions, providing our customers with the unprecedented ability to monitor their performance in real time,” AirStrip CEO Alan Portela stated. “The Meaningful Use Tracker is the first in a series of advances and partnerships that AirStrip will announce in the near future as we expand our integrated, enterprise-level mobile platform to address the many challenges faced in an ever-changing healthcare landscape.”
Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs provide healthcare institutions a financial motive for incorporating certified EHR technology to achieve health and efficiency goals. All certified EHR systems must have the ability to produce reports based on a set of required measures. However, if the EHR system is not utilized meaningfully, the benefits are in danger of being lost. Demonstrable MU compliance becomes more difficult when facilities are using a mix of different vendor systems or home-grown systems.
In addition, IT departments and CIOs are currently reviewing data that may be weeks or months old, delaying course corrections and potentially losing MU incentives.
The Meaningful Use Tracker can follow EHR usage for a single department or a multi-facility, multi-region health system with different EHR technology at each location. It is configured for future expansion to accommodate new stages of MU requirements and is the only vendor-neutral compliance tool on the market.
As part of an agreement between AirStrip and the Tracker’s developer, San Diego-based Care Automation, AirStrip owns the global licensing, marketing and distribution rights to the Meaningful Use Tracker, along with the ability to modify the solution to seamlessly integrate with the existing AirStrip platform. The process of identifying pilot sites is now underway.
“The Meaningful Use Tracker helps clinicians reach compliance and patient care goals while measuring success against their peers,” noted Care Automation CEO JF Lancelot. “When coupled with the information already provided by AirStrip’s mobile medical monitoring solutions and EHR enhancer, analytics provided by the Tracker can support earlier warnings about compliance issues, to foster more informed responses to both internal benchmarks and overall patient needs.”
“AirStrip integrates and mobilizes data from the most important sources – including existing monitoring systems, medical devices and EHR systems - allowing that data to immediately be leveraged to impact outcomes improvements and enhance service lines while reducing costs,” Portela added. “The Meaningful Use Tracker is a natural extension of AirStrip’s mission and goals.”
About AirStrip Technologies, Inc. Addressing the most pressing needs of a rapidly evolving global healthcare system, AirStrip develops mobile technology that can drive enhanced clinician engagement, strengthened care coordination and improved clinical and financial performance. By unlocking, transforming and mobilizing live and historical patient information from existing monitoring devices and EHR systems to access on mobile devices, AirStrip helps transcend the geographic and technological barriers that delay informed clinician action. The AirStrip platform supports an enterprise-wide solution with live and predictive analytics and unprecedented opportunities to improve the health of individuals and populations. Visit www.airstriptech.com for more information.
