CMS launch EHR Incentive Programs website

Posted by Jon on Jun 22, 2010 in Blog | No Comments

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) just launched a new website to help spread the word about the upcoming EHR incentive programs. The new website looks like it will be the place to go for all official “up-to-date, detailed information about the Electronic Health Record (EHR) incentive programs.”

Although the site is a little confusing, it looks like it will be a great step in the right direction. Eventually, it appears that the site will include information on everything from a list of certified EHRs/EMRs to a place for physicians to register to begin receiving their $44,000 that the government is promising. Currently, visitors will find fact sheets, press releases, and even some FAQs. Unfortunately, CMS has not posted the latest information from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the latest proposed rule for temporary EHR/EMR certification “Establishment of the Temporary Certification Program for Health Information Technology” [pdf download] which is to be published officially June, 24.

I greatly applaud CMS for putting this site together and will anxiously keep my eyes on it as the EHR/EMR incentive programs continue to evolve.

Our First Exhibitor Booth

Posted by Jon on Jun 18, 2010 in Blog | No Comments

Just yesterday, we officially reserved our first exhibitor booth at a major dermatology conference. That’s right, at the AAD’s 69th Annual Academy Meeting in New Orleans, Feb. 4-8, 2011, Dermanaut will be at booth #3918.

This is not to say this will be our first conference, in fact, Dermanaut has been present at all (but one) of the AAD Annual and Summer Academy Meetings since January 2007 in Washington D.C. We’ve found the meetings to be far more valuable to listen and learn from dermatologists rather than to hawk our product, so you can imagine how the upcoming Academy Meeting marks a big shift for us.

Previously, we went to the conferences, attended the sessions, listened to the competitors’ pitches, and most importantly, talked with dermatologists. Sometimes we were conducting design assessments of our dermatology specific EMR, while other times we just asked questions of dermatologists and their take on EMR.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t challenged with how we are going to maintain our ‘feet on the ground’ approach to the AAD Annual Academy Meeting while following the more traditional approach of getting our great dermatology specific EMR out there for all you dermatologists to see via a booth. We’ve put a lot of work into this system, and more importantly, a lot of dermatology professionals have dedicated their time and effort to helping make Dermanaut the premier dermatology EMR. We want to make sure that everyone at the AAD Annual Academy Meeting gets a chance to see what we have developed, and more importantly, lets us know what they think and how we can make Dermanaut even better for dermatology specific EMR!

As the AAD Annual Academy Meeting gets closer, we’ll post more on our blog here about some of the great activities we will have going to help promote communication with and amongst dermatologists on the unique needs of a dermatology specific EMR.