PMG Roadmap to Meaningful Use

As a service to PMG contracted providers, PMG stays at the forefront of the national discussion about ‘meaningful use’. Our experts aggregate and summarize information about qualifications, milestones and funding opportunities as they are published.

OVERVIEW

PMG Technology Solutions (PMGTS) has created a 5-step process to assist the clinician in achieving “Meaningful Use” of electronic health records (EHRs). Successful achievement of Meaningful Use will enable your practice to receive incentive payments established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The PMGTS Roadmap to Meaningful Use provided by this process includes education and explanation about the Meaningful Use criteria, office workflow guidance, installation and configuration of certified electronic medical record (EMR) products and integration with local and regional health information exchanges. While PMG offers significant direct support for the use of industry leading products such as Elysium and Practice Partner, we are committed to helping your practice achieve integrated, community connected EHR Meaningful Use with a certified EMR product of your choosing.

Step 1: Initial Visit

The process starts with a visit to your practice to meet the key participants, understand your unique needs and answer any initial questions regarding the Roadmap to Meaningful Use. We also discuss and leave a questionnaire to gather key information that will help us maximize the effectiveness of our subsequent visits.

Step 2: Assessments

PMGTS conducts two detailed onsite assessments. One is a technical assessment during which a PMG network engineer will assess your overall environment to determine its readiness to support a transition to EHR. This assessment includes networking, computers, back-up systems, security, cabling, printers, scanners, messaging, telephony options and other items required for basic technology support of the EHR. PMGTS will clearly point out changes that are essential to a successful transition to EHR, as well as changes that are recommended to improve the robustness and extensibility of your computing and communications environment.

The second assessment conducted by PMGTS is a workflow assessment. During this assessment we will review your current administrative and clinical processes to assist you in determining which EMR product would best suit your practice work style. The assessment will also identify and describe EMR interface customizations and office workflow changes that we recommend to make your selected EMR product meet your practice needs. Recommendations will be made if a part of your office workflow will need to be changed for an electronic environment.

Step 3: Review and Approve Plan

Based on the technical and workflow assessments, PMGTS will craft and present a plan that serves as your practice-specific roadmap for achieving Meaningful Use of an EHR system. This plan will describe the purchases, staff interactions and timelines necessary to effect a smooth and successful transition.

Step 4: Collaboratively Implement

After your practice reaches a decision and agrees to a plan of action with PMGTS, integration and deployment details will be generated to describe the interactions among the office and medical staff of your practice, PMGTS and any other required vendors or suppliers. Once agreed, these implementation details will be placed under our change control process and will become the plan of record that PMGTS will manage in accordance with industry standard best practices.

Step 5: Go Live, Systematically Improve

PMG Technology Solutions’ involvement with your EHR activities continues after daily use begins. This includes support for the day-to-day use of your EHR system, as well as for the reporting required for receiving Meaningful Use incentive payments. To support your day-to-day use, PMGTS provides a customer care phone line that is manned from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday, a web portal for submitting and reviewing service tickets, and 24×7 monitoring of all key equipment. In addition, PMG offers a full range of computer support, billing, transcription, training and related services. Finally, PMG is working with its partners on an ongoing basis to ensure products, processes and training evolve to meet the advancing levels of functionality and use expected of your EHR system in subsequent years.

Enhancing Health Care Outcomes Throughout the EHR Transition

To help ensure a quality provider-patient relationship is preserved and, ultimately, enhanced by your EHR transition, PMG offers provider focused training on clinician-patient communication to enhance health care outcomes using your EHR system.