Why work with eQHIP?
eQHIP was founded by a physician organization (Hawaii IPA) to help doctors with the transition to a paperless office.
eQHIP’s mission is to make Hawaii’s doctors completely satisfied users of electronic medical records at the lowest possible price.
We realize that the survival of Independent Physicians in Hawaii is in jeopardy if they cannot manage the vastly increasing amount of medical and administrative data. The documentation burden, the data exchange requirements (prescription, lab, imaging, notes etc) and the medical billing complexity require systems that handle this data cost-efficiently.
For too long, electronic medical records were unaffordable and forced doctors and staff to practice medicine the way the system demanded it rather than vice-versa.
• eQHIP has changed these factors by offering installation, training and support at cost-level prices, while choosing the best software product in the market. eClinicalworks is endorsed by those that work with it: doctors and staff, and continues to get the highest scores in independent industry tests.
• eQHIP’s skilled trainers and computer experts provide a smooth and professional transition from paper to bytes.
• eQHIP is fully participating with HMSA’s HI-IQ project, which financially supports each EMR installation with 50% of its cost.
How much will it cost to go paperless?
You have to consider various cost factors that come into play when you want to implement electronic medical records, besides those for the soft and hardware. Please use the sample estimate of a single doctor practice as a guideline. Costs tend to vary depending on layout, existing infrastructure and your personal wishlist of extras:
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Software License EMR + Practice Management/Billing System
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$ 6,500
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Installation
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$ 3,750
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Implementation
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$ 3,000
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Training
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$ 4,200
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Hardware
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$ 12,500
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Total
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$ 29,950
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HMSA Subsidy (HI-IQ)
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$ (14,832.50)
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Total Cost to Doctor
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$ 14,867.50
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Why did we choose to support eClinicalWorks?
After two years of researching numerous EMR and practice management systems, eQHIP chose CCHIT certified eClinical Works because it met four important criteria:
1) Fully Integrated – The EMR and PMS are unified in a seamless, streamlined product. Although each can perform independently, this fully integrated concept improves functionality and ease of use.
2) Price – Physicians repeatedly told us the biggest barrier to purchasing an EMR was upfront costs. This model is affordable AND predictable (we have heard the horror stories of added cost), with no additional charges for training and upgrades.
3) Service & Support – eClinicalWorks service and support has earned them recognition as one of the best. They understand this is a long term relationship and are committed to the partnership. In addition, IPA staff are seeking eCW’s rigorous certification in order to offer local service and support, further enhancing end-user satisfaction.
4) Openness – There is nothing to hide! Contracts are straightforward, prices are published. Most importantly, there is an open, unbiased users forum at www.ecwusers.com – which drives many of the enhancements to the product. This user group was started by an independent physician and allows free-flowing information that is not suppressed by eCW.
What is HMSA's HI-IQ project?
The HMSA Initiative for Innovation and Quality (HI-IQ) is an effort to transform health care in Hawaii by funding innovative advancements in Hawaii hospitals and providing assistance in acquiring electronic medical records (EMR) systems for Hawaii physicians. eQHIP is a fully certified and HMSA HI-IQ approved software vendor/reseller.
Program description
Background
HI-IQ extends HMSA’s ongoing efforts to improve health and general well-being in Hawaii by supporting technological development in the healthcare community. HMSA and its board of directors feel strongly about being a catalyst in the continuous advancement of healthcare in Hawaii and recognize that this requires a significant commitment of resources.
HI-IQ is divided into two components: a hospital component that will invest $30 million over three years to support facility-based projects, and a physician component that will invest $20 million to support physicians’ acquisitions of electronic medical records (EMR) systems. This document pertains to the physician component of HI-IQ only.
Approach
Participation in the HI-IQ program is a partnership between HMSA, the EMR vendor, and the physician to support innovative, technological advancement. In this spirit, HI-IQ funds will cover up to 50 percent, with a limit of $20,000, for a single physician for initial start-up EMR product costs (including software and reasonable training and installation costs). HI-IQ program funds will not cover hardware or maintenance fees. Physicians are responsible for the remainder of the product cost. Program monies will be disbursed as funds remain.
Physician qualification
To qualify for the HI-IQ program, physicians must be independent, HMSA participating medical doctors (MDs) or belong to a group practice that is an HMSA participating physician group.
EMR product qualification
Under the HI-IQ program, HMSA qualifies vendors and their EMR products. Vendors must offer an EMR product that has been certified — for example, by the Commission of Certification for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) for ambulatory care. Vendors and participating physicians must agree to make available to HMSA such data as is necessary to satisfy program requirements. For qualification purposes, a “vendor” may be the EMR vendor itself or an integrated service provider.
The HI-IQ - EMR Vendor List identifies vendors and their products. Physicians interested in acquiring EMR products not on the list should invite their vendor to submit a proposal.
Program changes
Please note that program details are subject to change. Any changes will be posted online in the Provider Resource Center.
Recommendations to physicians
The selection and implementation of EMR systems can be complicated, lengthy processes. Individual physicians may find it helpful to consult their professional organizations (IPAs, specialty boards, etc.) for product recommendations, particularly for medical specialties that fall outside CCHIT’s certification.
As vendor qualification progresses, the HI-IQ - EMR Vendor List will be updated. Because HMSA has chosen to partner with EMR vendors themselves, physicians need not apply individually; instead, physicians satisfying the eligibility criteria should contact their qualified vendor of choice directly.
Questions should be directed to Georgiana Fujita via e-mail at Georgiana_Fujita@hmsa.com or telephone at 948-5402 on Oahu. From the Neighbor Islands, call 1 (800) 603-4672 and enter 5402 at the prompt.
Does eQHIP do group purchasing for hardware?
Yes. Group purchase not only saves money but also helps standardize hardware specifications to streamline support in the future. However, eQHIP doesn't have specific preferences for a hardware vendor - you can request every brand/model that works, but we may not be able to get a discount for you. We do have an account with Dell and IBM. If you would like to take advantage of group purchase discount, please contact us. We can place the order for you and you make the payment directly to the manufacturer.
How soon can eQHIP install the EMR system in our office?
We will have to evaluate your hardware, network and internet connectivity before the installation.
The installation is typically done one week prior to training.
The process typically lasts for one to three days. Installation can be done remotely. We will accomodate your schedule.
Training your staff is usually accomplished in a week in a single physician office. Training times depend on the size of your office/clinic, the number of different services you provide, and your billing set-up.
Does eClinicalWorks handle the data migration?
Generally data migration for patient demographics information is a routine part of the installation process. Demographics conversion from other electronic systems is a tricky job because of differences in the various systems' data structures. We therefore recommend adding electronic files from your previous system to our "patient documents" section, much like a scanned chart. This section is part of the patients regular files and is easily accessible at all times and all users will have all existing EHR data available in eClinicalWorks.
IPA has successfully provided extra data migration for some clinics including allergies, recalls, insurance, medication list and problem list by taking advantage of eCW's Patient Demographic Note and StickyNote features. This is not part of eCW data migration and can only be done after eCW regular demographic data migration. Clinics have to pay IPA for this value added service.
When converting from another billing software (or PMS), is all our data compatible? what are the costs?
Data migration typically means patient and account demographics, but not outstanding A/R. eCW and other EMRs recommend running out A/R on the old system, parallel for up to six months, then manually convert any balances thereafter to the new accounts. DM cost $500/day and takes about 3-4 days of work. eCW's extraction method is -
1) Complete a request form detailing what you would like to migrate
2) Test extraction, which you review again, then you have an opportunity to clean records
3) Final extraction. DM should be done at least a week or so before training on the EMR
What about scanning our old records?
There isn't a One-Suits-All answer to this important question. eCW has a very easy to use section for patient files that can accomodate an unlimited amount of documents in an organized way. We recommend that you decide first what you may actually need to have electronically available from those old records: The patient's entire medical history, or just the last three visits, current medication? From our experience, the paper charts loose their importance fairly quickly as you enter new data in the system, but you still have to store them and it might be worthwhile to scan them all to reclaim the real estate in the office.
Once the strategy is clear there are two options for the migration to eCW:
1) Over time: you'd scan only the patients you see the next day/week (most practical).
2) By alphabetical order (good choice if you decide to outsource the scanning job).
You may consider having the scanning done by someone else according to our/your specifications and then transfer the data files to your eCW patient documents folder in-house.
Does eClinicalWorks have voice recognition?
Yes, eCw does support VR, but it requires an additional license for extra software (Dragon). Although VRot is very effective to save money and time to replace dictation when EHR is not implemented. Once EHR is in place, most doctors prefer to use templates and can generate progress notes with a few key strokes. For those who want to use VR, there are two choices. Most if not all tabletPCs with MS OS should have a generic built-in VR, which is unfortunately not designed for medical purpose. Dragon Natural is far more sophisticated and supported by eCW. It does come with a choice of different specialties. eCW offers a discount for eCW users who choose to use Dragon. We recommend a high end microphone, but have also heard doctors use the built-in mic. It is important to have a noise cancelling feature. Lastly, your tablet should have at least 1GB memory to make VR more comfortably.
Who is going to install eClinicalWorks?
By our certified eQHIP/eCW installers. In most cases, our installers will do the network check and installation. If you have IT staff they can/should assist in making the network ready for installation. eQHIP will coordinate this process from beginning.
Can I share the same analog phone line for fax server and fax machine?
Absolutely not. As required by eCW, fax server needs a dedicated line. We did try to use one line for both fax server and fax machine in one clinic. It simply didn't work. We tried phone splitter, different phone cables with different connectors, different hookups between modem and fax machine... Then we realized the modem doesn't like anything in the back (phone port) and anything on the way to the phone jack on the wall (splitter, extension connector).
Can I use my Mac computer to install eClinicalWorks?
Yes, but you can only do it with PC software on your Intel-based, dual core Macintosh and you will need to have Boot Camp and Parallels plus Windows XP installed. There may be drawbacks to using a Mac when it comes to compatibility with some applications.
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