Recently, Royal Philips Electronics announced that its obstetrical information management system, OB TraceVue G.00.20, complies with and has been certified as an Electronic Health Records (EHR) module by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT).
OB TraceVue G.00.20 has been approved as an ONC-ATCB, which means it has performed complete EHR and/or EHR Module testing and certification, “in agreement with the hospital certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
HealthTechZone followed up with Frank Sample, general manager of Philips Enterprise Patient Informatics Solutions (EPIS), for Philips Healthcare, to discuss what this certification means for clinicians, providers, and patients.
TMC: What does this certification mean for clinicians? How will it benefit them?
FS: For over five years, Philips has been focused on using information in a meaningful way to improve clinical decision support and the quality of patient care. There is very little new capability with the certification as we have been maintaining this focus all along. The certification now provides a natural alignment with industry standards to allow hospitals to qualify for funding under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. This certification provides clinicians with greater flexibility in how they choose to document perinatal care and provides a certified option that is built for the unique obstetric environment – that reflects their unique clinical workflows and the standards of care appropriate to OB. The ONC-ATCB certification helps physicians and hospitals to identify which products will help them meet the federal minimum requirements for “certified EHR technology” and support their achievement of meaningful use for incentive funding.
TMC: How does OB TraceVue enable comprehensive coverage and consolidation of records?
FS: The OB TraceVue fetal strip often serves as the primary vehicle for communication among the care team during labor while providing the foundation for the maternal and fetal record. The record is automatically updated with data from patient monitors and tracks clinically relevant data based on professional standards of care that have been recommended by the Joint Commission, Institute for Health Improvement, and other leading organizations. Clinicians can annotate the strip with IV placements, epidural injections, and medication administration. This information forms the basis for a more complete birth record that can be exported to EHR systems. A wide array of hospital system interfaces, both inbound and outbound, support clinician access to a unified patient record for both maternal and newborn patients. The hospital can configure access from wherever it is needed – whether in the hospital or from a clinician’s smartphone.
TMC: How does Philips stay “ahead of the curve” in this area?
FS: Philips decision to pursue certification of OB TraceVue as an EHR module reflects our commitment to helping hospitals comply with industry standards and clinical guidelines. We have a history of meaningful innovation with our OB TraceVue system and Avalon fetal monitors and we continue to be a leading force in the mission to deliver clear, actionable information for clinical decision making across the continuum of care. Philips will stay “ahead of the curve” by maintaining a sharp focus on this mission while continuing to address the needs for interoperability with health systems industry-wide.
TMC: What future releases/updates to the OB TraceVue tool can we expect?
FS: We believe that the best way to help our customers improve outcomes for their maternal and newborn patients is by delivering cutting edge software that supports current standards and best practices in order to integrate seamlessly into their IT environments. Two areas in particular that we will continue to focus on in upcoming releases are device interfacing and interoperability with third party systems. We will look to improve clinician workflow and decision making through the use of rich summary displays, population management tools, advanced analytics, and intelligent alerts.
TMC: How is eligibility determined for hospitals and providers to qualify to receive funding for implementation?
FS: The Medicare EHR Incentive Program will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals and hospitals that demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology. As defined under the HITECH Act, eligibility criteria must be met in order to receive incentive payments for implementing Electronic Health Records programs. This is done by attesting to CMS that certified EHR technology is being used to submit clinical quality measures and other such measures that have been selected by the Health Human Services Secretary as mandated in the Stage 1 Final Rule under ARRA and the HITECH Act.
TMC: How is implementation of the tool performed? What is the hospital or provider’s responsibility prior to and during implementation?
FS: Philips’ dedicated team of implementation experts collaborate with the hospital’s IT and clinical staff during the OB TraceVue installation. Hospital’s IT staff focuses on ensuring that the technical environment meets recommended specifications while the clinical staff is trained in the use of the product. The OB TraceVue Perinatal Excellence program provides an easy-to-install and cost-effective deployment option, consisting of a preconfigured clinical configuration with a library of patient care and unit management reports. After installation, Perinatal Excellence customers can also take advantage of unique clinical transformation services to help them maximize the use of OB TraceVue in their environment and with their clinicians.
TMC: What measurable goals/milestones do you look for post-implementation?
FS: Our customers deploy OB TraceVue to help them improve the quality and consistency of care they provide to OB patients and their newborns. Through better utilization of evidence-based practices, customer look to measure compliance with IHI Perinatal Safety Bundles, Oxytocin administration guidelines, or even the WHO’s baby-friendly recommendations. Our Perinatal Excellence program works with customers to help them achieve goals that are aligned with their strategic objectives.
TMC: What has the feedback been regarding OB TraceVue?
FS: Customers report that the use of OB TraceVue allowed them to:
- Meet Joint Commission perinatal care measure goals
- Increase accuracy of clinical information
- Streamline documentation
- Improve staff efficiencies and resource time
The reaction to the OB TraceVue certification has been overwhelmingly positive as it helps customers minimize the complexity associated with analyzing their patient population, recognizing which records hold the required information, and pulling all of this together to satisfy meaningful use criteria.
TMC: Describe the OB TraceVue tool and how it benefits providers, as well as patients.
FS: The American Society of Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) in their document, Risk Management Pearls for Obstetrics, identifies compliance with professional standards of care as one of the foundations for a dynamic and active risk management program for obstetrics. OB TraceVue supports compliance with these professional care standards and best practices for antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, and newborn care. OB TraceVue is configured to deliver Perinatal Excellence, facilitating clinical workflows that are compliant with professional care standards and best practice recommendations that help to improve quality and mitigate risk. The OB TraceVue Clinical Transformation Program supports the OB TraceVue implementation in helping hospitals to standardize and improve care delivery for obstetric patients.
TMC: Is there a significant cost savings associated with implementing this tool?
FS: The driving force for customers is the edge that this gives them in providing top-quality care for their patients. When managed properly, OB TraceVue can also help hospitals minimize redundant effort, improve staff efficiency, and mitigate risk.
Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.
John Lahtinen is Community Development Editor for HealthTechZone. He has more than 15 years of combined professional and educational experience involving news, education, and marketing. John holds a master's degree in journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and a bachelor's degree in English from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.Edited by
Jennifer Russell
