Press Releases
2010
Lumetra Designated as Bay Area Local Extension Center
SAN FRANCISCO, November 5, 2010 —Lumetra Healthcare Solutions, announced its role as a designated Local Extension Center (LEC) for the San Francisco Bay Area to provide EHR technical assistance to primary care providers seeking to participate with the Regional Extension Center program. Funding for the initiative is provided under contract from California Health Information Partnership and Services Organization (CalHIPSO) which is designated by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) as the Regional Extension Center (REC) for 49 counties throughout California.
Under this program Lumetra will offer Priority Primary Care Providers (PPCPs) technical assistance with EHR adoption during the two year program across 8 counties surrounding the Bay Area. The geographic coverage area includes Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties.
Beginning in 2011, participating healthcare providers will become eligible for meaningful use incentives from Medicare or Medi-Cal, ranging between $44,000 to $64,000 per… Read More
Lumetra PSO Joins Forces With iSOFT Solutions
SAN FRANCISCO, March 1, 2010 — The Lumetra Patient Safety Organization (LPSO), a federally listed component PSO, announced today a strategic partnership with Australia’s iSOFT Group Limited (iSOFT), a world leader in health information technology, including incident management software. Under the agreement, Lumetra PSO will use, distribute and support iSOFT’s AIMS incident management software to provide comprehensive solutions for healthcare providers and Patient Safety Organizations who want to reduce the complexity and cost of their patient safety and risk management programs.
In making the announcement, the CEO of Lumetra Healthcare Solutions, Linda M. Sawyer, PhD, RN, stated, “With our software and services approach to improving patient safety, Lumetra PSO offers reporting of data, analysis of issues and the formulation of corrective action plans that meet the needs of healthcare organizations and their providers in reducing costs incurred by adverse events. The combination of our world-class service with iSOFT’s AIMS software will provide unparalleled solutions for organizations committed to improving their… Read More
2009
Lumetra Healthcare Solutions Begins Contract with City and County of San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO, December 8, 2009 — Lumetra Healthcare Solutions announced today that its consultants commenced work on a new 11-month contract with The City and County of San Francisco to assess, design, and plan for a model of care and organizational effectiveness development program for the new campus of Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center.
Commenting on the project, Linda M. Sawyer, PhD, RN, Lumetra Healthcare Solutions’ CEO, said: “Congratulations to the team and our partners, B & F Consulting and Barbary Coast Consulting, for this significant win. Together, we will be assisting Laguna Honda Hospital as they prepare to move into their wonderful new state of the art facility that will provide the best care possible for their long-term care residents.”
She continued, “The Lumetra team will partner with Laguna Honda staff and the City Team in enhancing resident/patient-directed care by assessing their current care practices, comparing these to national best practices, and proposing a world class model of care and corresponding… Read More
New Name and Strategy to Meet New Challenges
SAN FRANCISCO, November 16, 2009 — Linda M. Sawyer, PhD, RN, Chief Executive Officer today announced LUMETRA HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS as the new name and presented a new logo for the 25-year old San Francisco-based healthcare consulting organization, formerly known as Lumetra.
“The needs of healthcare business are changing, driven as much by economic necessity as by pending reform legislation,” said Dr. Sawyer. “Our nation’s healthcare system can no long afford to solve problems in silos. We need comprehensive solutions that enable healthcare to do more with less while improving patient outcomes. Our restructured consulting services respond to that challenge by delivering an integrated clinical, analytical, and technological solution for the business of healthcare, reducing complexity and cost.”
Today’s announcement is accompanied by a restructuring that includes the merger of its Illumisys division into Lumetra Healthcare Solutions and a reorganization of client services. Illumisys’ staff, contracts, and clients are now absorbed into the parent organization. Client services have been reorganized around… Read More
Lumetra Wins Major Contract from the Department of Veterans Affairs
SAN FRANCISCO, October 22, 2009 — Lumetra is pleased to announce that the Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded the California-based healthcare consulting organization a contract for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Protected Clinical Peer Review Services. Effective on September 30, 2009, the contract is for a one-year period, with the VHA having the choice to exercise four option years.
Clinical peer review is a critical review of an episode of care performed by a peer and/or group of peers. Lumetra’s contract calls upon the company to address these two objectives:
- To assess the accuracy and adequacy of clinical peer review conducted internally within a VHA Medical Center through an audit of randomly selected as well as high-risk cases
- To provide external expertise in order to conduct the primary clinical peer review of selected episodes of care, either upon request of a facility or for other special circumstances
Lumetra has an extensive and robust peer review network of physicians, surgeons,… Read More
Lumetra Announces Sale of Subsidiary Integriguard
SAN FRANCISCO, September 29, 2009 — Lumetra, the San Francisco-based healthcare solutions consulting organization, announced today the completion of the sale of its IntegriGuard subsidiary to HMS (NASDAQ: HMSY), a publicly traded company.
In making the announcement, Linda M. Sawyer, PhD, RN, Lumetra’s Chief Executive Officer, stated: “The sale of IntegriGuard is a significant milestone in the implementation of our strategic plan and allows Lumetra to focus on our core business and clients, driving the advancement of healthcare through evidence-based solutions and technology.”
IntegriGuard was formed in 1999 as a national division of Lumetra focusing on the prevention and detection of fraud and abuse in healthcare systems. It was established as a wholly-owned subsidiary in April 2003. The sale is effective immediately.
About Lumetra
Lumetra provides reliable professional services and sustainable solutions through integrated clinical, technological, and analytic expertise to transform the delivery and administration of healthcare.
Lucinda Chan, PharmD Joins Lumetra as Consulting Pharmacist
SAN FRANCISCO, March 24, 2009 — Lumetra is pleased to announce the appointment of Lucinda Chan, Pharm D, as a Consulting Pharmacist. Dr. Chan has over 25 years of experience in the practice of clinical pharmacy, encompassing home infusion, computer database and software development, hospital, ambulatory care, pharmacy residency teaching and retail.
“Improving medication safety is essential to reforming America’s healthcare system. Dr. Chan brings a wealth of experience and an exciting vision on how to enhance medication safety and adherence so that consumers have the best possible outcomes,” said Linda Sawyer, PhD, RN, Lumetra’s Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Chan served as Pharmacy Manager/Facility Manager at Walgreen’s Home Care where she developed and helped design the first Northern California Home Care facility for Walgreens Co. Prior to this position she worked as a Clinical Pharmacist at Coram Healthcare, Critical Care Systems, and First DataBank. She has also served as Supervisor of Outpatient Pharmacy at California Pacific Medical Center in San… Read More
Lumetra Designated Patient Safety Organization
SAN FRANCISCO, February 10, 2009 — Lumetra, an independent nonprofit organization, has been designated a Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the health services research arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As a PSO, Lumetra provides a secure environment to collect, aggregate, and analyze information regarding the quality and safety of care delivered in any healthcare setting. With this certification, Lumetra is poised to further extend its national reach in providing evidence-based solutions to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and integrity of healthcare delivery across all settings.
“Patient safety makes good business sense,” says Dr. Linda Sawyer, Lumetra’s Chief Executive Officer. “Medical errors, adverse drug events, and hospital-acquired infections are among the most prevalent and preventable patient safety hazards, not only costing patient lives and affecting patient wellbeing, but also impacting productivity and costing hospitals and other providers billions of dollars each year. Organizations investing in patient safety… Read More
2008
Lumetra Names Linda Sawyer New Chief Executive Officer
SAN FRANCISCO, Wednesday, December 3, 2008 — The Board of Directors of Lumetra is pleased to announce the appointment of Linda M. Sawyer, PhD, RN, as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Sawyer previously served as Lumetra’s Chief Operating Officer. In that capacity she held program leadership and contract management responsibility for the organization’s private and public sector contracts.
“Linda’s leadership, intellect, dedication, experience, and judgment make her the ideal choice for leading Lumetra into the future,” says James Gomez, Chair, Lumetra’s Board of Directors, President and Chief Executive Officer, California Association of Health Facilities.
Dr. Sawyer succeeds Jo Ellen H. Ross, who co-founded Lumetra and served as its President and CEO during the past 25 years. Ms Ross recently stepped down from the organization’s executive leadership, though will continue as a consultant to the Board and staff. “Under her visionary leadership, the work of Lumetra improved the healthcare system and lives of millions of Californians,” said Gomez “We all are deeply… Read More
Lumetra Wins Contract with Abu Dhabi Health Authority
SAN FRANCISCO, September 3, 2008 — The Health Authority—Abu Dhabi has contracted with Lumetra, a California healthcare quality consulting firm, to improve the Authority’s clinical review system and perform medical reviews of select cases generated by patient complaints.
The contract runs for three years, and is valued at approximately $800,000.
“This is the kind of work we’ve been doing since we started out 24 years ago, reviewing clinical issues and problems brought to light by patient complaints,” says Chris Hottinger, Vice President of Business Development for Lumetra. “It’s nice to know we can benefit health care systems around the world with our expert clinical staff.”
The Health Authority—Abu Dhabi (HAAD) provides healthcare services to residents of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It is also responsible for regulatory issues intended to ensure the healthcare provided at its 46 primary care centers and eight hospitals is of the highest quality.
The work Lumetra will do for HAAD includes performing independent clinical reviews of… Read More
