Edition Forty-Five (5/25/10)

Hospital EMR Reimbursements at Risk: HIMSS
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 5/21/10
Many hospitals are at risk of not qualifying for full federal reimbursements for EHRs under ARRA, and the clock is ticking for aging financial software systems. HIMSS recently released "Essentials of the U.S. Hospital I.T. Market—5th Edition," which offers a current overview and future projections of the U.S. hospital I.T. market.

Federal Advisors: Mandate Encryption
Health Data Management, 5/20/10
One-to-one exchange from one provider to another for treatment purposes must be governed by policies which at least include encryption, limits on identifiable or potentially identifiable information in the message, and identification and authorization of those exchanging the data, according to privacy and security workgroup recommendations. Encryption ideally should be required when there is any potential for transmitted data to be exposed.

MGMA: Disclosure Mandate Unreasonable
Health Data Management, 5/19/10
New requirements under the HITECH Act which expand patients' rights to obtain an accounting of disclosures of their health information will be extremely difficult to achieve without an enormous outlay of resources. The MGMA sent a letter to HHS about a new rule which would expand the privacy rule's disclosure requirements.

Being Held Accountable with Health Care 
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 5/18/10
HIT is playing a role in the development of accountable care organizations, which are networks that under the new health care reform law would contract to manage care and curb spending for a specific group of patients. Congress gave Medicare leeway to give health care providers who hold back Medicare spending a share of any accountable care organization savings as long as they reach quality and cost-control targets.

Resisting the Push to Digitize
Politico, 5/18/10
EHRs are often discussed as a panacea in health policy, with the potential to streamline record keeping, reduce costs, and improve quality of care in one fell swoop. But as a particularly stringent and new regulation nears, numerous medical groups say the aggressive government push to digitize is too much, too soon. HIT in the U.S. remains highly fragmented, so any large overhauls, experts warn, must work on a timeline which stretches years into the future. 

How to Get EMR Help from Regional Extension Centers
Amednews, 5/17/10
If a regional extension center intended as your federally funded outpost for EHR assistance hasn't opened yet, it will soon. But what do these centers do, exactly? The nonprofit centers are designed to pair practices with a team of consultants, most of whom have clinical backgrounds in small physician practices and experience in shopping for and implementing EMR systems in this setting.

Blumenthal Offers Meaningful Use Approaches
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 5/17/10
David Blumenthal took to the Web to get the word out about an alternative way for providers to communicate to meet federal Meaningful Use requirements and qualify for billions of dollars in health I.T. payments. With the clock running down on the start of the stimulus law funding program, and with only a limited number of the exchanges up and running, the government came up with an alternative method of peer-to-peer connection, called NHIN Direct.

Northrop Grumman to Work on CMS' EHR Database
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 5/17/10
Giant defense and national intelligence contractor Northrop Grumman Corp., Reston, Va., has been awarded a contract by the CMS to design, develop, implement, and maintain the software and database to keep track of EHR subsidy payments under ARRA. The contract is valued at approximately $34 million over one year with five and one-half year option periods.

Panel Optimistic, Apprehensive About Meaningful Use of Health I.T.
Fierce Health IT, 5/17/10
Government agencies and health plans are taking small steps toward collaboration on Meaningful Use health I.T. projects, according to a panel of experts who spoke at the Brookings Institute. Most panelists admitted some frustration with standardizing data, taxonomies, and terminology in order to make data more shareable, but said they were encouraged by early progress. 

Stimulus Funds Research Construction
Health Data Management, 5/17/10
HHS has awarded $1 billion in stimulus-funded grants, administered by the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Research Resources, for 146 projects across the nation to construct or improve biomedical research facilities. At least five of the projects primarily involve enhancing current I.T. capabilities.

HHS to Study Patient Perceptions of Health I.T.
Government Health IT, 5/14/10
HHS plans to survey 860 patients about their opinion of their medical care when their physicians use EHRs to help policymakers understand how primary care physicians’ use of EHRs affects consumer satisfaction with care, communication between patient and doctor, and coordination of medical care.

Watch for ‘Reasonably Anticipated’ Threats
Health Data Management, 5/12/10
Under the HITECH Act, HHS is mandated to annually issue guidance on the most effective and appropriate safeguards to cover against reasonably anticipated threats to electronic protected health information. The Office for Civil Rights expects “reasonableness” to govern information security decisions because it understands that each covered entity operates under different circumstances and faces unique security risks.

Office for Civil Rights Boosting Security Enforcement
Health Data Management, 5/12/10
The health care industry can soon expect a greater emphasis on enforcing the HIPAA security rule than in years past. The HITECH Act links privacy and security—and enforcement of both HIPAA rules—enabling regulators to look at these issues from a more holistic viewpoint. As the electronic world moves into the clinical side, the health care industry increasingly will find privacy and security issues collide.

White House Cyber Security Plan to Cite e-Health
Government Health IT, 5/12/10
The White House has begun developing a strategy for securing on-line transactions and stemming identity fraud which pays particular heed to the importance of building a trusted arena for electronic health care transactions. Howard Schmidt, the nation’s cyber security coordinator, said the administration wants to make on-line commerce more secure so government, industry, and consumers will feel comfortable doing more of their business to the Internet.

Health I.T. Savings May Reach $261 Billion
InformationWeek, 5/10/10
As the health care system braces for a new age, using technology to develop interoperable, patient-centered health I.T. systems could yield billion of dollars in savings. The report, "A 21st Century Roadmap for Advancing America's Health: the Path from Peril to Progress," highlights the role HIT will play in re-engineering health care through the adoption of EHRs, providing better analytics, and driving greater efficiency as the country builds a more comprehensive framework which strengthens the public health infrastructure.

Health I.T. Panel Troubleshoots NHIN Privacy Gaps
Government Health IT, 5/10/10
An HHS workgroup is wrestling with questions of whether existing laws are strong enough to protect the privacy of patient information conveyed using NHIN Direct, a set of specifications for helping health care organizations swap basic health information electronically. The workgroup has sent the HIT Policy Committee broad recommendations for setting up a “trust framework” which applies to NHIN Direct.

New Mexico Lands $7M for Health Data Exchange
Healthcare IT News, 5/21/10
While several states have secured ARRA planning funding, New Mexico is the first state to have executed on its plan to meet criteria set by ONC and receive approval for implementation funds. The $7 million grant under ARRA makes it possible for the New Mexico Health Information Collaborative (NMHIC) to accelerate its plan to serve two million patients statewide.

Northern Illinois Gets an HIE
Health Data Management, 5/18/10
Centegra Health System, serving northern Illinois, will create a HIE with community physicians. The delivery system will offer EHR software to physicians not yet using the technology. The HIE, called the Centegra Physician Network, will integrate with other EHRs being used in the region.

Indiana Names First Medical Records Technology Chief
Indy Star, 5/17/10
Indiana has named its first coordinator for overseeing efforts to shift the state's hospitals and clinics from paper to EHRs. Andrew VanZee will work closely with the state-designated Indiana Health Information Technology Inc. and its directors to determine the best uses for the $10.3 million in funding.

Regional Extension Centers Launch Work in Big Apple
Government Health IT, 5/14/10
New York State's two federally designated health care I.T. RECs, the New York eHealth Collaborative and the NYC Regional Electronic Adoption Center for Health are ready to hit the road to other parts of the state. The goal is to help at least 10,000 providers convert to digital records over the next two years.

Wisconsin Gov. Doyle Signs HIE Bill into Law
Government Health IT, 5/12/10
Assembly Bill 779, the Wired for Health Act, authorizes Wisconsin to designate a nonprofit corporation to receive and administer federal funds to implement a statewide HIE. Under ARRA, the State of Wisconsin is receiving $9.4 million for the planning and development of a statewide network.

CMS Announces $9 Million in Funding for Medicaid I.T.
Modern Healthcare, subscription required 5/11/10
CMS announced over $9 million in matching funds to be used by four states to plan for their Medicaid programs to subsidize provider purchases and the use of EHR systems. The states and their grant amounts are: New Jersey, $4.93 million; Louisiana, $1.85 million; Maryland, $1.37 million; and Minnesota, $1.04 million.

High-Tech Alternatives to High-Cost Care
New York Times, 5/24/10
There is a transformation in health care under way, fueled by technology, which includes low-cost computing devices, digital sensors, and the Web. The trend promises to shift a lot of the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of disease from hospitals and specialized clinics, where treatment is expensive, to primary care physicians and patients themselves—at far less cost. The new models emphasize early detection of health problems, prevention, and management of chronic disease.

Where Does Health I.T. Fit into the Medical Loss Ratio?
iHealthBeat, 5/20/10
A provision in the new health reform law requires health insurers to spend a minimum percentage of premium dollars on direct health care services or activities which improve health care quality. The medical loss ratio provision, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2011, aims to ensure consumers' premium dollars go toward medical care, rather than administrative expenses, advertising, executive pay, or insurers' profits. But in which category does health I.T. fall?

Health I.T. Hottest Career Trend for College Graduates
Healthcare IT News, 5/19/10
HIT is the hottest career option for college graduates, according to a new trend study from the University of California San Diego Extension. Thanks in part to government initiatives health I.T. is advancing, the need for technicians to keep medical records organized and confidential is also growing, the study says.

CMS Awards $107M to Help Modernize Health I.T. Efforts
Executive Gov, 5/19/10
Two large government contractors have been awarded contracts from CMS to help modernize the agency’s three external Web sites and speed up the development of EHRs. The three Web sites—Medicare.gov, cms.hhs.gov, and MyMedicare.gov—serve as CMS’ on-line communication channels for beneficiaries and providers.

Domo Arigato, Doctor Roboto
HealthLeaders, 5/18/10
Telehealth and remote medicine are hot topics these days, widely regarded as fields which are about to explode—from remote radiology readings to ICU monitoring by off-site intensivists, to e-visits during which the patient and physician consult via video. But perhaps the most futuristic use of these technologies is the doctor robot.

ATA Conference Kicks Off with Global Ambitions
Healthcare IT News, 5/17/10
The American Telemedicine Association’s 15th Annual Meeting and Exposition kicked off with an expansive attitude, as ATA officials welcomed more than 3,000 registrants representing at least 35 countries to the event. The recent passage of health care reform and ARRA has created an understanding and receptive audience to telehealth services in the U.S. and abroad.

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