News & Events
Providers from Around the Country Gather for LSS Data Systems' Spring Provider Development Forum
April 29, 2009
LSS Data Systems hosted its seventh semi-annual Provider Development Forum on Friday, April 24, with over 30 physicians, CIOs and other healthcare executives participating from around the country. Joined by senior LSS staff and product developers, as well as staff from MEDITECH, Zynx and DrFirst, the full-day event included presentations, roundtable discussions and networking.
Highlights of the meeting included an update from Citizens Memorial Healthcare on a groundbreaking quality reporting project, functionality updates related to Zynx clinical content and DrFirst's e-prescribing tools, a discussion of "meaningful EHR use" and eligibility requirements under the ARRA's HITECH Act, and an open forum featuring a session moderated by LSS CEO and Chief Technology Officer Ken Carlson concerning Personal Health Records.
LSS President and Chief Operating Officer Stephanie Petersen kicked off the event by highlighting several recent customer achievements, including the 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award won by Poudre Valley Health Systems (Fort Collins, CO); the Thomson Reuters Top 100 Hospitals award, won by Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center (Sioux Falls, SD); and InfoWorld Top 100 recognition by Parkview Adventist Medical Center (Brunswick, ME). Ms. Petersen also congratulated LSS customers that have reached Stage 6 EMR Adoption Recognition from HIMSS Analytics and the more than one dozen customers that have been identified by HealthGrades as Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence.
Ms. Petersen then explained how LSS is helping customers prepare for the opportunities presented by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
"Our continued involvement in the HIMSS Electronic Health Record Association, ongoing participation in CCHIT certification, and dedication of resources to educating staff and customers is positioning both LSS and our customers well for the future," said Ms. Petersen.
Greg Osmonson, LSS Vice President of Programming and Software Development, detailed the company's efforts to enhance the stability, integrity, performance and general usability of products in the Medical and Practice Management (MPM) Suite of applications. Osmonson drew on specific examples, including the documentation tool, messaging, results tasks and chart review, to demonstrate how a systematic approach incorporating design feedback is ensuring a high level of usability for applications used by physicians.
Denni McColm, Chief Information Officer at Citizens Memorial (Bolivar, MO), provided an update on her organization's work with LSS and the Institute for Health Metrics on an a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to develop an automated process for extracting, analyzing, reporting and exporting quality measures in the ambulatory setting. McColm also updated the group on their progress rolling out the LSS Patient Portal, which provides patients with secure web access to key portions of their medical records through Citizens' website.
Bob Kass, M.D. (Physician Supervisor for Content Development at Zynx Health) and Michelle Swofford, RN, FNP-C (Senior Project Manager, Clinical Products at LSS) discussed the significant enhancements recently made to evidence-based clinical content available to users of the MPM Suite. These enhancements include new standard content sections and the creation of a PQRI focused template, among others. Kara Schleicher, Manager, Programming & Software Development at LSS, followed suit with an overview of e-prescribing enhancements to tools developed by LSS and e-prescribing partner DrFirst.
LSS Marketing Manager Megan Salmela discussed what customers "need to know" about the Federal Stimulus Plan, explaining the concept of "meaningful use" in the context of eligibility requirements for physicians to qualify for incentives. Assessing the potential impact of the HITECH act (the healthcare IT portion of the ARRA), Salmela drew a comparison to the Apollo Space Program of the 1960s, underscoring the revolutionary role the act may have on the industry.
A good part of the afternoon was devoted to moderated discussions on a number of timely topics, including the potential role of Personal Health Records (PHRs) on patient care moderated by LSS CEO and CTO Ken Carlson, and special panels and PFSH.
Following the event, Matt Giles, LSS Director of Corporate Development, reflected upon why the Provider Development Forum is so vital to the company.
"In my career I've had experience working on clinical software implementations, providing service and support for clinical products and working in our software development division," said Giles. "In each capacity I've been able to see just how vital these forums are for establishing a direct feedback loop with physicians using the software. You really need to hear directly from them."
Physicians will continue to be engaged on these and other topics through LSS's web-based Provider Feedback Portals, and planning for the Fall Provider Development Forum is already underway.
Physicians and executives from LSS sites interested in participating may contact Matt Giles.
For additional information:
LSS Data Systems
6423 City West Parkway
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
952.941.1000
www.lssdata.com
