Blog
Nursing Informatics Series: Lynn’s Journey
Today, as a Senior Nurse Informaticist at Lantana, I am part of a team of clinical, program and policy analysts, working with IT engineers to develop standards-based solutions permitting interoperable—platform independent—exchange of health information. Twenty-five years ago, I was a young nurse starting out—just look at me here at my “capping and pinning” ceremony! Here…
Read MoreWorking from Home (#WFH): How working remotely is one millennial’s dream job
Working from home, once an unimaginable idea, is a regular part of many professionals’ lives. Technology innovation and improvements enable many to work from their houses, apartments, and even RVs. The Millennial generation, having grown up with computers nearby and cell phones in hand, want to hop aboard the WFH train. Statistics show “68% of…
Read MoreHas the Clock Run Out on Electronic Claims Attachments?
With the shift towards value-based care, payers still need access to clinical information for reimbursement decisions as well as for cost and quality metrics and standardizing enough of the clinical record to satisfy the anticipated attachments reg would be an excellent next step in that direction.
Read MoreNursing informaticists: who we are and what we do
All around the world, May 12 is celebrated as International Nurses Day. It marks the end, in the U.S., of National Nurses Week—a time to honor and recognize nurses for their contribution to health care. May 12 is also the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the nineteenth-century English nurse who became legendary for her work…
Read MorePleasant surprise with open-source development
This is a story of how a health IT guy goes looking for an easier way of doing a tedious task, can’t find that easier way anywhere, ends up building it himself, saves a lot of time, and gets a happy lesson in the value of shared, open-source software. In my position as a software…
Read MoreExtreme Vacation
Lantana provides a unique benefit to its employees: after seven years of employment, an employee can take a two-month paid vacation—the “sabbatical.” I’ve now been working for the company for over seven years (over eight if you include my contracting time), and I recently finished my sabbatical, and it was amazing! Here are my…
Read MorePatient-Generated Health Data and EHR Integration
The PGHD Revolution With the rise in popularity of mobile health apps and wearable technology, the volume of patient-generated health data (PGHD) is rapidly outpacing providers’ ability to incorporate it into care. In fact, almost half of U.S. smart phone owners report using a mobile health tracking app. These new technologies create data that health…
Read MoreElectronic Attachments Tell a Comprehensive Health Story
Anticipated HHS regulations are expected to provide standards for electronic documents used as attachments to support reimbursement-related transactions. On February 5, I was joined by Mary Lynn Bushman, Sr. EDI Analyst at National Government Services, Inc., in presenting a HIMSS Health Story Project webinar on the attachment standards: their usage, the business case for…
Read MoreReporting Into the Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Module
Hospitals report and analyze AUR data via the AUR Module. The AUR Module covers two reporting options, one for antimicrobial use (AU) and one for antimicrobial resistance (AR). Facilities can participate in one (just AU or just AR) or both (AU and AR) at any given time.
Read More2017 Annual Retreat: My First Week at Lantana
I started a new job last month, joining Lantana Consulting Group as a Public Health Analyst, and my first week there was a little out of the ordinary. Lantana is a distributed company, which makes it easier to hire the best people no matter where they live. The tricky part of working remotely, with no…
Read MoreWellness in the Workplace – Powerlifting
How do you begin your day? If you’re like Crystal Kallem, Lantana’s Executive Director of Analysis and Policy, you begin with an intense weight lifting session.
Read MoreWorking from Home (#WFH): Wendy’s RV Office
Lantana’s distributed environment allows for some pretty exciting adventures. From international travels to unconventional living, that flexibility can make for some rather unique “offices”.
Read MoreWellness in the Workplace
In honor of National Wellness Week, we are kicking off our Wellness in the Workplace series. Over the next few months, you can read about Lantana’s spin on some of these dimensions of wellness. In this post, we focus on how Lantana supports physical wellness.
Read MoreProposed Interoperability Standards Measurement Framework
Lantana Consulting Group submitted comments on July 31, 2017 in response to the Office of the National Coordinator’s (ONC) request for feedback on the Proposed Interoperability Standards Measurement Framework.
Read MoreMeasurement Framework to Assess Nationwide Progress Related to Interoperable Health Information Exchange to Support the National Quality Strategy
Lantana Consulting Group submitted comments on June 30, 2017 in response to the National Quality Forum’s (NQF) request for comments on the Measurement Framework to Assess Nationwide Progress Related to Interoperable Health Information Exchange to Support the National Quality Strategy.
Read MoreCDA in the Wild: Conclusion (Installment #8)
Clinical Documents were never meant to hold 10 pounds of coded data. CDA is a 5-pound bag, containing the actual words, either written directly by a clinician or spoken and transcribed, with the minimal coding necessary for the use case.
Read MoreWhat is AUR and Why Do We Care?
AUR is more than an airport code for a commune in southern France (Aurillac, if you are curious). AUR is an important facet of public health. Using the Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) reporting module, hospitals can report and analyze antimicrobial use and/or resistance data.
Read MoreNotes from the Field
Recently a team of Lantana clinical analysts had the opportunity to go out in the field. As part of a national field test related to electronic reporting from clinical systems, our team was instrumental in providing hands-on training through site visits, collecting and assessing data on approximately 150 data elements, conducting focus groups, and providing feedback to the client.
Read MoreWorking at Lantana: Annual Retreat
We traveled to Oracle, AZ for our last retreat. We hiked, hosted an employee cocktail competition, sang karaoke, toured an artist commune, explored Biosphere 2 (my personal favorite), and stargazed from a certified dark sky park.
Read MoreRoad Warrior’s Utility Belt
A benefit of Lantana’s virtual structure is the ability to work almost anywhere. Most days, this means working from our home offices (boring!). Occasionally, we truly work from anywhere, setting up a temporary office in a different city or even country. Some of us have worked from cities in India, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, and…
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