Waching daily Feb 18 2019

Department Of Veterans Affairs Official Sentenced To 11 Years In Prison For $2 Million Bribery

Scheme Involving Program For Disabled Military Veterans

A Former U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs (Va) Official Was Sentenced Today For Demanding

And Receiving Bribes From Three For-Profit Schools In Exchange For Enrolling Disabled

Military Veterans In Those Schools And Facilitating Over $2 Million In Payments From The Va Using

The Veterans' Federal Benefits.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski Of The Justice Department's Criminal Division,

U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu For The District Of Columbia, Special Agent In Charge Matthew

J. Desarno Of The Fbi's Washington Field Office's Criminal Division And Special Agent

In Charge Kim Lampkins Of The Va Office Of Inspector General (Oig), Mid-Atlantic Field

Office Made The Announcement.

James King, 63, Of Baltimore, Maryland, Previously Pleaded Guilty To An Information Alleging

One Count Of Honest Services And Money/Property Wire Fraud, One Count Of Bribery Of A Public

Official, And One Count Of Falsifying Records To Obstruct An Investigation.

King Was Sentenced By U.S. District Judge John D. Bates Of The District Of Columbia

To Serve 132 Months In Prison To Be Followed By Three Years Of Supervised Release, And

To Pay $155,000 In Restitution To The Va.

Earlier This Week, Judge Bates Sentenced Three School Owners And Employees Who Admitted To

Bribing King.

Albert Poawui, The Owner Of Atius Technology Institute, Was Sentenced To Serve 70 Months

In Prison And Ordered To Pay $1.5 Million In Restitution.

SomboKanneh, Poawui's Employee, Was Sentenced To Serve 20 Months In Prison And Ordered To

Pay $113,000 In Restitution.

Michelle Stevens, The Owner Of Eelon Training Academy, Was Sentenced To Serve 30 Months

In Prison And Ordered To Pay $83,000 In Restitution.

"James King And His Associates Exploited An Important Va Program That Provides Valuable

Services To Our Disabled Military Veterans," Said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.

"This Prosecution Once Again Demonstrates The Justice Department's Commitment To Hold

Accountable Those Who Seek To Defraud Government Programs For Their Own Personal Enrichment."

"James King Blatantly Betrayed His Responsibility With The Va To Provide Job And Educational

Counseling To Disabled Military Veterans Who Turned To Him For Help," Said U.S. Attorney

Liu.

"Instead Of Helping Our Veterans, He Lined His Own Pockets By Taking Bribes To Send Them

To Three Sham Schools That Brought Them Only Pain And Frustration.

Today's Sentencing Holds Him Accountable For This Breach Of Trust And This Waste Of

Taxpayer Money."

"King Tried To Use His Position To Enrich Himself At The Expense Of Veterans Who Have

Honorably Served Our Country," Said Fbi Special Agent In Charge Desarno.

"Today's Sentencing Makes It Clear That Such Activity By Anyone Affiliated With The

U.S.

Government Will Not Be Tolerated.

The Fbi Will Work Closely With Our Partners To Continue To Aggressively Investigate Allegations

Of Corruption."

"We Are Pleased To See Mr. King, A Person Who Abused His Position Of Trust And The Veterans

He Was Supposed To Serve, Sentenced Today," Said VaOig Special Agent In Charge Lampkins.

"This Sentence Sends A Clear Message That VaOig Is Dedicated To Prosecuting Those That

Take Advantage Of Va Programs That Are Intended To Help Our Veterans And Their Families."

According To King's Admissions Made In Connection With His Plea, The Vocational Rehabilitation

And Employment (Vr&E) Provides Disabled U.S. Military Veterans With Education And Employment-Related

Services.

Vr&E Program Counselors Advise Veterans Under Their Supervision Which Schools To Attend

And Facilitate Payments To Those Schools For Veterans' Tuition And Necessary Supplies.

From 2015 Through 2017, King, Using His Position As A Vr&E Program Counselor, Demanded And

Received Cash Bribes From

For more infomation >> Breaking News Out Of The V.A.- This Is Sick - Duration: 8:05.

-------------------------------------------

Information - The latest news in Healthcare IT – straight to your inbox. - Duration: 2:43.

 Achieving Stage 7 on the HIMSS Analytics EMR Adoption Model is a tall order. It demands that hospitals have totally transcended the paper chart, are using data warehousing and advanced analytics, are able to share clinical information readily with an array of outside entities and are in strict compliance with a range of other exacting requirements for enterprise-wide IT deployment

 WHY IT MATTERS It's worth the effort, as a new report from KLAS, done in cooperation with HIMSS Analytics, shows

Not just for the clinical and operational gains that can be accomplished with that level of technology maturity, but for generally higher levels of physician satisfaction

 At a time where EHR-exacerbated physician burnout is being discussed more than ever, those are interesting findings – suggesting that it's the way technology is deployed, rather than the mere fact of it, that might have the most beneficial impact on doctor productivity and patient care

 Physicians who have access to the full tech suite that comes with Stage 7 are generally more satisfied overall, the new report shows, "having better tools to deliver care, having better functionality, and having better integration

"  Not to say that Stage 7 solves every problem, however, according to KLAS, which notes that in areas that are sticking across healthcare – EHR efficiency, usability, analytics – Stage 7 hospitals have merely similar satisfaction levels as pre–Stage 7 organizations

 Also, the report notes, "EHR training is not of noticeably higher quality at Stage 7 organizations – and in fact, training represents an area where the industry at large has room for improvement

"  That said, "physicians at Stage 7 organizations do report deeper adoption of EHR personalization functionality as well as better teamwork between clinicians and IT personnel," said KLAS researchers

"Stage 7 organizations also boast slightly higher physician job fulfillment."  The report is a collaboration between HIMSS Analytics and KLAS' Arch Collaborative initiative, a provider-led effort to better use measurement, benchmarking and best practices to boost EHR usability and satisfaction

 The Arch Collaborative sees evidence that it's not just technology that's making for more successful providers with more satisfied physicians

Indeed, "EHR success is largely driven by change management (i.e., people and processes)," according to the report

 "This means that in addition to having a good system in place, organizations that are successful with their EHR nearly always provide strong training, ensure the EHR meets users' specific needs (i

e., they encourage personalization), and develop shared ownership."  In an era where more and more physicians are finding that technology is sapping their ability to experience the "joy of medicine," the KLAS report notes that "85

9 percent of physicians at pre-Stage 7 organizations report that they find practicing medicine fulfilling, compared to 86

5 percent of Stage 7 organizations. While this difference is very small, it is important to note that organizations that pursue a more comprehensive information technology offering do not risk hurting their physicians' job fulfillment

"  THE LARGER TREND Once a rarefied distinction, attaining Stage 7 on the EMRAM Model has started to become much more achievable as more and more hospitals and health systems make the effort and investment necessary for a robust IT infrastructure to benefit their physicians and patients

Still, fewer than 7 percent of hospitals in the U.S. have done it.  This past year, 131-bed Los Angeles-based Martin Luther King Jr

Community Hospital told Healthcare IT News how it earned the accomplishment.  ON THE RECORD "To most organizations, EMRAM Stage 7 feels like an incredible mountain to climb, and it is," said KLAS researchers

"However, EMRAM Stage 7 isn't the peak, but rather an important milestone on the journey toward revolutionizing the delivery of healthcare

 "Everyone in this field shares a common hope that the EHR and other information technology, combined with excellent people and new processes, can revolutionize healthcare," they added

"The good news is that industry pioneers are leading the revolution by achieving high levels of technology adoption and also ensuring that their users have the help they need to maximize the technology's value

And it's working. Their physicians report greater confidence that their technology makes a difference

" HIMSS19 Coverage  An inside look at the innovation, education, technology, networking and key events at the HIMSS19 global conference in Orlando

   Twitter: @MikeMiliardHITN Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com