273310
Facilitating rapid adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records for healthcare and public health
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
: 10:30 AM - 10:50 AM
Background: Northrop Grumman supports CMS' EHR Incentive Payment Program which promotes the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) via incentive payments to select Medicare and Medicaid Providers. Companion public health programs provide data via communication exchanges to facilitate broader scope of meaningful use in both clinical and population settings. For the purpose of EHR incentive payments, we have designed, developed, and fielded the National Level Repository (NLR) and manage the operations support contract for the program. Objectives/Purpose: This presentation discusses the technology solution of the data repository and how the solution leverages service-oriented architecture (SOA) concepts to integrate with the many other systems required to manage the incentive program. Methods: The solution incorporates several components and strategies. A business rules engine (IBM iLOG) was configured to enable flexibility for implementing complex attestation and payment rules. Spring-Batch open source framework was leveraged to develop a “receipt and control” component for managing file-based integration jobs. SOA concepts were applied to both internal and external components of X. And a spiral/agile development methodology was used to address schedule constraints in a volatile requirements environment. For business operations, an information center was established in addition to production support, data quality, and reporting teams. Results: The initial system to support registration requirements was developed and fielded in under 8 months. A subsequent release was also accomplished just 3 months later to enable more complicated attestation and payment functionality to be available in April 2011 also per mandate. : as of December 2011, the solution holds registrations for over 175,000 eligible providers and payment records for over $2.5 Billion in incentive payments from the program's first year. Discussion/Conclusion By providing consistent, reinforcing incentives for the adoption and meaningful use of EHRs, the program has hastened EHR application across the nation, enhancing both clinical and public health community efforts.
Learning Areas:
Communication and informatics
Learning Objectives: Identify 2 of the major components or strategies used by Northrop Grumman to create the data repository and EHR Incentive Payment Program to meet program requirements.
Explain how the CMS’ EHR Incentive Payment Program has positive impacts on population health and public health practice.
Identify best practices for addressing tight schedule constraints in a volatile requirements environment.
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been a Program Manager within the Healthcare IT field for 9 years and an IT and government consultant for 16 years. In that role I have overseen the full lifecycle construction of numerous mission critical IT solutions from concept to production usage. Within Healthcare, my interests and work has primarily been within the realm of healthcare and Medicare reform.
Any relevant financial relationships? Yes
Name of Organization |
Clinical/Research Area |
Type of relationship |
Northrop Grumman |
Information Services |
Employment (includes retainer) |
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
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