HHS-OIG announced their final decision on information blocking penalties. Any individual or entity that has committed information blocking will be subject up to a $1 million dollar penalty per violation.

So what is information blocking? Per the HealthIt.gov website, information blocking is a practice by an "actor" that is likely to interfere with the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information (EHI), except as required by law or specified in an information blocking exception. You can read more details on Healthit.gov.

Criterions’ new FHIR standard APIs can ensure your practice provides adequate access to patient health records. Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, or FHIR, is an interoperability rule that enables on-demand information exchange of clinical records among providers and data systems. FHIR was created by the Health Level Seven International healthcare standards organization (HL7) specifically for healthcare organizations.

FHIR builds on previous data format standards like HL7, but it is easier to implement because it uses a modern web-based suite of API technology. FHIR makes it easy to provide healthcare information to healthcare providers and individuals on a wide variety of devices including computers, tablets, and cell phones. It also allows third-party application developers to provide medical applications which can be easily integrated into existing systems.

Reach out to FHIR@criterions.com for more information and what actions you can take today.

Criterions has various features and automation tools in the EHR that can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and assist with understaffing issues at any medical practice. They also help to enhance health outcomes and increase provider and patient satisfaction.

If you’re not familiar with these automation tools and features, here is a list of what’s currently available in the Criterions EHR that you can start using today:

Order Sets combine several items to make an order entry convenient and efficient. 

They can be as small as two items together, such as a test and test prep, or you can group more comprehensive items together like follow-up orders, recalls, and medication instructions. 

Clinical Decision Support  is a crucial function of health information technology.

When applied effectively, CDS increases the quality of care and helps avoid errors and adverse events such as improving efficiency and reducing costs. It enhances health outcomes, and it helps to increase provider and patient satisfaction.

Health Maintenance emphasizes health promotion and disease prevention rather than the management of symptoms and illness.

It includes the full array of counseling, screening, and other preventive services designed to minimize the risk of sudden sickness and death and to assure optimal physical, mental, and emotional health throughout the natural life cycle.

Plan Macro is a Predictive Analytic tool that assists the Physician during treatment. Plan Macros track the Physician's most frequently used treatment plans for a particular diagnosis. 

A Plan Macro learns the Physician’s top number of repeated plan items frequently used, so when the same diagnosis is added to a different patient’s plan, all those treatment items will appear as a list.

Record Visit Macro tool works by recording what has been added to the visit, which can be applied to other patients.

Copy Visit Forward feature enables you to quickly document a new exam by duplicating a patient's prior exam. This cuts exam clicks, taps, and swipes in half by allowing you to pull historical data into a new exam.

For more information on the above tools or to start using them today, please register for the Customer Online Resource Center for online documentation or email support@criterions.com

Industry Standard for Exchanging Patient Information

Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (CCDA), is a standard format for exchanging clinical patient information between healthcare providers and organizations electronically. The CCDA standard was developed by Health Level Seven International (HL7) and contains patient health information such as demographics, medical history, medication lists, allergies, laboratory results, vital signs, and care plan information. It is designed to improve the continuity of patient care by easily accessing and sharing patient information across different electronic health record (EHR) systems.

Benefits of CCDA Include:

Improved Patient Care: The CCDA facilitates the exchange of patient health information between healthcare providers, enabling them to have a more complete and accurate view of a patient's medical history, medications, allergies, and other health-related information. This can help improve patient safety, reduce medical errors, and support better clinical decision-making.

Interoperability: The CCDA is a widely adopted standard for exchanging clinical information, which means that EHR systems that support the CCDA can communicate with other systems that also support the standard. This facilitates data sharing and interoperability between healthcare providers, organizations, and systems, enabling more coordinated and efficient care.

Enhanced Patient Engagement: The CCDA standard also enables patients to access and share their health information with other healthcare providers or caregivers. Patients can access their CCDA files through patient portals or other online platforms, empowering them to take a more active role in managing their own health and improving their health outcomes. 

Reduced Administrative Burden: The CCDA standard can help reduce administrative burdens by streamlining data exchange between different healthcare organizations, systems, and providers. This can lead to reduced paperwork, improved data accuracy, and more efficient workflows, enabling providers to focus more on patient care.

Overall, the CCDA standard can help improve the quality of care, enhance patient engagement, support interoperability, and streamline administrative processes, making it an important tool for EHR systems in healthcare organizations.

Contact Criterions Support or fill out the form below for information on how you can send CCDA files to other providers using Direct Messaging or to patients via the portal!