Understanding the “Meaningful Use” of EHR - Part I

The widespread misuse of health records of patients forced the federal government to come up with the HIPAA and HITECH acts. Though the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH)of 2009 encouraged the use of technology in the healthcare industry, it also dealt with the privacy and security concerns associated with the electronic transmission of patient health information. As part of its attempt to promote heath information technology (HIT), the federal government announced Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments for the healthcare professionals who adopt certified electronic health records (EHR) technology and achieve benefits through its meaningful use in healthcare. Through this act, the federal government wanted not only fast adoption of EHRs but also healthcare improvement through EHRs.

As per the act, the main components of “meaningful use” are

  • Using certified EHR technology meaningfully

  • Using certified EHR technology for exchanging health information electronically

  • Using certified EHR technology for improving healthcare quality

  • Using certified EHR technology for submitting clinical quality and other measures

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The HITECH act clearly specifies the “meaningful use”objectives that the healthcare providers must meet in order to be eligible for the incentives. These objectives can be categorized as

  1. Enhance the quality, safety and efficiency of care by reducing discrepancies

  2. Engage not only patients but also their families in their care

  3. Enhance care coordination

  4. Improve the health of the public as well as the population

  5. Ensure privacy and security of the EHRs

     


Those healthcare professionals and hospitals that adopt certified EHR technology and use it to improve the healthcare are eligible for receiving incentives. The following are the details of the incentive program defined in the HITECH act.

  • As part of the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, eligible professionals and hospitals who has participated in the program as early as 2011, would receive up to $44,000 over 5 years.

  • As part of the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, eligible professionals and hospitals who has participated in the program as early as 2011, would receive up to $63,750 over 6 years.

  • Those healthcare professionals and hospitals who fail to adopt EHR by 2015 would be fined 1% of Medicare payments, which subsequently increases to 3% over 3 years.

  • Those professionals and hospitals qualified for Medicare incentives must start participation at least by 2012.

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The HITECH act proposes to define meaningful use of electronic health records in three stages. Only stage 1 has been defined so far while other stages would be defined within 2015. In the second part of this article, we will delve upon stage 1.

Read on - risk management solutions, vendor management

Improve Enterprise Performance by Employee Ideation

Faith they say can move mountains and “Ideas” can run the world, paving a new way every time. This is very true for our modern day enterprises in an evolving global marketplace, faced with numerous challenges. In order to turn these challenges into fruitful opportunities innovative thinking along with systematized idea management is essential. Hence, forward thinking enterprises in order to maintain their competitive edge needs to align with ideas and creative inputs that their employees have to offer.


Organizing the Ideation Process

 

Whilst every employee is capable of coming up with brilliant ideas, not every one can be expected to be good at everything. People have their specialized domains that call out to them, almost naturally. For example, while one employee may come up with brilliant online PR strategy, the other can have equally insightful HR idea. A systematic idea management system would churn out creative inputs from proactive employees and participating teams. Three ways for organizing this ideation process for improving enterprise performance are:-

 

•           To foster an open “submit anything anytime” environment

•           To keep in tune with the service or product development process

•           The need to have idea campaigns, competitions and event based on  certain topics within a stipulated time

 

Benefiting from Idea Management Solutions

 

To reap in the benefits of innovative ideation, it is essential to seek expert guidance that comes in with new age idea management solutions. One might question the need for having these programs, as for many, “idea” is all about thinking out of the box, spontaneity and creativity. While all this is true it is essential to bear in mind that an idea translates into innovation only when it is in sync with the company objective and aims towards a desired end. Today leading companies specializing in innovation products have introduced advanced idea management solutions that can offer you valuable benefits such as:-

 

•           New competitive services and products

•           Process enhancements

•           Enhanced collaboration and decision making across various teams

•           Competitive edge over other market players

•           Helps you to identify hidden talent and fresh areas of growth

•           Results in improved brand value and brand loyalty

 

Furthermore, a well managed idea management system seamlessly brings out collective intelligence encouraging people i.e. employees, vendors, partners, public and customers, to take part in the ideation process. It also encourages free flowing feedbacks, recommendations and suggestions helpful for company expansion and improvement.  

 

Ideas today are much more than mere thoughts and insights. It is like the fable story of the cavemen who successfully removed a huge stone while crossing a mountain because he could figure out the way ahead even in a dark night. Effective ideation is all about seeing the way ahead for an organization’s growth and development. Advanced idea management system enables employees to come up with this “way ahead”.

 

Know more on: crowdsourcing tools

Advanced Ear plugs to Combat Heavy Industrial Noise

Keeping in mind today’s high noise industrial background the importance of earplugs has increased manifold. It helps to prevent any kind of hearing damage such as permanent hearing loss as well as other nerve related ailments that a prolonged loud noise can cause. Sound waves generated from this heavy industrial background can cause harm to our ears. Majority of earplugs and earmuffs available in the market today have Noise Reduction rating that indicates the decibels they can take off an ambiance sound. Most of the plugs vary between 20 and 35 dB in reduction which is apt to be used in workplaces.


Choosing the apt Hearing Protection Device

Hearing loss prevention being a topic of concern it is essential companies choose the apt hearing protection devices. There can be cases where a device might need an extra feature or technological application based on the industrial sector it is being use for. This means earplugs that work fine in an aviation environment might need some added adaptations when being operated in a mining environment. Therefore, it is essential to list out your requirement prior to choosing a device for yourself.


Industry Offerings in Earplugs

Leading service providers in hearing protection devices have introduced advanced earplugs and earmuffs. These devices with their in-built noise suppression and speech enhancement technology facilitate clear communication between workers. These devices are perfect for consumers looking for reliable and cost-efficient earplug range having high-end communication features. They have every feature of premium hearing protectors with the complementary advantage of making the interaction easy and compact in heavy noise surroundings.


Few other features of these new age ear plugs are:-

·         Enables communication in environments beyond 85 dB (A)

·         The speaker is limited to 82 dB (A) in ear

·         Offers a 12mth Warranty

·         There is an MP3 Interface

·         You can safely hear your background sound  you continue to hear the speech

·         Industrial ruggedized

·         Provides security from all kinds of noise namely, Impact, Intermittent, and Continuous

·         There is 12+ hours continuous talk time

·         A Binaural Capability – Hear the direction of Speech and other sounds

·         High Visibility Color

·         Face to Face communication up to 95dB

·         Replaceable Ear tips

·         Custom interface to other communication systems

·         Two-way radio communication to 95dB

·         Two-Way Radio Interface

·         Bluetooth communication to 95dB

·         Wireless Bluetooth connection to cellular phones and other Bluetooth® devices

 

Hence, we see adoption of apt and best hearing protection devices can eradicate the problem of hearing loss amidst workers in various enterprises.

 

 

 

Protect Your Brand from Counterfeiting

One of the major threats to any brand’s reputation today is product counterfeiting. It is generally perceived as a victimless offense with “fakes” generating a cheap alternative for original products. Counterfeit criminals see this process as one that has a low prosecution risk with light penalties as compared to other frauds. Whereas in reality international trade in counterfeited products is calculated to surpass six percent of the total global trade. It is not only harmful for investors and businesses but also has a damaging effect on society and the overall global economy.

 

Need for Brand Protection Solution

Counterfeiting has resulted in loss of brand reputation along with revenue loss. Many of the present day brand protection solution do not have product counterfeiting features. They only scan the internet for abuse of the company brand or trademark. Where as for the high tech, pharmaceutical and retail industries, it is essential to have visibility and know the exact goods that are being counterfeited. Furthermore, it is important to be aware of the discount percentage offered on the products by the counterfeiters.

 

Brand Protection Solution by leading market players

Today companies specializing in anti-counterfeiting software have come up with unique SaaS enabled brand protection solutions. These offer global organizations dynamic visibility in real-time with a wide selection of market intelligence data that can be utilized to recognize suspect companies and goods. This visibility further results in a proactive response to head-off counterfeiting before it can affect your bottom line.

 

The solution monitors the open market continuously for buying/selling listings of goods and part numbers using innovative search tools. These tools can track detailed market information from a wide variety of market sources that includes:-

 

  • Franchise and large distribution websites

  • Independent and gray market websites

  • Trade boards

  • Auction sites

  • B2C sites

  • B2B sites

     

The data provided by innovative brand protection solution is made available to the user through a web portal in a comprehensive, multi-dimensional market intelligence format. From here users can create personalized dashboards, custom report views and formatted data export files.

 

Today, trade in counterfeit goods is an expanding area and is increasing with more and more ecommerce websites foraying into the market. In order to ensure that your brand retains its original value and trademark it is imperative that you invest in an effective brand protection solution.

Changing Trends in Translation Technology

Language is a medium of communication that leverages trade relationships and business prospects. An essential factor in interactions between partners, vendors, suppliers and customers, language forms the key mediator in any sort of business collaboration. However, as business takes on a global route, the need for communication in a language understood by locals becomes increasingly necessary.


The technological era has seen a number of technology giants using translation software for easy translation of the languages for better communication. At a time when consumers, vendors and suppliers all use the Internet, instantaneous responses have become necessary. Translating information and data into understandable languages need to be equally fast to counteract the competitive business environment.


Though the internet facilitates gathering of information with relation to the latest trends and techniques in the translation market, accurate and meaningful translations are major factors that need to be looked into when opting for a translation technique. With the growing demand for effective communication across languages and cultures, automatic translation tools help various project teams streamline their work process.  The professionals sitting across wide geographical boundaries can communicate across various channels with ease with the automated translation process.


The changing trends in translation technology helps global organizations in their business expansion process by translating the user generated content and pre-sales information to launch websites for new markets in a language the audience recognizes. The software localization also becomes easy as localization professionals help with the necessary input through automated means ensuring a human translation workflow. The automated translation technology helps the government analysts and workers translate critical data at a fast pace and make more thorough decisions.


The translation software is based on the statistics of previously worked translations. Trained language pairs of previously translated languages facilitate accurate translations across industry domains and verticals. The leaders in the industry offer their clientele automated translation solutions to meet their business needs. The software with impeccable and trusted translation makes it feasible for the organizations to provide their customers with clear business details.

Further, the advent of the Internet has given rise to online translation technology which helps non-native speaking individuals understand web pages published in any other languages. The interactive pop-up windows available in these translation tools provide possible equivalents for every word. These make use of the translation memory to store the translated words for further reference.


Read Also On:  Website Translation  &  Machine translation

Alleviate Risks with Security Configuration Management


Today IT environments are becoming increasingly complex. Presently it supports both distributed and virtual platforms.  Hence companies need to make sure that they have control on data and system management. Furthermore, IT organizations are required to manage several point-based technologies that add to its cost and complexity. As a result, there is a need for a new approach for streamlining IT environment to ensure improved security and IT risk management with a cost efficient ownership. This is where innovative security configuration management comes into action.

Need for Security Configuration Management
A security configuration management solution is essential to manage effectively endpoint configurations. Today end users are able to install and download software, and this result in the scope of application conflicts, that can reduce user productivity and increase IT operation expenses due to security incidents. Monitoring configurations proactively is equally essential as applying crucial patches. This is because 60 percent of exploited vulnerabilities arise due to insecure configurations. Today both organization and Government regulations are realizing this and that explains the rise in security configuration management requirements.

However, without standardization of endpoint configurations and a holistic visibility, IT administrators cannot know or manage all the applications present in the environment. Hence, an appropriate security configuration management solution is needed that would enable companies to enforce a consistent endpoint configuration policy along with other network security appliances.

Industry solutions for Security Configuration Management
Leading companies specializing in IT Compliance automation have come up with security control automation solutions with consistent and cost efficient and real time detection of policy violations. It also offers automatic control remediation of errors. Furthermore, these solutions anchor security control automation in real-time and allows integration through collaborative services along with third party tools for:-

  • Vulnerability assessment and scanning
  • Log management and monitoring
  • Event and incident management
  • Enhancing security control automation by locking down service and network devices to avert unapproved access and configuration modifications

This apart, cloud security and virtualization too are the key elements of innovative security configuration management solutions. It addresses virtualization specific security concerns by:-
  • Expanding security to virtual and cloud environments
  • Guaranteeing security and compliance of cloud resources
  • Offering a single cohesive view of security of every data center and cloud resources

Thus we see that security configuration management is present at the convergence of operations and security and merges elements of automated remediation, configuration compliance and vulnerability assessment. The ultimate objective is to bring down risks by making sure that the systems are configured properly.

Read on - security vulnerability assessment, infrastructure configuration management

How to Curb Threats in the Virtual World

The virtualization platform no doubt is in high demand in the current environment. The environment is becoming more complex and risks are increasing manifold.  It is important to test a vulnerability to determine its potentials as a threatening agent to your critical business operations. The testing tools must provide you with comprehensive reporting capabilities, simplified and consolidated testing processes and easy compliance management. However the vulnerability tools have not yet proved their maturity in this regard. The approach to addressing vulnerability management issues is also slow and the results insipid.

Some of the risks in the virtual world are regular that can be addressed with the help of firewalls, intrusion detection systems, patch and configuration management with stringent access controls. Besides the normal risks the virtual environment is also infested with other risks that are created by using single physical servers as a virtual medium for accessing resources. A security attack on a single server would mean infecting not just one system but the entire operation. Thus it is mandatory to ensure the implementation of efficient vulnerability assessment practices and stringent virtual resource management controls.

Although the hypervisor, a virtualization management tool is perceived as a security risk it has proved to be a highly secure tool as it provides an opportunity to deliver IDS-type services across the entire virtualization environment thereby making the target areas smaller and the solution simpler to manage. The virtual infrastructure must provide role-based controls for accessing and administering purposes. The responsibilities for managing networks, firewalls, operating systems and security monitoring processes must be given to different people with a scrupulous configuration change control process and maintenance of audit trails to ensure that any illegal changes done on the virtual devices can help in tracing the responsible individuals.

When you employ the internal access controls process it must provide you with application protocol gateways, virtual LANs and encryption solutions to keep your virtual devices as far as possible from the external threats. You can also employ strategies such as isolating data at the network layer or the SAN layer to provide additional protection or a separate management access network for the virtualization appliance. The internal risks are far more lethal than external ones where critical information and servers can be easily transferred onto a handheld device.

Although sophisticated technologies are deployed for beefing up security you can address the security vulnerabilities with a practical and diligent approach. You can control the risks in the virtual environment by reinforcing your basic security protocols and understanding the complexities in the environment.

Also read on - PCI DSS, IT Compliance automation

Benefits of Advanced Fulfillment Solutions

Fulfillment solutions become crucial when an organization’s business is expanding. Therefore, most organizations today execute the idea of outsourcing their work from another company. It helps them to save both time and expense at one time. Furthermore, fulfillment professionals are able to bring in new concepts that might prove beneficial for your business to carry on. In this case, it is crucial the quality of solution provider you are choosing to partner with. Whichever solution provider you select needs to be assessed for facts such as reputation and experience for reaping maximum benefits.

 

How does Fulfillment Solutions work?

 

Once you partner with the apt solution provider, fulfillment solutions can help you attain greater results than before. The modern day 360 degree solution providers configure your manufacturing system in order to make the best possible use of their proven systems such as Glocal Postponement. This in turn makes sure that the consumers are successfully shipping the most updated products in quantities that are ordered. It also makes sure that there is no product stocking with a restricted shelf life. This saves the consumers from investing in expensive and outdated inventory.

 

Leading order fulfillment solutions configures your products covering everything from electro-mechanical assembly to custom labeling in the fulfillment warehouse. All this is supervised by a skilled quality control management staff that makes sure that you are offering the best quality product to your end user.

 

Benefits of Order Fulfillment Solutions

 

Today eminent companies specializing in supply chain management solutions have come up with order fulfillment solutions as well. The solution offers lesser overhead, inventory, greater responsive supply chain fulfillment set up and a greater flexible manufacturing. Other benefits are:-

  • Fulfillment and Warehouse Solutions
  • Inventory Control
  • Order Management
  • Serial Number Capture
  • Lot Control
  • Retail Packaging
  • Fulfillment and Distribution
  • Direct to Store or Distribution Center
  • POP (point of purchase) display manufacturing
  • Freight Tracking
  • On-line Inquiry and Reporting

 

However, selecting the apt partner for order fulfillment needs a serious thought. The overall selection process is based on the percentage of money any business entrepreneur is ready to invest. It is advised to keep aside a decent amount for the selection process of the fulfillment professional or solution. Simultaneously, at the time of selection, the experience factor also needs to be considered more than anything else. Though the industry today offers efficient new comers, the success of fulfillment solutions today mostly depend on knowledge and experience.

 

Also read more on : supply chain solutions

 

Exclusive Tax Savings in Business with the Professional Services

Every individual and every business enterprise has to pay income tax returns. Preparing and filing tax returns is a delicate issue as any misconstrued information can be used against your company for frauds or tax evasion attempts. The idea of filing tax returns is overwhelming for many and they develop cold feet. Many try to willfully suppress declaring their incomes which is illegal. If you are identified as a tax evader or if manipulations are detected in your accounts you will have to bear severe penalties.

There are many tax preparers and lawyers that overcharge their innocent clients merely by confusing them about the legalities even if their accounts are clean. It is evident that there are various issues and challenges in preparing and filing tax returns along with the involvement of legal proceedings. Thus you must employ a credible professional with high levels of proficiency in the tax filing and legal expertise.

A reliable professional tax preparer will provide you tax planning services with honesty and integrity so that you do not lose your income unnecessarily. He will provide you with the best practices to ensure that your business grows with effective tax planning strategies. The tax laws are the same for every business. The only difference is that your professional tax consultant will help you gain advantage by strategically maximizing the legal angles.

You should not risk your hard earned savings by relying on the tax advisors that are ready to do your work for a very low fee. There is no assurance of tax savings when you employ such cheap tax advisors. It is advisable to seek assistance from professionals who have a good reputation so that you can avail the best advanced tax planning services from their years of experience.

The professional tax preparers and advisors are aware how the tax laws can be applied on individual business entity formation to ensure the best outcome. They are aware of small details that are not apparent to the common man, and they use their knowledge to provide you with the best tax planning services. They know which laws can be applied in sole proprietorships or partnerships and which can deliver high value to limited liability companies or to corporations. They help you with EIN applications, maintenance of minute books and resolution drafting, business licenses and permits, bylaws and operating agreements, certification, corporate compliance, registration of business names, foreign incorporations, filing of annual and franchise taxes.

If you have a financial account in a foreign country the professionals provide you with prolific foreign bank account reporting assistance. Your business will gain maximum by employing the best professional service.

Read Also On: India Income Tax Return

Making Optimal Use of Storage Servers

In this modern day work ambiance data sharing amidst a team or group is one of the prime concerns for any company. Today many companies have found out an apt solution for this by using storage servers. A storage server is connected to a certain network and enables those users connected to the network store essential files and other relevant data within the servers.

A review of storage servers in the past few years would highlight that they have become economically priced and are being used to great extent by the small as well as large scale business concerns. Apart from this, it offers the benefits of setting up and installing servers for data storage, especially if the information is needed to be shared amongst a common set of users.

Defining Storage Servers

Storage server is the name given to a server that store just about anything you want it to. The data stored can be in the form of documents, files, pictures, and other kinds of files. Its crucial feature is its “share ability” amidst numerous users. Hence, users need not copy the important data to a portable hard drive, flash drive or even a CD and then the send the same data to your email inbox. Users just need to keep the data file on the selected server and then get the chosen set of users connected to it through a network, offering them access to the file.

Innovative Storage Service Solutions

To notch service providers of data center solutions today have come up with innovative storage server solutions. The performance offered is consistent and energy efficient. They fulfill to all types of organizations. The methods and techniques they use helps in configuring the software and OS to install optimal layers and provide any function that your company might need regarding new custom servers. After you have placed your order, as soon as the servers reach the desired location, there are concerned professionals would can cable, rack and finally put the server into action.

These leading solution providers offer complete personalization, quick turnaround time and unmatched reliability at an attractive price package. The products have an in-built technology adapting itself to any altering circumstances. Few other are:-

 

* Multi-core high-performance technology

* Energy-efficient architecture

* Storage servers are well suited for Cloud Computing, Clustering and Virtualization

Advanced storage servers along with its high availability enable organizations to configure redundant systems as multi-purpose servers with an operating system of your selection, for instance Linux, Windows, and Microsoft for free storage maintenance.

Read More On: Data Centre Solutions, Custom Computer , High Performance Computing Cluster