A flood of questions and concerns arose after February 17th, when President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, which allotted more than $20 billion to health care information technology. We sat down with MEDITECH Vice President of Marketing, Hoda Sayed-Friel, and Dell Perot Systems Vice President of Consulting, Paul Peck, to gain insight on how ARRA affects the future of health care I.T. and our customers.


Q: How are MEDITECH and Dell Perot Systems staying abreast of the changes coming with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act?

A: Hoda: By working hard...MEDITECH has formed a task force to analyze the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and is conferring with key contacts across the industry to ensure a full understanding of the legislation. One of our first steps has been to establish a location on our Interoperability and EHR Initiatives portal where we can share information with customers, so they can monitor developments and follow activities. We are working with Dell Perot Systems now to expand this area with more detailed information, as well as to offer some new services to help customers acquire and deploy technology and related processes they need for the ARRA.

A: Paul: Dell Perot Systems understands the importance of this stimulus bill and has mobilized dedicated resources to help our customers build the foundation for a successful implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). We will continue working with MEDITECH in the months ahead to keep customers updated on the ARRA, as it becomes further defined and clarified. We plan to offer a number of services for customers, helping in areas such as readiness assessments, grant writing, and interoperability and quality reporting services.


Q: How well are MEDITECH customers positioned to demonstrate "meaningful use of qualified and certified EHR technology" by 2011?

A: Hoda: The government hasn't completely defined what it means by "meaningful use of EHR technology," but we do know the definition includes the collection of patient demographics and clinical health information, as well as the capacity to provide clinical decision support, physician order entry, and the electronic exchange of health information. MEDITECH customers are well positioned to demonstrate meaningful use in these areas in that we have been offering and promoting the use of Advanced Clinical Systems for several years now; we exchange information with physician systems through integration and interoperability; and our MAGIC 5.6 and C/S 5.6 Releases, as well as the LSS products, are CCHIT certified®. Like everyone else, we are anxious for further clarification of the certification details.

A: Paul: Dell Perot Systems is prepared to assist any customers who do not yet have their Advanced Clinical Systems in place to acquire and deploy these products effectively. We can help customers implement EHR technology in preparedness for ARRA compliance. For example, we can provide pre-implementation planning, which includes Readiness Assessment and Planning Services, Clinical Participation and Adoption Services, Project Management, Strategic Planning, and Process Redesign.


Q: Will customers need to migrate to 6.0 in order to demonstrate meaningful EHR use?

A: Hoda: No. All of our platforms—MAGIC, Client/Server, and 6.0—are suited to demonstrate the specifications that have been highlighted in the legislation. We will continue to monitor additional details released by the government to ensure their capability to demonstrate meaningful EHR use.


Q: What should customers be doing now to prepare for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act?

A: Hoda: Don't hesitate—start planning now. Maximum incentive funds begin in 2011, and the reimbursement penalties begin in 2015. Assess your situation, and evaluate the solutions and resources you'll need to fulfill the mandate. Understand the timeframes involved for implementing new components, and understand how your state is responding to the stimulus bill and the grant opportunities. Familiarize yourself with regional health information exchanges and related local EHR activity.

A: Paul: Understand that an organization-wide effort may be required for some customers to prepare for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It will require planning, preparation, training, and project management. Don't underestimate the effort involved and don't hesitate to call either of us for help.


Q: How can MEDITECH and Dell Perot Systems help?

A: Hoda: By providing education and access to needed services. We encourage customers to begin discussing their ARRA plans with their MEDITECH sales and service representatives now to formulate a plan.

A: Paul: As I mentioned before, Dell Perot Systems has a variety of services to help MEDITECH customers. Our ARRA Readiness Assessment will help plan and prepare organizations to comply with the ARRA standards and includes a review of the current state of a hospital's electronic health records, information management system, interfaces, integration, and interoperability as required under the Act. We can help customers formulate a roadmap for meeting their organization's goals. Some other services that we can offer to help customers include Grant Writing assistance, Application Implementation, Optimization, and Migration Services, and a host of other services to help hospitals achieve the business goal of demonstrating "meaningful use" of EHR technology. The key is to start now.


Q: Where can customers learn more?

A: Paul: Dell Perot Systems offers an ongoing webinar series hosted by Dr. Harry Greenspun, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Dell Perot Systems. Dr. Greenspun provides strategic leadership with a clinical perspective. Additionally, our Web site has a dedicated portal titled Insights, which offers a variety of materials to help you navigate through the clutter with suggestions that make sense for your organization. I'd recommend our Executive Briefing on ARRA as a good place to start.

A: Hoda: I agree, we've actually posted the Dell Perot Systems' executive briefing on MEDITECH's Interoperability and EHR Initiatives portal in the Economic Stimulus Resource area. This section is a centralized location where you can find all of our joint materials. We've posted suggested reading materials and Web sites, and will continue to update the section with flyers, presentations, and videos in the months ahead. You can access the portal through a pink button on the home page of www.meditech.com.

If you have any general questions you'd like to ask, please feel free to send an e-mail message to our stimulus mailbox or meditechsolutions@ps.net.