Edition Thirty-Six (1/21/10)

Does ‘Meaningful Use' Rule Do Enough for Privacy?
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 1/14/10
In contrast to those who think the Meaningful Use proposed rule CMS released goes too far, Deborah Peel, the founder the not-for-profit Patient Privacy Rights Foundation, said the rules don’t go far enough. Specifically, she said, the rulemakers left out key requirements providers need to abide by, including both old and new privacy laws.

NIST Awards Contract to Create EHR Certification System
Government Health IT, 1/14/10
The National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. a contract to help develop a testing method and processes for certifying EHRs. The $400,000 contract calls for the consulting firm to help NIST build a testing framework for health I.T., a certification “process document,” and other planning tools.

Meaningful Use Rules Now Official
Health Data Management, 1/13/10
HHS officially published two rules covering the Meaningful Use of EHRs provisions of ARRA. Publication of the rules starts the clock for the public comment period, with both rules having a March 15 deadline for comment. The proposed rule from CMS defines Meaningful Use of EHRs to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments. 

How Ready are Hospitals for Meaningful Use?
HealthLeaders, 1/12/10
Hospital leaders are confident their organizations are in a position to qualify for Meaningful Use and capture all of the incentive payments from the HITECH Act. Yet, both hospital and physician organizations have recently expressed concern about providers' abilities to meet the requirements of Meaningful Use defined by the CMS and ONC.

HHS Panel to Give Fresh Spin to Federal Health I.T. Strategy
Federal Computer Week, 1/12/10
A federal advisory panel to HHS began considering a framework to update the Federal Health Information Technology Strategic Plan guiding adoption of EHRs. HHS initially created a strategic plan for health I.T. in June 2008 to cover the period through 2012. Under the economic stimulus law, ONC must update this plan.

HHS Rules on Electronic Health Records Have Broad Impact
Federal Computer Week, 1/11/10
HHS’s proposed regulations for distributing $17 billion in EHR incentives may broaden the gap between early and late adopters, ignore lab data, increase fragmentation in health care, and impose administrative burdens, according to panelists who have analyzed the regulations.

Brailer: Proposed Meaningful Use Criteria 'Feel Right'
Healthcare IT News, 1/11/10
The "hand of thoughtful policy" created the proposed criteria for Meaningful Use, according to David J. Brailer, MD, and former health care I.T. czar for ONC. Under ARRA, Congress provides incentives first and then penalties. Citing its track record with regard to Medicare issues, Brailer doesn't believe Congress will follow through with penalties and will either delay or phase them out.

Survey Finds 4 in 10 Doctors Use an EHR
Healthcare IT News, 1/11/10
Four of every 10 office-based physicians use EHRs, according to 2009 preliminary estimates by the CDC. According to the estimates for 2009, 43.9 percent of physicians reported using full or partial EMR/EHR systems in office-based practices. About 20.5 percent reported having systems meeting the criteria of a basic system, and 6.3 percent reported using a fully functional system.

Study: Implementing EHR, e-Prescribing is Challenging, But Beneficial Over Time
Health Imaging & IT, 1/11/10
Benefits from EHR and e-Prescribing investments come under very broad, diverse categories, but are very individual and specific to the retrospective context of an investment, according to a study by the European Commission. There is no single correct strategy for implementing EHRs and e-Prescribing systems, yet the results of the study give grounds for optimism in the success, value and deployment of interoperable EHR and e-Prescribing systems after a few years.

Quality Reporting May Prove Challenging Under Meaningful Use
HealthLeaders, 1/9/10
Health care executives and physicians might agree the sooner hospitals, health systems, and physicians start gathering and reporting on quality indicators, the sooner health care quality can be improved. So it's not surprising quality metrics are central to the meaningful use requirements outlined in the CMS interim final rule.

ONC to Explain I.T. Training Grants
Health Data Management, 1/8/10
ONC will hold a second technical assistance call for community colleges interested in creating or expanding health information technology workforce training programs. ONC will be awarding $70 million in stimulus funding to approximately 70 community colleges across the nation.

Will CCHIT-Ready EHRs be Ahead of Stimulus Criteria?
Modern Healthcare, subscription required, 1/8/10
HHS appears to be distancing itself these days from CCHIT, but the two go back a-ways and probably will work together in the years ahead, even if the relationship becomes maintained more or less at arm's length. Blumenthal said the new certification criteria in the ONC drafted rule would have to be used by some certifying body and ONC will have to create a process to recognize the body.

ONC Seeks Firms to Assess HITECH Progress
Government Health IT, 1/5/10
HHS recently published four announcements which provide preliminary information about its plans to hire contractors to evaluate and assist in managing grant programs ONC has underway to advance a nationwide digital health care system. In the notices, ONC seeks technical expertise to evaluate the administration of grant programs it recently funded to foster state HIE, as well as to set up regional health I.T. “extension” or training centers.

Nine Health Care Executives Respond to the Meaningful Use Definition
HealthLeaders, 1/5/10
The long-awaited definition of Meaningful Use is finally here. CMS and ONC released both the definition of Meaningful Use for EHRs and the standards to improve the efficiency of health I.T. HealthLeaders asked physicians, chief information officers, and other industry leaders whether they thought the Meaningful Use bar was set too high or too low, and what they thought was the most significant change to the HIT Policy Committee's recommendations.

Clock on I.T. Regulations Starts Ticking January 13
Modern Healthcare, subscription required, 1/5/10 
CMS and ONC made public a tome and a quarter of rules for running three $34 billion federal EHR system subsidy programs. Under the law, EHR payments can only be made to those providers who use in a “meaningful manner” a “qualified” EHR which has been “certified” by an organization “recognized” by the ONC at HHS.

Survey: Hospitals Not Ready for Meaningful Use
Health Data Management, 1/4/10
A small survey of 58 hospitals of all sizes shows many of them are not ready for Meaningful Use of electronic health records requirements. Two-thirds of surveyed hospitals have identified gaps in their current systems to meet Meaningful Use requirements, and only one-quarter met at least 70% of the readiness criteria within the survey. Hospitals generally had the highest scores for privacy and security, and the lowest scores for use of required EHR capabilities.

HIMSS Reacts Kindly to Meaningful Use Rules
Health Data Management, 1/4/10
HIMSS's first reaction on the Meaningful Use rules is considerably kinder than those of some provider organizations, particularly the AHA and the MGMA. Chicago-based HIMSS represents thousands of providers, but also has a strong vendor contingent among its membership.

HHS Defines Rules for Receiving Billions for e-Health Systems
Nextgov, 1/4/10 
Recently released government standards for EHR systems show what medical professionals must buy to receive some of the nearly $20 billion in stimulus funding set aside to encourage the development of health I.T. One preliminary rule dictates the types of technologies providers must use to be eligible for the incentives, setting initial standards and criteria for certifying the systems. A separate proposed rule defines Meaningful Use as complying with specific procedures in ways which enhance the coordination of care, engage patients and families, and ensure privacy.

Tennessee, Pennsylvania to Get Federal Matching Funds for EHRs
Healthcare IT News, 1/5/10
CMS has announced Medicaid programs in Tennessee and Pennsylvania will receive federal matching funds for state planning activities to implement the EHR incentive program established by ARRA. Tennessee will receive approximately $2.7 million and Pennsylvania will receive $1.42 million.

10 Health Care I.T. Trends to Watch in 2010
Healthcare Technology Online, 1/14/10
With a major push toward health care reform and the appropriation of nearly $20 billion in federal stimulus funds as part of ARRA, 2009 was an action-packed year for the health care industry, particularly health care I.T. 2010 promises to be even more dynamic as health care organizations prepare for upcoming industry changes and position themselves to take advantage of government incentives.

CIO Lays Out Incentive Game Plan
Health Data Management, 1/12/10
Hospitals may well wish to hire a consultant to help them wade through the Meaningful Use rules and formulate a strategy for compliance. But John Halamka, MD, gave the industry a 25-point cheat sheet for this strategy on his Web blog. Meeting Meaningful Use requirements is a tall order, Halamka acknowledges, but breaking the task down into discrete steps makes it doable.

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