See how a FQHC successfully transition to a unified Epic EHR system in the OCHIN hosted network through reliable Epic help desk support.

Although undertaking an EHR system transition can be daunting for healthcare organizations, establishing a comprehensive support plan is crucial for efficient and seamless project completion. See seven core steps for the EHR transition process.

While heath systems are eager to solve a host of operational inefficiencies through promising AI technologies, it is important to first establish a practical framework for AI utilization. See four insights from Part I of our healthcare AI guide.

In an effort toward continued growth, Stoltenberg has looked for ways to enhance services and security. See our FAQ for our exciting new role in the MTS family of brands.

While contending with ongoing resource strain, competitor movement, rising costs, and industry turbulence, what can healthcare leaders do to boost finances? See five steps for RCM optimization.

Listen to our latest podcast episode and view the interview transcript for Stoltenberg's recent discussion on strategically coordinating the business office, IT, and vendor systems to elicit hospital revenue cycle optimization.

As an ongoing setback across U.S. healthcare, nearly 63% of physicians report burnout symptoms. IT inefficiencies contribute to burnout's trickle down impact on organizational efficiency and patient care. See four ways in which meaningful, clinically-focused tech support can help curb physician burnout.

With an ongoing qualified HIT resource shortage, hospitals should evaluate current support models, gauging their capacity to withstand talent competition, workload and budgetary pressures. See three steps for leveraging a blended support IT staffing model.

See three distinct challenges hospitals currently face due to the rapid installation or expansion of telehealth solutions during the pandemic and ways to fix them for the long term.

From health tech leadership lessons learned to IT department future plans and priorities for the next 12-18 months, we've highlighted four major takeaways from hospital and health system CIOs from the CHIME virtual partner education series.

Looking back on the past three decades and the significant evolution of the hospital CIO role, our team compiled four core leadership takeaways from CHIME member colleagues that will resonate with healthcare organizations of all sizes for the future of health IT.

Stoltenberg named Melissa Jost, who serves as both the Director of Informatics and Director of Clinician Health and Wellbeing at UC Davis Health, as the recipient of the 2022 Stoltenberg Future Fund Scholarship for CHIME education.

Considering utilizing a health IT consulting firm? Read the answers to the top four questions from new hospital and health system clients for EHR support projects.

See answers to the top 10 hospital CIO questions for initiating an EHR system legacy support contract.

In part II of this series, see three additional best practices hospital CIOs can adopt to smooth the processes involved in planning and making multi-jump EHR new version upgrades, including designating team responsibilities, scheduling the go-live timeframe and coordinating communication.

Despite continuous efforts, the healthcare industry still lags behind others in consumer experience efforts. See HIMSS Central and Southern Ohio Fall Conference participants' real-life engagement tactics to meaningfully amplify the patient experience moving forward.

As a third-party advisory firm, at Stoltenberg Consulting, we are often asked by clients and industry connections, "Are user group meetings really worth it?" This question especially looms as health IT events reemerge, both in-person and virtually, yet hospital IT departments still struggle with COVID-19 era budget cuts.

In the compiling list of IT responsibilities, EHR system new version upgrades may seem like a major nuisance for many healthcare facilities, especially in mapping out and testing the updates' impact on coordinating systems and applications, scheduling the actual go-live time, and designating responsibilities. In these vital decisions that enable continued system support and cross-organizational flow and functionality, any wrong move could trickle to unanticipated downtime, priority-one tickets, and limited clinician or business office access to patient records and claims processing. Enabling competitive health system growth and operational efficiency, utilize the following four best practice recommendations to make the most of EHR vendor relationships and successfully lead upgrade planning and implementation.

According to a Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) report, on average, physician practices and groups surveyed reported a 55% decrease in revenue and a 60% decrease in patient volume since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Hospital Association (AHA) found that U.S. hospitals collectively lost $36.6 billion just from March to June 2020 alone. During this continued significant financial hit, cash flow is key for facility survival. Cash flow is generated from several key sources. Time of service copay collection, outstanding A/R collection and reduced A/P balances are all examples. The productivity and efficiency of financial performance starts with strong cash flow.

With in-person conferences cancelled this year, most healthcare leaders have missed the opportunity to network with peers to exchange ideas and pain points impacting their health systems during the pandemic. In coordination with the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), Stoltenberg Consulting recently gathered 13 healthcare executives to pinpoint best practices for agile IT support to maximize current EHR investments. We've highlighted four major takeaways from the c-suite focus group, starting with IT support team flexibility.

Stoltenberg Consulting announced today that Erin Osbourn is the 2020 recipient of the Stoltenberg Future Fund Scholarship for secondary education through the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).

Information governance (IG) is not a new concept to the financial world, but IG initiatives are still experiencing slow adoption across the healthcare industry. In an American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) survey of more than 1,200 participants, 32 percent of healthcare organizations had not yet made progress with IG, while 24 percent deemed IG as not a priority.

Balancing the constant pandemic anxiety with economic concerns, remote work transitions, workforce turbulence, and family responsibilities including child care and schooling needs has been a major undertaking. To help gain a sense of self back in your hectic life, see the following five self-care tips to manage your strained work-life balance.

See five tactics to help optimize technology investments to meet the evolving expectations of both end-users and patients.

Amidst the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic, cyber criminals are trying to take advantage of individuals and organizations' fear and fragile state. Even frontline agencies are major cybercrime targets at this time. As we're glued to our devices for constant COVID-19 updates, read now for tips for handling current cybersecurity threats lurking.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, many staff across the country are now working remotely for the first time. As a company that has been fortunate to operate mostly remotely over the years, we wanted to share our best practices to individuals making this work format transition for the first time.

HIMSS20 Annual Healthcare IT Conference is quickly approaching as the biggest industry event of the year. Gear up for this fast-paced health IT experience in the sunshine state, and start your conference preparation with this session list.

Part I of this two-part series addressed flex work hours, remote work and staff retention as considerations for workplace flexibility in the healthcare industry. As the industry becomes increasingly limited for qualified resources amidst baby boomer retirement and more competitive hiring, look to these final considerations for mutually-beneficial employment best practices.

Since hiring firms and health systems look at piles of resumés each day, the first impression is vital. To stand out, check out six tips for healthcare IT analyst resumés.

Regardless of your specific HIT software or application specialty, the questions interviewers ask and the topics they touch on are often similar across the industry.

The EHR market is set to grow to $39.7 billion by 2022. As patients and providers alike push for better access to data for informed care management and decision-making, healthcare organizations are making significant investments in their EHR systems for cohesive care coordination in the transition to value-based care.

We have all heard the saying, "the customer is always right." Consumers should drive how a business functions, next steps and where the industry is headed. In healthcare, it is no different. Patients expectations are raising higher standards in technology, experience and outcomes. The providers who fail to recognize the patient-centric culture forming will struggle to stay competitive.

After gathering feedback during the lengthy comment period, Acting Administrator of CMS, Seema Verma said, "During my visits with clinicians across the country, I've heard many concerns about the impact burdensome regulations have on their ability to care for patients. These rules move the agency in a new direction and begin to ease that burden by strengthening the patient-doctor relationship, empowering patients to realize the value of their care over volume of tests, and encouraging innovation and competition within the American healthcare system."

The first reporting year of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) is officially underway, but many physicians and healthcare organizations across the country still struggle with comprehending where they stand. Providers no longer have time for guessing. Instead, healthcare organizations must create and maintain strategic plans for reimbursement, covering everything from who will head MACRA initiatives to what reporting measures best match organizational strengths. Let's begin by answering some key questions about the final rule.

After a slew of feedback from healthcare and HIT professional organizations, like CHIME, AMA and MGMA, CMS announced new flexibilities in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) final rule. Though CMS released the final ruling several weeks ago, physicians still struggle to grasp the impact or even understand what the new reimbursement structure is.

Congratulations to all the Most Powerful Women in Healthcare IT honorees! Its incredible to have been a part of this first-ever event for female leaders in the industry and celebrate all their dedication and achievements.

When you think about individuals in a hospital c-suite, what characteristics come to mind? Perhaps passion and drive with combined analytical and relational skills? These characteristics unite to meet the needs of today's patients and industry demands while aiding cross-organizational collaboration. Collaboration is a critical component in leading a complex and integrated healthcare system of care. No longer can separate facets of a healthcare organization operate in individual information silos, and CIOs hold an increasingly important role in connecting a hospital through technology.

As Stoltenberg Consulting continues its 20th anniversary celebration, we thought we'd have a little fun looking back to 1995- the year that Sheri Stoltenberg, founder and CEO of Stoltenberg Consulting, Inc., started it all.

Last Thursday, we were thrilled to announce that Stoltenberg Consulting strengthened its legacy of renowned healthcare IT consulting services by earning not one, but two 2014 Best in KLAS awards!

After our team's recent participation at the Ohio Northern University Fall Career Fair, we felt we'd share some tips for college students and young professionals preparing for the often-overwhelming career fair.

At Stoltenberg Consulting, we're excited to celebrate the growth of our unique health IT education initiative the Consultant Development Program. To date, 13 consultants have graduated from the program designed to provide hospitals with first-time certified consultants to alleviate the HIT staffing shortage plaguing the industry.

Responses noted that big data is too intimidating (7%), the tools and strategies to address big data aren't available yet (22%) and other HIT initiatives such as ICD-10 or Stage 3 MU are taking precedence over big data (31%), while the majority of respondents said most organizations don't know what to do with all their data (40%). Because these responses are all interconnected in various ways, let's address each one.

In our second post in our HIMSS Industry Outlook Survey series, we discuss the highly buzzed about topic- ICD-10. Conducted back at the HIMSS Annual Conference, our survey found that a majority (47%) of respondents felt that ICD-10 is the biggest topic of the year. Knowing this, we fast-forward to today with the recent U.S. Senate vote to delay the ICD-10 compliance date by one year.

The HIMSS convention from a first-time perspective is both a humbling and empowering experience. HIMSS was hosted in Orlando, Florida and closed out with over 38,000 attendees. Even more impressive, the list of exhibitors encompassed 1,233 booths throughout the exhibit hall.

We are extremely proud to announce that Stoltenberg Consulting has been named Category Leader in Staff Augmentation two years in a row for the Best in KLAS Software and Services Report. Stoltenberg was also ranked among the top ten firms in the Clinical Implementation Supportive category for the company's expertise in Cerner, Epic and Siemens consulting services.

If you didn't attend the South Florida HIMSS event last week, you missed an amazing CIO roundtable discussion with the opportunity to learn the latest trends from powerhouse CIOs like Miami Children's SVP & CIO Ed Martinez. Martinez discussed how he's helping to transform healthcare delivery to children all over the world through Telemedicine.

Stoltenberg participated by sponsoring the CIO Boot Camp Closing Reception, hosting the first ever Women of CHIME Networking Event, and holding a Fall Forum Focus Group, while making time to attend sessions, meet with media, and attend networking events.

The recently released HIMSS Workforce Study highlighted some important issues that many in the industry have been encountering firsthand for a while now. While the factors contributing to the current situation continue to change almost as fast as technology changes around us, we must look at how our organizations can adapt and thrive in this environment. Enacting programs that both attract employees and help increase staff retention are critical.