Hospital’s Gets $850K For Achieving Status
BERLIN –Atlantic General Hospital achieved Meaningful Use Stage 2 status this month and received funds for patient portal engagement in the amount of nearly $850,000 from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). AGH is one of only 164 hospitals in the country to achieve Stage 2.
Meaningful use, by federal definition, is the use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology to improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of care while reducing health disparities. This EHR technology should be used to improve care coordination and public health while maintaining privacy and the security of private health information. Healthcare organizations must achieve and maintain Stage 1 for two years to be eligible for Stage 2 status.
“We were very deliberate about choosing our vendor partners to work with us in advancing the information technology used at AGH and in our community,” states Michael Franklin, president and CEO of Atlantic General. “Proper use of information has helped AGH to make caring for our patients safer, and implementing the right systems allows care and information to be readily available to improve the health of our community.”
Under the Stage 2 core objectives, healthcare organizations are required to provide patients access to view, download and transmit their health information securely online. Among many other provisions, healthcare providers are required to report on: use of computerized physician order entry for medication, laboratory and radiology orders; generate and transmit prescriptions electronically; record demographic data; record and track changes in vital signs; keep track of smoking status for those 13 years and older; provide a patient summary for each office visit; protect the electronic health information maintained in the EHR (electronic health record) technology; use the information in the EHR to identify patients that should receive reminders for preventative and follow-up care; and record patient family health history.
“The Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements support patients becoming more involved in their healthcare by giving them access to their health information and providing tools for them to electronically communicate with their healthcare providers, thus empowering them to be their own health advocates,” said Jackie Todd, Atlantic General Hospital Director of Information Services.
Beginning in 2015, CMS will begin penalizing hospitals who haven’t met meaningful use, in the form of lower reimbursement rates for the care provided.
The payments for meaningful use, such as the nearly $850,000 received, will return a portion of the cost of the project to the hospital and allow AGH to devote those resources to other patient care initiatives.
Mall Welcomes Tenant
WEST OCEAN CITY — A new General Nutrition Center (GNC) just opened at White Marlin Mall in West Ocean City.
“General Nutrition Center focuses on health and nutrition-related products and is the world’s largest company of its kind devoted exclusively to helping its customers improve their quality of life,” said Matt Mittenthal, vice-president and assistant director of asset management at Greenberg Gibbons Commercial, the mall’s leasing and property management firm. “GNC sets the standard in the health and nutrition industry by demanding truth in labeling, ingredient safety and product potency, all while remaining on the cutting edge of nutritional science.”
The new GNC store at White Marlin Mall is situated next to Michaels Crafts and Nice Nails in a space formerly occupied by Ledo Pizza.
John Terrell
Designations Earned
SALISBURY – Two members of the Coastal Association of REALTORS® (CAR) have been awarded the Graduate REALTOR® Institute designation from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).
Lisa Spicer and John Terrell, of ERA Martin Associates in Salisbury, join other top producers in the residential real estate industry who hold this designation across the country. They received this honor after successfully completing a rigorous 90-hour course covering specific education outlined by NAR. With this designation and increased awareness of current topics important to the real estate profession, such as legal issues, these REALTORS® can better serve prospective clients and customers.
Sheila Dodson, executive director of CAR, recently presented Spicer and Terrell with their GRI certificates at an ERA Martin and Associates sales meeting.
Lisa Spicer
“Designations such as this are one of many ways that CAR members distinguish themselves as the most professional and highly-trained REALTORS® on Maryland’s Eastern Shore,” Dodson said. “CAR applauds Lisa and John for their hard work and dedication.”