Believe it or not, it has been just over a year since the merger of PtCT into MEDITECH, and the creation of the Home Care Portal! 2010 was a strong year for us and our customers, as we now have 40 sites using MEDITECH's 6.0 Home Care products, 14 currently installing, and 21 lined up to begin their journey.

With 32 million additional people entering the health care system as a result of national reform, all of us will need to take a holistic view of patient care delivery, moving forward. At MEDITECH, we are prepared to help you with advanced functionalities, regulatory compliance, and greater interoperability, as we turn new industry challenges into positive change for your organization.

Integration Throughout the Care Continuum
As you may have read on meditech.com, LSS Data Systems is now a wholly owned subsidiary of MEDITECH, and we are taking on full responsibility for the development, marketing, installation, and customer service aspects of LSS products. With this exciting development, we are now able to extend our clinical reach by providing integrated systems across the entire care continuum. This acquisition will be beneficial for all providers, including those in home care, since it will enable them to more effectively coordinate care delivery among diverse networks in the years ahead.

Staying on Top of Regulatory Issues
Just as we're staying on top of the latest ARRA developments, MEDITECH is also keeping a close eye on the regulatory issues directly affecting home care. These include the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), as well as other compliance issues you are facing this year—such as the requirements concerning "G" code for home health claims, face-to-face encounters, 5010 standards, and therapy services.

With our integrated approach to acute and post-acute information systems, Home Care customers are in a prime position to reap the rewards of PPACA demonstration projects—like patient-centered medical homes, the national pilot program on payment bundling, and the community-based care transitions program. Also, plans are in the works to create Best Practice recommendations for our Home Care customers. Similar to our series of ARRA-focused recommendations for acute care hospitals, these Best Practices will be geared specifically toward helping our Home Care customers to improve care quality and achieve their regulatory goals.

Upcoming Customer Events
Finally, a quick word about our upcoming events: this year's Nurse Informatics and Home Care Forum in June promises to be an exciting one, where we will again host industry experts and customer speakers from both the nursing and home care communities. This is a great opportunity for you to connect with your peers and MEDITECH staff, as well as share experiences and strategies for transforming care delivery, both within and outside of the hospital's walls. Watch for a link to the forum's registration page, coming in the next few weeks.

In addition, be sure to check out our Events page, for a comprehensive listing of the regional Home Care and Hospice events we're attending in 2011. I look forward to seeing many of you at these venues over the next several months!