EmpowerSystems™ Empower Inpatient+Ambulatory™ EHR has achieved Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Certification via Drummond Group LLC, an Authorized Certification Body (ACB). The stamp of approval designates the software delivers the required functionality in support of enabling eligible providers and hospitals to meet the requirements of various regulatory programs that involve the use of certified electronic health records (EHR) technology.
“This Health IT Module is compliant with the ONC Certification Criteria for Health IT and has been certified by an ONC-ACB in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”
Any additional types of costs that an EP, EH, or CAH would pay to implement the Complete EHR’s or Health IT Module’s capabilities in order to attempt to meet meaningful use objectives and measures. Developers must also include any material product technical or contractual limitations. Refer to the Drummond Group Mandatory Disclosure Statement details below. EHR technology self-developers are excluded from this requirement.
Identify the capability and associated certification criteria.
Describe, in plain language, the intended and other reasonable uses of the capability as marketed.
Types of costs or fees that a user may be required to pay to purchase, license, implement, maintain, upgrade, use, or otherwise enable and support the use of the implementation or use of the capability -OR- in connection with the data generated in the course using the capability.
Considerations of a contractual nature (including developer policies and other business practices) that a user may encounter in the implementation or use of the capability -OR- in the connection with the data generated in the course of using the capability.
Considerations of a technical or practical nature that a user may encounter that could prevent or impair the successful implementation, configuration, maintenance, support or use of the capability -OR- prevent or limit the use, exchange or portability of any data generated in the course of using the capability.
Capability:
What costs/fees may a user incur to implement or use the certified software?
Description of Capability:
Certain fixed costs and one-time fees are necessary to absorbed by both vendor and client. Empower seeks to be efficient and limit any extra costs wherever possible. Within the EHR market, Empower places far fewer demands on clients’ technical infrastructure due to the speed and efficiency of the system architecture.
Costs or Fees
EmpowerSystems™ EHR clients must supply standard hardware and support software for the operation of the product. In most cases, existing hardware/software infrastructure is sufficient to run the EmpowerSystems™ Inpatient+Ambulatory™ product, however upgrades may be required on a case-by-case basis. These additional costs are at the discretion of the hospital client and EmpowerSystems™ only provides standard recommendations on hardware and support software products. Empower Systems™ provides 24/7/365 support for Emergent and Non-Emergent technical support issues related to the Empower products. The cost of this service is in addition to the Licensing fees required.
Contractual Considerations:
No contractual considerations.
Technical or Practical Considerations:
No technical or practical considerations.
Capability:
Are these costs/fees fixed, one-time, recurring, ongoing, monthly, transaction based, annual, etc.?
Description of Capability:
Certain fixed costs and one-time fees are necessary to absorbed by both vendor and client. Empower seeks to be efficient and limit any extra costs wherever possible. Within the EHR market, Empower places far fewer demands on clients’ technical infrastructure due to the speed and efficiency of the system architecture.
Costs or Fees
Hardware and support software costs will recur based on variables managed by the client’s information technology support staff. Replacing hardware is an ongoing technology expense for all hospitals. Support software expenses are recurring based on third party vendor requirements of licensing and upgrades. These are not within the control of EmpowerSystems™ nor to some extent the client. Maintenance and support fees payable to Empower Systems™ are either annual or monthly and do not increase beyond industry standard increases.
Contractual Considerations:
No contractual considerations.
Technical or Practical Considerations:
No technical or practical considerations.
Capability:
Are there factors that impact additional types of costs, including but not limited to geographical considerations, volume and usage, costs associated with facilities without prior payment and/or approval by EmpowerSystems™ per the terms of the Licensing agreement. necessary interfaces or other licenses or technology, and costs associated with exchange partner technology and characteristics, among other relevant factors?
Description of Capability:
Capability is flexible, but limited to technical specfications and contractual terms (see Contractual Considerations).
Costs or Fees
EmpowerSystems™ places no considerations on workstations, volume of transactions or usage, or associated bandwidth considerations. These considerations may exist based on client facility logistics or the terms and conditions of hardware and support software vendors. EmpowerSystems™ does place considerations on licenses where the software is deployed. Clients cannot install the EmpowerSystems™ EHR at additional facilities without prior payment and/or approval by EmpowerSystems™ per the terms of the Licensing agreement.
Contractual Considerations:
Contractual considerations are specified in the standard Licensing Agreement and Maintenance Agreement.
Technical or Practical Considerations:
No technical or practical considerations.
Capability:
Does a provider have to sign a contract when purchasing your product? Does the contract impose limitations that could limit the implementation or use of certified capabilities or the data generated by these capabilities?
Description of Capability:
Empower offers clients some flexibility in the contractual terms of their 2015 Edition product upgrade. The only limitations that may be imposed on client’s data generation functionality will be directly tied to the modules they choose to have installed, or opt not to be installed.
Costs or Fees
Costs are determined by the current version of Empower that each client is utilizing. If multiple versions must be upgraded, project costs may be higher. Additionally, each client has different modules installed. For example, some clients only utilize the Emergency Department EHR solution, while others utilize ED and Inpatient modules. The scope of the modules used determines the costs/fees billed to clients for the upgrade from the Pre-2015 Certified Edition to the 2015 Certified Edition.
Contractual Considerations:
New clients are required to sign a standard Software Licensing agreement as well as Maintenance/Technical support agreement. Existing clients are required to sign a standard contract with costs that offset vendor expenses to execute the upgrade from pre-2015 Edition software versions.
Technical or Practical Considerations:
No technical or practical considerations.
Capability:
Are there business policies or practices that may cause considerations in the implementation or use of certified capabilities?
Description of Capability:
Business policy mandates that clients confirm the scope of functionality desired and agree to the related contractual terms. The only considerations that may be imposed on client’s data generation functionality will be directly tied to the modules they choose to have installed, or opt not to be installed.
Costs or Fees
Business policy determines the costs associated with the current version of Empower that each client is utilizing. If multiple versions must be upgraded, project costs may be higher. Additionally, each client has different modules installed. For example, some clients only utilize the Emergency Department EHR solution, while others utilize ED and Inpatient modules. The scope of the modules used determines the costs/fees billed to clients for the upgrade from the Pre-2015 Certified Edition to the 2015 Certified Edition.
Contractual Considerations:
The primary considerations related to implementation or use of the EmpowerSystems certified capabilities are included in the contracts for new client installations or existing client product upgrades.
Technical or Practical Considerations:
There are no technical or practical considerations associated with the business policies related to client upgrades to the 2015 Edition certified product.
Capability:
Is it necessary for the user to engage with a third party?
Description of Capability:
Certain specialized technical functions are provided by 3rd party vendors, primarily in the areas of data sharing.
Costs or Fees
When 3rd party vendors are required, costs and fees must be reviewed by the clientand mutually agreed upon.
Contractual Considerations:
At times it may be necessary for hospital clients to engage third party services if they desire functionality that is beyond the scope of Empower Systems ONC Certified software. This is determined on a case-by-case basis.
Technical or Practical Considerations:
Some inbound and/or outbound data feed functionality is accomplished with the use of 3rd party vendors which Empower provides. These vendors have their own technical and/or practical considerations which are communicated and mutually agreed upon by client, Empower, and the 3rd party vendor.
Capability:
If necessary to engage with a third party, to your knowledge, is there an agreement that providers must enter into with this third party?
Description of Capability:
Each 3rd party vendor will determine what types of agreements will be required of providers. In some cases, Empower establishes internal agreements to streamline the process. In other instances, some 3rd party vendors must contract directly with providers.
Costs or Fees
When 3rd party vendors are required, costs and fees must be reviewed by the client and mutually agreed upon.
Contractual Considerations:
In cases where new or existing clients request functionality that is beyond the scope of the currently ONC certified software, they will contract directly with the third party. Empower projection management teams assist in coordination of such custom integration client requests.
Technical or Practical Considerations:
3rd party vendors have their own technical and/or practical considerations which are communicated and mutually agreed upon by client, Empower, and the 3rd party vendor.
Capability:
If there are third parties involved, are there any considerations on who they choose for this service?
Description of Capability:
Empower is generally flexible inworking with 3rd party vendors. The core functionality of Empower’s 2015 Edition will be provided in conjunction with specific, expert vendors with which Empower has completed complex integration measures. In terms of State-mandated data sharing, each client will likely choose a 3rd party vendor able to specialize in their state-based mandates; Empower then partners with this vendor in conjunction with the Empower client.
Costs or Fees
In these cases, the costs will be established by the 3rd party vendor and generally contracted directly between vendor and hospital. If necessary, Empower will then establish a Statement of Work agreement between Empower and the hospital to provide the collaborative services needed.
Contractual Considerations:
Considerations that may exist would be related to the product platform and integration specifications of the 3rd party contracts.
Technical or Practical Considerations:
3rd party vendors have their own technical and/or practical considerations which are communicated and mutually agreed upon by client, Empower, and the 3rd party vendor.
Capability:
Are there any product considerations that could prevent or impair the implementation, configuration, maintenance, support or use of a certified capability?
Description of Capability:
Empower will secure certification for all module functionality as required by its business model. If any elements are excluded, but a client requests they are provided, Empower will review that on a case-by-case basis.
Costs or Fees
If special needs are identified by individual clients, but not required by most clients, additional fees may be involved.
Contractual Considerations:
Empower’s primary 2015 Edition product upgrade agreement cannot take into account all potential special needs of individual clients. Thus, there may be contractual considerations by the standard Empower upgrade agreement. However, Empower can provide addenda agreements to accomplish supplemental services that a client may desire outside of the standard scope of services.
Technical or Practical Considerations:
If a client requests custom functionality outside of the scope of the required 2015 Edition modular certification, there may be technical considerations present. Empower is generally willing to review these instances on a case-by-case basis and seek to provide additional services if the client finds them necessary. To be clear, these technical considerations would only be things that are OUTSIDE the scope of required 2015 Edition module testing components.
Capability:
Are there any considerations of workstations or licenses where the software is deployed, volume of transactions or usage, or associated bandwidth considerations?
Description of Capability:
Each client facility determines its own workstation volume, configuration, access, and processing power. If client’s IT infrastructure is insufficient to support basic functionality, Empower would consult with client to determine what changes may be suggested.
Costs or Fees
If client’s IT infrastructure is sub-par and upgrades are needed, additional costs maybe involved. Empower’s system architecture is built to be fast, light, and not processor-heavy. Thus, any client that can’t support it’s general processing needs would have severely outdated hardware and support software and need to upgrade to use virtually any software product.
Contractual Considerations:
Empower contractually requires minimal hardware and support software infrastructure. If client’s choose to utilize sub-par IT equipment it may impede functionality, but Empower does not view this as a breach of contract, especially in cases where client hospital budgets do not have sufficient funds to maintain current hardware and support software.
Technical or Practical Considerations:
The only technical considerations that may exist would be related to a client having subpar, outdated computer hardware and/or support software. In those cases, Empower would help guide client toward cost-effective solutions to such a problem.
Capability:
Are there any considerations that a user may encounter regarding the exchange or portability of any data generated when using the capability?
Description of Capability:
The ONC Certified 2015 Edition Empower product will meet all required functionality for each of its certified modules. The only considerations that may occur would be in cases where the client is seeking to exchange data in a manner that is outside the ONC requirements.
Costs or Fees
The ONC Certified 2015 Edition Empower product will meet all required functionality for each of its certified modules. The only considerations that may occur would be in cases where the client is seeking to exchange data in a manner that is outside the ONC requirements. Costs and fees may be involved if custom software development is required by client.
Contractual Considerations:
The ONC Certified 2015 Edition Empower product will meet all required functionality for each of its certified modules. The only considerations that may occur would be in cases where the client is seeking to exchange data in a manner that is outside the ONC requirements. Supplemental functionality will be considered by Empower for development upon execution of a Statement of Work agreement.
Technical or Practical Considerations:
The ONC Certified 2015 Edition Empower product will meet all required functionality for each of its certified modules. The only considerations that may occur would be in cases where the client is seeking to exchange data in a manner that is outside the ONC requirements. There will be no ONC-related technical considerations imposed by Empower’s Certified product.
Capability:
Are there considerations with non-certified capabilities that may interfere with the use or implementation of any certified capabilities?
Description of Capability:
There are no apparent considerations with non-certified capabilities that may interfere with the use or implementation of any certified capabilities.
Costs or Fees
There are no apparent considerations with non-certified capabilities that may interfere with the use or implementation of any certified capabilities that would incur costs or fees.
Contractual Considerations:
There are no apparent considerations with non-certified capabilities that may interfere with the use or implementation of any certified capabilities or be contractually prohibited.
Technical or Practical Considerations:
There are no apparent considerations with non-certified capabilities that may interfere with the use or implementation of any certified capabilities from a technical standpoint.