Edition Forty-Two (4/13/10)

I.T. Extension Centers Will Help Primary Care, ONC Says
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 4/9/10
HHS' $267 million in funding for regional extension centers, or RECs, will mean an easier road to Meaningful Use for primary-care providers.

CHIME: Time is Top Certification Concern
HealthSystemCIO, 4/8/10
CHIME is concerned the introduction of a two-stage approach for certification will prolong the current instability in the health I.T. marketplace, according to the organization in its comment letter to ONC.

State HIEs Weigh in on Meaningful Use Rule
Health Data Management, 4/8/10
A coalition of 13 state HIE initiatives is calling on federal officials to deem eligible providers as meeting HIE Meaningful Use criteria if they have a participation agreement in place with a qualified HIE network.

Friedman Sees Big Potential in SHARP Research
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 4/8/10
In just a couple of years, ONC will be looking for tangible results from the $60 million investment in the Strategic Health I.T. Advanced Research Projects.

AHRQ Awards $40M to Set-up HIT Research Center
Government Health IT, 4/8/10
AHRQ awarded almost $40 million in contracts to help equip and stand up the Health I.T. Research Center, a national organization designed to support the recently funded health I.T. regional extension centers.

Guiding the Health Information
Health Affairs, 4/7/10
Health Affairs asked Brailer to interview his colleague and successor Blumenthal for his perspective on the pace of progress and on the issues ahead.

Advisors Comment on Certification Rule
Health Data Management, 4/7/10
The HIT Policy Committee has sent two letters with a series of recommendations on the proposed rule to establish temporary and permanent programs to test and certify EHRs.

EHRs Improve Patient Contact, Distract Docs: Study
Modern Healthcare, subscription required, 4/7/10
EHR systems can be a boon and a bane to physician-patient communications, according to a new report.

Carefully Examine EHR Implementation: Study
Modern Healthcare, subscription required, 4/7/10 
While the use of EHRs has been shown to improve quality of care and patient safety, the reality for most adopters has not been nearly as promising, according to a study.

HIT Panel Wants Certification Labeling for EHRs
Government Health IT, 4/6/10
The federal Health I.T. Policy Committee recommended health I.T. vendors use labels to clarify their products are certified to satisfy first-stage requirements for Meaningful Use in order to ward off potential confusion.

ONC Goes to Work on a 'Lighter' Network
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 4/6/10
NHIN Direct is a lighter-weight version of the proposed national health information network, which has been the focus of a six-year federal effort to promote a “network of networks” to facilitate interoperability between EHRs.

Current EHRs Have Limited Quality, Efficiency Effect: Study
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 4/6/10
In spite of the ever-increasing push to implement EHRs, the link between EHR adoption and subsequent improvements in quality of care and efficiency is weak, according to a study.

Survey: Mixed Bag on Security Readiness
Health Data Management, 4/5/10
An updated biannual report from HIMSS shows health organizations take data security compliance seriously but may be missing the big picture.

Senate Dems: Make Meaningful Use Flexible
Health Data Management, 4/5/10
Thirty-seven Democratic members of the U.S. Senate have sent a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking for changes in the proposed Meaningful Use rule.

ONC Awards $60M for Health I.T. ‘Breakthroughs'
Government Health IT, 4/2/10
ONC announced $60 million in grant awards to four advanced research institutions to promote “breakthrough research” and innovative methods to solve health I.T. challenges.

Most HITS Readers Would Consider Open-Source EHR
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 4/2/10
Nearly two thirds of Health I.T. Strategist readers responding to a poll indicate they are keeping an open mind when it comes to open-source software.

E-Health Records: Should FDA Help Certify?
InformationWeek, 4/1/10
The Health I.T. Policy Committee's certification workgroup is considering whether working with the FDA to craft a certification program for EHRs would improve patient safety, using the agency's Quality Systems Regulation as a point of reference. 

Is 'Speak No Evil' a Contract Clause?
Health Data Management, 4/1/10
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), ranking member of the Finance Committee, is investigating reports EHRs and CPOE systems are plagued with flaws which can result in patient or financial harm.

Senators Request Flexibility in Meaningful Use Compliance
Government Health IT, 4/1/10
A group of 37 Democratic senators asked Kathleen Sebelius to revise the proposed Meaningful Use plan so providers could have more flexibility in meeting the deadlines for satisfying some of the criteria for the financial incentives. 

Chopra Advocates Meaningful Use ‘How-to’ Site
Government Health IT, 3/31/10
A group advising HHS wants to post guidelines and how-to resources on the Internet to help providers and vendors meet the requirements of Meaningful Use.

Privacy Concerns Surface Over ONC Data Project
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 3/31/10
In response to his own rhetorical question whether the ONC was using an information exchange development model created by the Justice Department and the Homeland Security Department to create “a Trojan horse” to funnel patient data to the Justice Department, CIA, and NSA, among others, Blumenthal answered “absolutely no.”

Can Broadband Really Save Health Care?
HealthLeaders, 3/30/10
The government is excited about the potential of greater broadband access to improve the U.S. health care system. Part of the National Broadband Plan report released by the FCC gushes about health I.T., e-health, m-health, telehealth, and EMRs.

Blumenthal Discusses Federal Health I.T. Strategy, Timeline
iHealthBeat, 3/30/10
In a recent interview with iHealthBeat, David Blumenthal discussed the timeline for issuing final rules on Meaningful Use, standards and certification criteria, and the likelihood of the country meeting Obama's goal of providing all Americans with an EHR by 2014.

HHS Panel Advises on Data Glitches that Affect Patient Safety
Federal Computer Week, 3/29/10
Hospitals and doctors should be required to report data glitches which create “hazards and near-misses” affecting patient safety to a national patient safety organization starting in 2013, according to recommendations proposed by an HHS advisory workgroup.

Berwick to Lead CMS
Health Data Management, 3/29/10
Obama will nominate Donald Berwick, M.D., president and CEO at the Institute for Health Care Improvement, as administrator of CMS.

Study: Proper EHR Documentation Can Reduce Diagnosis Errors
Fierce Health IT, 3/29/10
A new paper in the New England Journal of Medicine examines how clinical documentation in EHRs can help reduce diagnostic errors.

Survey: Mixed Results on Meaningful Use Impact
Health Data Management, 3/29/10
According to a survey, nearly half of small physician practices said Meaningful Use requirements would not drive their EHR business decisions.

Paper Covers State HIE Best Practices
Health Data Management, 3/29/10
Content vendor Thomson Reuters has published a white paper outlining 10 best practices for statewide HIEs.

Rocky Hill Nonprofit Gets $5.7 Million to Become Electronic Medical Records Hub
Hartford Courant, 4/7/10
Nonprofit eHealthConnecticut, operating as Connecticut's go-to place for patients' EHRs, was awarded $5.7 million in federal grant money to establish an electronic medical records center.

Governor Signs Bill Requiring Insurance Companies to Cover Long-Distance Doctor Visits
Bristol Herald Courier, 4/5/10
Standing behind a podium at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, Gov. Bob McDonnell talked about the value of telemedicine before signing a bill into law which requires private insurance companies to cover its use.

West Michigan Hospitals Make Progress on Sharing Medical Records
The Grand Rapids Press, 4/3/10
Progress is being made in west Michigan toward creating a regional EHR system to exchange patient information and clinical results, led by Spectrum Health, Trinity Health, and Metro Health, to be launched as the Michigan Health Connect system.

New Mexico First with HIE Plan
Health Data Management, 4/1/10
ONC has approved New Mexico's strategic plan for HIE, making it the first state to get such approval. All states and territories have received a total of about $548 million in grants authorized under the HITECH Act to develop HIE initiatives.

State AGs Stepping Up HITECH Enforcement 
HealthLeaders, 3/30/10
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is investigating his second case involving HIPAA violations this year, using again a legal authority granted to state attorneys general under the HITECH Act.

Long-Awaited DEA Rule on Controlled Substances Could Boost e-Rx Rates
iHealthBeat, 4/8/10
The DEA took a major step in alleviating what many see as a significant barrier to e-Prescribing adoption with its long-awaited Interim Final Rule which would allow the electronic prescribing of controlled substances.

FCC Wireless Plan Would Be Good for I.T.: Experts
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 4/5/10
An ambitious 10-year plan by the FCC to beef up the nation's broadband infrastructure and extend reliable, affordable wireless service into underserved communities could provide a huge boost to health care I.T. efforts.

Health I.T. Education Gets $144 Million
Health Data Management, 4/5/10
Multiple community colleges and four-year universities have received a total of $144 million in stimulus funding to support programs aimed at achieving widespread adoption and Meaningful Use of HIT.

Feds Provide $27 Million to Fund, Test Chronic Disease Programs 
HealthLeaders, 3/30/10
In hopes of improving the nation's physical fitness and reducing chronic disease, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced $27 million worth of grants which address the growing prevalence of chronic conditions.

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