Medical Oncology Software
Elekta has a YouTube Video Channel : http://www.youtube.com/wearefightingcancer
Click the link or the logo below to go to the Elekta Video Channel to view new, and older, video post, product animations, etc.
Elekta's YouTube Video Channel
Impac Software has been selected to present at the EHR Lab during the ASCO Annual Meeting, May 29 – June 2, at the Orange County Convention Center, in Orlando. Chosen according to criteria developed by ASCOs EHR Workgroup, 2009 is the third consecutive year Impac Software has been chosen.
A hands-on opportunity for oncologists, administrators, nurses and other members of the oncology care team to test and experiment with various EHR products, Impac will demonstrate its oncology EHR, MOSAIQ®, and how its implementation can help provide better overall communication, process efficiency and more efficient patient care.
We are pleased to again be selected to show our oncology specific functionality to this year‚ ASCO EHR lab attendees”, says Dave Eggert, Medical Oncology Business Marketing Manager for Impac Software. “With all of the buzz surrounding EMR implementation as part of the stimulus package, it‚ even more important to make an informed decision about an EMR choice.”‘
The EHR Lab will be located on the exhibit hall floor within the Orange County Convention Center during the following hours:
Sunday, May 31, 2009, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Monday, June 1, 2009, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
For additional information regarding ASCOs EHR Lab, visit: asco.org/ehr. For full details and a demonstration of MOSAIQ, visit Impac Software booth #3401 at ASCO.
Melissa Speer has spent more than 25 years learning the business of health care and is an expert in EMR implementation. Ms Speer is presently the Director of EMR for The West Clinic, Memphis, TN. This video of Ms. Speers was recorded at the Impac Medical Oncology Users Summit in 2006. She provides tips on how she and her team set the stage for a successful implementation of an EMR.
Read more on Implementation of an EMR
MOSAIQ ROI
Suzanne Marshall, EdM.,RN, Impac Software, Medical Oncology Business Marketing Manager.
Impac Software announced its collaboration with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) to license NCCN’s clinical care content to clinicians utilizing MOSAIQ®, Impac’s oncology electronic medical record (EMR).
MOSAIQ will be the first oncology EMR to embed an intelligent search engine that dynamically links to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology™. The NCCN Guidelines are used by clinicians to shape care recommendations covering 97 percent of all patients with cancer and are updated on a continual basis. The NCCN Guidelines, developed through an explicit review of evidence and recommendations from medical experts, address cancer detection, prevention and risk reduction, workup and diagnosis and treatment and supportive care.
In addition, MOSAIQ also will provide active access to the NCCN Drugs & Biologics Compendium™, which delineates uses of drugs and biologics in the care of patients with cancer, listing FDA-approved disease indications as well as off-label recommendations for use, and to the NCCN Chemotherapy Order Templates™.
“NCCN is looking forward to working with Impac Software to provide another important channel for distribution of the NCCN Guidelines,” says William T. McGivney, PhD, NCCN Chief Executive Officer. “As a result, clinicians will be provided with ready access to the best possible treatment options to improve outcomes for all patients with cancer.”
“Simplified, real-time access to NCCN’s evidence-based clinical content is expected to enhance the delivery of standardized care and improve patient safety,” says Joel Goldwein, M.D., Vice President of Medical Affairs for The Elekta Group. “Many of Impac’s customers are NCCN Member Institutions; however simplifying access to NCCN’s clinical content will significantly increase the use of NCCN Guidelines throughout Impac Software’s existing customer base, and in hundreds of cancer care centers.”
In an effort to standardize care plans, dosages, treatments and processes to control error risk and cost, Iowa Blood and Cancer Care (IBACC), an 16-chair medical oncology treatment center located in Cedar Rapids (Iowa, USA), implemented Impac Software. Enabling physicians to work off the same template and ensure all drugs are mixed and administered consistently, IBACC has been able to prove efficiencies to insurance companies and negotiate better contracts.
Since its founding in June 2001, the center has grown to incorporate a PET CT, lab and pharmacy. Its team of five physicians, four nurse practitioners and 36 staff members daily sees an average of 100-120 patients.
Iowa Blood & Cancer Care, P.L.C.
“Our mission is to bring hope to life, which philosophically to us means a very patient-focused system that fosters hope and healing in each person,” says Sylvia Anspach, Advanced Practice Nurse at IBACC. “We maintain that philosophy not only as a clinical entity, but as a business as well. If we do what is right for the patient, first and foremost, all else will follow. As a result, all decisions are made with the patient at the center.”
MOSAIQ Oncology EMR
EMR brings to the practice. Does the EMR yield a return that provides equal or greater value to the business? An oncology executive describes how a nine-physician comprehensive oncology care center implemented an oncology-specific EMR and achieved significant positive ROI.
Economic Stimulus HiTech Act
What is the HITECH Act?
On February 17, 2009 a $787 Billion, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 aka “the Stimulus Bill,” was signed into law by the federal government. Included in this law is $19.2 Billion which is intended to be used to increase the use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) by physicians and hospitals; this portion of the bill is called, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH Act. The government firmly believes in the benefits
of using electronic health records and is ready to invest federal resources to proliferate its use. Title XIII in Division A, pages 112 through 165 and Title IV in Division B, pages 353 through 398, cover the HITECH portion of this economic recovery act.
Why did the government pass this law? Why is it important?
There has been extensive research done to show that utilizing an EHR would serve to improve patient care, increase patient safety and simplify compliance in the US healthcare system. Additionally, it would help cut costs in the long term, as it would minimize errors, increase productivity and administrative efficiency.
For additional information on the potential benefits and savings associated with investing in an EMR system, the following link provides a good reference:HealthAffairs.org
To further understand the benefits of investing in an oncology specific EMR system that go far beyond government incentives, more info – click MOSAIQ ROI
What does the HITECH Act mean to physicians and hospitals? What incentives are available to me?
As described in the most recent published news, the intended use of the $19 Billion will be for incentive payments, grants and loans.
$17 Billion will be used for incentive payments to physicians and hospitals that participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs. These incentives will be issued to current users and new adopters of certified EMR systems, who use the system in a meaningful way. The certification process and standardization criteria have NOT yet been determined, and will be decided upon by the end of 2009. The government has NOT yet made any reference to partnerships with any existing EMR certification organizations.
Medicare- Physicians seeing Medicare patients can receive up to $44K over the course of 5 years. An additional 10% is available to physicians operating in a designated Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), for more information go to www.hpsafind.hrsa.gov . The general depiction of the payout schedule is in the following table.
How to read this table: The first row represents the year you adopt an EMR system. The first column represents how much the payout will be each year. For example, if you are a current user, your payout for 2012 will be $12K. If you adopt an EMR system in 2013, your payout will be $15K in 2013, $12k in 2014, and $8K in 2015.
|
Payout |
Current |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
2011 |
$18K |
$18K |
― |
― |
― |
|
2012 |
$12K |
$12K |
$18K |
― |
― |
|
2013 |
$8K |
$8K |
$12K |
$15K |
― |
|
2014 |
$4K |
$4K |
$8K |
$12K |
$15K |
|
2015 |
$2K |
$2K |
$4K |
$8K |
$12K |
|
2016 |
― |
― |
$2K |
$4K |
$8K |
|
Total |
$44K |
$44K |
$44K |
$39K |
$35K |
Medicaid – Physicians whose caseloads include at least 30% Medicaid patients are eligible to receive up to $64K over the course of 5 years, the exact payments have not yet been determined. Physicians cannot obtain incentives from both Medicaid and Medicare, but hospitals can.
Hospitals – Hospitals can receive a base payment of up to $2M initially. Additional incentives are available according to a formula based on discharges, year of adoption etc., with a cap at $6M. The exact payment schedule is not yet determined.
The remaining $2 Billion will be dispersed as grants and loans to promote advancements in healthcare information technology (HIT) and improve accessibility to HIT in underprivileged areas. The grants will be available to researchers, Community Health Centers, Rural Health Centers and Indian Health Centers.
What happens if I don’t adopt and EMR system?
After 2015, further financial incentives will not be available and penalties will kick in. There will be a 1% reduction in Medicare fees per year, up to 3% by 2017.
Where do I begin? How do I start thinking about this process to ensure that I have thought everything through?
It is obvious from the explanation of the incentive plan that the sooner you adopt an EMR system, the more incentive funds that will be available to you. It is not an easy undertaking and will require quite a bit of analysis, preparation and research to begin the process.
Our STRATEGIQ professional services team is available to assist you during this process.
Additionally, we have made every effort to make the transition to an electronic charting environment a seamless process for our customers and are offering special incentives to encourage the adoption of the MOSAIQ EMR system.
click for: MOSAIQ Software Demo
Enabling clinicians to “find the chart” since 1990, Impac Software provides open, reliable systems that support the entire cancer treatment workflow.
Here, customers express their own experience and reactions to electronic record keeping with MOSAIQ, Impac’s oncology EMR.
Mosaiq Impac EMR
For additional examples of how the adaptation of an oncology EMR has helped to reduce costs, increase productivity and boost efficiency, visit impac.com/profiles.
If you would like to have an RSS list of the Tradeshows & Events associated with Elekta, then visit http://www.elekta.com/rss. Use the same link to view the latest News from Elekta.
- Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion Advanced Program for Stereotactic Radiosurgery September 8, 2015Objective To further enhance the participant’s knowledge of Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion and its advanced applications in the field of stereotactic radiosurgery. Specific focus will be placed on Gamma Knife surgery with or without the Extend System for several different indications. Patient selection, radiosurgical techniques and complication avoidance as […]
- Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion - Upgrade Program December 10, 2013Objective To receive aspects of clinical and technical training for handling new features of Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion, when upgrading from previous models. Training on the dynamic workflow of Leksell GammaPlan includes instruction on using the pre-planning and follow-up features of the program as well as on developing treatment plans using composite sho […]
- Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion - Introductory Program December 8, 2013Objective To identify the basic principles and biophysics of Gamma Knife surgery and how they apply to day-to-day patient treatment. Review the clinical indications, parameters of treatment and outcomes of Gamma Knife surgery. Recognize radiation safety issues and principles, as well as become familiar with emergency procedures that pertain to Leksell Gamma […]
- Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion - Applications Introductory Program November 17, 2013Objective To make users confident in the operation, care and maintenance of Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion. The course focuses on radiation physics, dosimetry, stereotaxy for Gamma Knife surgery, quality assurance (QA), technical information and treatment planning using Leksell GammaPlan®. Content ■ Principles of stereotaxy and radiosurgery ■ Prin […]
- Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion / 4C - Introductory Program November 10, 2013Objective To obtain knowledge about the practical aspects of stereotactic radiosurgery using Leksell Gamma Knife. Principles of radiation physics and radiobiology, that apply to single-session, focused, small volume irradiation will be covered. Registrants should be able to create radiosurgery dose plans for various indications. Content ■ Principles a […]
- Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion Clinical Introductory Program October 6, 2013Objective To introduce clinicians to Gamma Knife® surgery with Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion and Extend™ System. The course focuses on clinical information, combined with hands-on sessions using Leksell GammaPlan®. Experts with years of experience from Gamma Knife surgery are selected to lecture on this course. Training center and duration 4-day course at Un […]
- XiO - Application December 16, 2012OBJECTIVE To provide applications training in the use of XiO for treatment planning. The course provides an understanding of the software enabling the user to efficiently create effective treatment plans using our product. COURSE CONTENT Structure Contouring Digitized Contour-based Planning 2D Irregular Field Planning 3D External Beam Planning Special Plann […]
- XiO IMRT December 9, 2012Objective To provide applications training in IMRT treatment planning utilizing the Xio Treatment Planning System. The course provides an understanding of the IMRT software enabling the user to efficiently create effective IMRT treatment plans using our product. Course Content Contouring for IMRT Planning Beam Placement IMRT Prescription Optimization Segme […]
- SRT December 9, 2012OBJECTIVE This advanced clinical training program is designed to present the processes required to implement SRT for routine treatment on Elekta Axesse™ and other Elekta linear accelerators sterotactic capabilities. COURSE CONTENT • Recognize indications for and outcomes of SRT/Radiosurgery • Understand dose selection, fractionation and planning techniqu […]
- Monaco December 9, 2012OBJECTIVE To provide applications training in advanced radiobiology-based IMRT treatment planning. The course provides an understanding of the IMRT software enabling the user to efficiently create effective IMRT treatment plans using our product. COURSE CONTENT Contouring / Image Fusion for IMRT Planning Beam Template Creation The IMRT Prescription IMRT Co […]