Edition Thirty-Eight (2/16/10)

Survey Shows Increasing EHR Use
Health Data Management, 2/1/10
Preliminary results from an annual national survey of office-based physicians show 43.9% of respondents reported using some level of EHR systems in their practices in 2009, up almost 6% from 41.5% reporting EHR use in 2008. The annual increase in usage was considerably higher for those using software which met the criteria for a "basic" EHR and a "fully functional" system.

State of the Union Speech Omits Mention of Health Care I.T.
Healthcare IT News, 1/28/10
Health care I.T. has been highlighted over the past four years in State of the Union speeches, though Obama made no mention of it in his speech. Some stakeholders defend the Administration's support of health I.T., while others question it.

Stimulus Package, 'Meaningful Use' Dominate eHI Conference
iHealthBeat, 1/28/10
It's not surprising the stimulus package and the recently proposed "meaningful use" rules dominated the discussion at the eHealth Initiative's sixth annual conference in Washington, D.C. Despite the variety of sessions, it was clear HITECH was at the forefront of the minds of both panelists and audience members.

ONC to Make All I.T. Work Group Meetings Public
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 1/27/10
In the interest of transparency, starting in January 2010, ONC is making available to the public the HIT Policy Committee and the HIT Standards Committee work groups' deliberations. All work group meetings will be available via Webcast.

What Technologies are Likely To Get Attention and Budget Approval in Hospitals in 2010?
iHealthbeat, 1/27/10
Seventy-one percent of U.S. health care executives surveyed said EHR systems are likely to get attention and budget approval in their hospitals in 2010. Meanwhile, 53% of U.S. health care executives surveyed said CPOE systems are likely to receive attention and budget approval in their hospitals in 2010.

HHS Preparing to Award $50M for Health I.T. Research Center
Federal Computer Week, 1/26/10
HHS is preparing to award a series of task orders totaling about $50 million to establish a national Health Information Technology Research Center (HITRC) to support promotion of EHRs. The HITRC will assist about 60 health I.T. regional extension centers, which aim to help 100,000 priority providers to adopt and meaningfully use digital record systems. 

Halamka: HITSP Still in Business
Health Data Management, 1/26/10
The Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel will not disband when its current federal government contract expires, according to John Halamka, M.D., chair of HITSP and CIO at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.

Health I.T. Panel: Use Technology Now to Help Transform Health Care
HealthLeaders, 1/26/10
Health care transformation is long overdue—especially as it relates to technology, according to a panel of technology executives who spoke at a Nashville Health Care Council luncheon about the future and current state of health care I.T. The panel agreed ARRA was a necessary catalyst to increase the adoption of EHRs—especially for small physician offices with fewer than 10 physicians.

The Next Health Care Debate: Digital Privacy
Forbes, 1/25/10
In a study released by the Ponemon Institute, Americans registered a deep distrust of anyone in either the federal government or private industry who might store EHRs like those which the Obama administration has encouraged hospitals to create.

AAFP Says Meaningful Use Rules Will be Tough for Small Practices
Healthcare IT News, 1/25/10
Changes to the definition of meaningful use advocated by the AAFP include e-Prescribing, clinical decision support at the point-of-care, analysis and reporting of evidence-based measures of quality and performance, and the sharing of health information and educational resources with patients.

Connect Upgrades Patient Search, Authentication
Government Health IT, 1/22/10
HHS has updated the government’s Connect software to incorporate the ability to query for a patient and to assure the identity of sender and recipient in the exchange of health data. Connect is the federally developed software which lets agencies and health care organizations share health data by using the protocols, agreements, and core services which comprise the NHIN.

Leavitt Bets on CCHIT Certification of EHRs
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 1/22/10
Mark Leavitt is asking the health care software industry and thousands of purchasers of EHR systems to bet along with him. The bet is CCHIT will eventually re-ingratiate itself to its one-time backers at HHS and both vendors and providers will continue to value and seek CCHIT certification even though, now, there is a certain amount of added risk involved in doing so. 

Booz Allen Hamilton Wins $400,000 NIST Contract
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 1/22/10
Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, Va., has been awarded a $399,976 contract to help the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, to help develop and support the HHS health I.T. certification program and to “develop accreditation program documents” and testing for certification and testing organizations.

ONC Contends with Right Balance in EHR Standards
Government Health IT, 1/21/10
Federal health I.T. policymakers said they crafted a set of more flexible standards for EHR systems to make it easier for providers to qualify for meaningful use when the first phase of the health I.T. incentive program starts next year. After 2011, as providers face more challenging requirements for meaningful use of EHRs they purchase under the plan, these standards could tighten.

Q&A: Health I.T. Czar Rethinks National Data Exchange
InformationWeek, 1/21/10
Blumenthal discussed the nation's HIEs, the Massachusetts election, criteria being developed for the meaningful use of EMR, and the health I.T. workforce in an interview with InformationWeek.

Public Comments Will Shape Final Meaningful Use Rule
Healthcare IT News, 1/21/10
Public comments will play a major role in defining meaningful use of health care I.T., according to federal officials. ONC and CMS will accept comments through March 15 on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the EHR Incentive Program for Medicare and Medicaid.

Grassley Queries Hospitals on Stimulus
Health Data Management, 1/21/10
Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Finance Committee, has sent a letter to 31 hospitals asking about their experiences while implementing the HIT provisions under ARRA. He has heard concerns from hospitals about the quality and usability of EHR software, and frustration with vendors or hospital administrators to resolve problems.

'Meaningful Use' Rules Cap Year-End Health I.T. Activity
iHealthbeat, 1/21/10
Due by the end of 2009 as stipulated by the federal stimulus package, the meaningful use rules released Dec. 30 might have been the most anticipated development of year's end, but it wasn't the only one.

CCHIT Updates Certifications to Go with New Standards Rule
Healthcare IT News, 1/20/10
CCHIT has updated its EHR certification programs to conform to the newly issued standards rule. Approximately two dozen vendors who had already achieved certification under CCHIT's latest programs will be offered incremental testing at no fee to close any gaps. For all other EHR vendors, the updated criteria and scripts will be published soon and applications for certification will be accepted beginning February 12.

Meaningful Use Criteria 'Too High and Too Many'
Healthcare IT News, 1/20/10
Catholic Healthcare West set a goal to implement a robust, meaningful use EMR across its 41 hospitals within seven years. Through its EHR Alliance Program, CHCW is deploying MEDITECH to its inpatient facilities, Allscripts to its ambulatory employed physicians, and MobileMD to its community physicians. So far, eight hospitals have completed EHRs with CPOE, and more than 80 percent of CHCW's orders are electronic.

Paperless Medicine?
The Texas Tribune, 1/28/10 
EMRs which follow patients from doctor to doctor. Hospitals with instantaneous on-line access to lab results and health histories. Disease researchers with a state’s worth of field data at their fingertips. It all hinges on a single question: Can Texas physicians go paperless?

More States Get Incentive Planning Funds
Health Data Management, 1/22/10
Four more states are joining six others and the U.S. Virgin Islands in receiving matching federal planning funds to implement Medicaid incentive payments for meaningful use of EHRs. States newly awarded funds include Alaska ($900,000), Kentucky ($2.6 million), South Carolina ($1.48 million), and Wisconsin ($1.37 million).

Kentucky to Get $2.6 Million for Electronic Health Records Initiative
Business First of Louisville, 1/21/10
The state of Kentucky will receive a $2.6 million in federal matching funds from CMS to help fund the development of the state’s EHRs incentive program. Officials will explore topics such as barriers to developing the records system, provider eligibility for participating in the EHR network, and the creation of a state Medicaid HIT plan.

Medicare Tests Quality/Cost Initiatives
Health Data Management, 1/27/10
CMS has launched pilot programs in Indiana and North Carolina to improve the delivery and quality of care to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries while lowering costs. Data from Medicare, Medicaid, private insurers, and employer-sponsored health plans will be combined with clinical data to test if quality improvement and pay-for-performance programs are more effective in a multi-payer environment.

Med Students Not Ready to Use EHRs: Study
Modern Physician, subscription required, 1/25/10 
Does the medical school curriculum adequately prepare students to diagnose and treat patients using an EHR? This is the question educators at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine set out to answer this year.

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