Edition Seventeen (5/26/09)

Report: I.T. Helps Primary Care
Health Data Management, 5/26/09
A new report on improving the quality and availability of primary care calls for broader use of information technology and adoption of the medical home model. The New England Healthcare Institute, a Cambridge, Mass.-based think tank, issued the report, “Remaking Primary Care: From Crisis to Opportunity.” The report calls for broader use of electronic health records and electronic prescribing to aid in the coordination of care.

Stimulus Bill Sets New HIPAA Rules, But Will it Make a Difference?
Fierce Health IT, 5/26/09
As we report in today's issue, the HITECH section of the stimulus bill adds some new provisions to HIPAA and toughens others. And dutifully enough, HHS has issued a list of deadlines by which it will comply with key portions of the new law, as well as when it will issue regs that put the infrastructure in place to enforce the new rules. We're all happy to see consumer health data protected better. But as we've noted before, HIPAA enforcement has been extremely lax since the law went into effect in 2006. So what makes anyone think that adding new rules is going to change anything dramatically?

HHS Tests Template for Electronic Health Record
Federal Computer Week, 5/26/09
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is testing an on-line template for an electronic personal health record that will be tested with consumers through October. An electronic personal health record typically includes a person’s health information, including a health history, vaccinations, allergies, test results and prescription information. The national coordinator intends to test the model in six geographic locations with in-depth interviews with 42 consumers through October.

Reinventing Health Reform: Innovators Take on the Bureaucrats, by David J. Brailer
iHealthbeat, 5/26/09
There have been few times in the past when new ideas and innovation in health care were needed more than they are today. This is a time when patients, clinicians, policymakers, and health leaders face many challenges and are in need of new ideas. Many hope that this time of change and disruption is also a time for our aspirations and dreams to soar.

e-Record Plus: Fewer Doctor Visits
The Charlotte Observer, 5/26/09
We'll all soon have electronic medical records, given the $19 billion tagged for a big rollout of the long-touted paperless systems in the economic stimulus plan. Health care experts say EMRs will make medicine safer, more efficient, and more cost effective, and three quarters of the public say they're all for it. Here's the latest, gleaned from research on health information technology in the current edition of the policy journal Health Affairs and a meeting of EMR superstars in Washington, D.C. The bottom line: Electronic medical records are essential, but they're far from simple.

Standards Committee Posts Game Plan
Health Data Management, 5/26/09
The HIT Standards Committee has published a schedule of its initial activities to support the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

HHS Site Gives One-Stop Stimulus Info
Health Data Management, 5/26/09
The Department of Health and Human Services' Web site on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a clearinghouse of information on all HHS-related aspects of the economic stimulus law. The site is where HHS posts regulatory actions, such as the recent issuing of operational plans for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the forthcoming Medicare/Medicaid incentives for meaningful use of electronic health records. But the site also lists available ARRA-related contracts.

Stimulus Legislation Expected to Boost e-Prescribing Adoption to 75%
Medical Economics, 5/22/09
The economic stimulus legislation will increase e-prescribing adoption to more than 75 percent of prescribers in five years, according to a consulting firm that conducted a study on behalf of a pharmaceutical group. The stimulus bill, and its $19 billion investment in health information technology, will spur a fourfold increase in e-prescribing over current levels, according to the analysis by Minneapolis-based Visante.

HIMSS EHRA Reaches Out to Key Stakeholders on 'Meaningful Use' of Certified EHRs
PRNewswire, 5/22/09
The Electronic Health Records Association seeks broad stakeholder consensus by sharing its perspectives on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 as well as specific recommendations for the definition of "meaningful use" of certified EHRs, which will be used to determine eligibility for the over $36B in health care I.T. stimulus incentives for physicians and hospitals.

CMS Proposes Hospital Payment Rules
Health Data Management, 5/22/09
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has published a proposed rule for fiscal 2010 hospital inpatient prospective payment systems for acute care hospitals and long-term care hospitals. Provisions in the proposed rule "do not implicate or implement" any statutory provisions of the HITECH Act in the economic stimulus law, according to CMS. The proposed rule notes that HITECH requires HHS to give preference to clinical quality measures that have been selected for the Reporting Hospital Quality Data for Annual Payment Update program.

Federal Data Security Measures Remain Weak, GAO Reports
Healthcare IT News, 5/21/09
The federal government, which is seeking ways to protect patient data as the nation moves toward a digital health care system, shows persistent weaknesses on the information security front, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Blumenthal: Stimulus a 'Sweetener, Not Determinant' of Health I.T. Adoption
Government Health IT, 5/21/09
Health information technology leaders made the case for linking the economic stimulus plan to the broader goals of health reform, including improved heath care services and population health, at a conference in Washington, D.C. The health I.T. provisions of the stimulus were designed to correct the failure of the market to spur the adoption of health I.T., and to demonstrate its value. In doing so, it will also be a tool to meet the aims of health reform, said Dr. David Blumenthal, the nation’s health I.T. coordinator.

Group Seeks Sway Over e-Records System
Washington Post, 5/21/09
A health technology trade association has asked the Obama administration to require that any electronic health record equipment receiving stimulus funding be certified by a group the association helped to start and run, documents show. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society was a key force behind the decision to include $36.5 billion in the stimulus package to create a nationwide network for medical records. Now the health information group is urging officials at HHS to give an organization called the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology responsibility for deciding what health records systems are eligible to receive stimulus spending.

Center for American Progress Urges Leaders to Connect I.T. to Payment Reform
Healthcare IT News, 5/20/09
Technology alone can't fix the nation's ailing health care system, the Center for American Progress concludes. In a new report, the nonpartisan think tank is urging leaders to wed health care information technology to care delivery innovation and payment reform.

Plan Outlines Medicare/Medicaid Incentives
Health Data Management, 5/20/09
The Department of Health and Human Services has released the outlines of the program to offer Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments for meaningful use of electronic health records systems. The payments are authorized under the economic stimulus law. Medicare incentives to eligible hospitals will start in October 2010, HHS has clarified. Medicare incentives to physicians, as well as Medicaid incentives to physicians and hospitals, will start in January 2011.

HIT Best Used in Tandem with Quality, Pay: Experts
Modern Healthcare, subscritpion needed 5/20/09
Health information technology reforms need to work in tandem with payment and quality initiatives to be effective, industry experts said at a meeting in Washington. Health I.T. has a broad range of capabilities and will be a “highly effective tool” in promoting health care reform, but I.T. alone “won’t ensure improvements in quality and the cost of care,” Mark McClellan, director of the Engelberg Center, told participants.

Expanding Health Information Technology
Huffington Post, 5/20/09
During my last physical exam, I was pleased to see my doctor pull out a handheld computer. Since my regular checkup the preceding year, she had joined the small group of American doctors using electronic medical records. Complimenting her on this, I asked about my 26 years of medical history that resided on paper in her filing cabinet. She laughed and said, "we are not entering them in the computer. That would take too much staff time and money!" The story illustrates the opportunities and pitfalls awaiting President Barack Obama as he seeks to expand use of health information technology.

CCHIT to Adapt Programs to Federal Health I.T. Agenda
Government Health IT, 5/19/09
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology will put its 2009-2010 programs on hold and update its certification policies in light of guidance contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. CCHIT said today it will defer the launch of its latest certification programs until it has reviewed the Office of the National Coordinator for Health I.T.’s forthcoming standards and certification criteria.

Chopra Pledges Innovative Tech in Agencies
Government Health IT, 5/19/09
Information technology is shrinking the distance between ideas and action in heath information technology and other areas, and Aneesh Chopra said he would take advantage of that as the nation’s first chief technology officer. Chopra, who President Barack Obama nominated to be associate director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, outlined his views in his confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

ONC Releases 'Operating Plan' on Stimulus Rules
Modern Healthcare, 5/19/09
The ONC released an eight-page “operating plan” and timetable for itself and other federal agencies for issuing reports, rules, and guidelines for federal health care I.T. programs under the stimulus act. The document fails, however, to provide a definition of "meaningful use" of electronic health record systems or a deadline when that definition might be provided, nor does it say when HHS will establish a certification and testing procedure for EHR systems, both key requirements under the stimulus legislation.

AHA to Survey EHR Adoption
Health Data Management, 5/19/09
The American Hospital Association will measure the adoption and use of electronic health records by hospitals. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is funding a supplement to the Chicago-based AHA's national hospital survey through a $101,973 grant. The project period is 12 months with an option for four additional years with funding at the same level.

Are Electronic Medical Records the Future?
CBS, 5/19/09
Emergency physician Dr. Doug Smith is a big believer in electronic health records. His hospital, part of Virginia's Inova chain, has a fully electronic ER network. Emergency crews wear laptops like backpacks; every patient is bar-coded. High costs are the biggest obstacle facing the electronic future. To doctors at Inova, which has spent $200 million over 10 years, it's clear the President will need a lot more than $20 billion and a lot longer than five years.

Golden I.T. Opportunity
H&HN, 5/18/09
Information technology and process improvement yield an exponential boost in quality. Since the passage of the federal economic stimulus bill in mid-February, hospital executives have been preparing for information technology funding that many believed would never arrive.

For the Record: Medical Documents Slow to Go Digital
The Times Daily, 5/17/09
Technology is nothing new in health care. But converting all the paper documents—medical records especially—into computer data has taken on an even greater importance to many in the medical field. Although patients may not see the tangible benefits of electronic medical records, these systems are a way medical professionals say they can improve efficiency in the health care setting. In turn, that could save money and allow funds to be used in other areas of health care.

Transition to Digital Medical Records Gains Steam
Business First of Columbus, 5/22/09
Back in 2004, President George W. Bush said he wanted each American to have an electronic health care record within 10 years. Halfway to that 2014 goal, Ohio’s large hospitals and medical practices are making major strides.

Bill Pushes Doctors to Computerize Records
Baltimore Sun, 5/19/09
Maryland is poised to jump ahead of the rest of the nation in health information technology when Gov. Martin O'Malley signs a bill intended to coax doctors into using electronic medical records. The computerized files are seen as the foundation of a national health information network that proponents say will improve care, advance medical knowledge, and save the country tens of billions of dollars annually. But with the startup costs to individual doctors in the tens of thousands of dollars, many smaller practices have been slow to move from clipboard to computer screen.

Medical Industry Pins Hopes on I.T. Funds
Roanoke.com, 5/17/09
With nearly $20 billion in federal funds about to hit the world of health care information technology, Virginia's health sector and political leadership are trying to prepare to capture their share of the money. The money is part of the federal stimulus bill signed by President Obama in February and is intended as a financial incentive to get the health care industry to embrace using electronic medical records. Still, the timeline and details of how the money will be distributed have not been finalized.

e-Records at Heart of Stimulus Bill for Health Care Firms
Mass High Tech, 5/15/09
In February, when President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law, he focused on what it meant to the nation. Further downstream, in the corporate and institutional offices through the U.S., the focus was on “what it means to me.” In New England, where health care is big business, eyes turned to one aspect of what is often referred to simply as the “federal stimulus package.”

Money on Tap for Electronic Health Records
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/15/09
Federal stimulus money is available for health care providers in Georgia to convert paper medical records to electronic ones. Though such technology has been available for years, fewer than 4 percent of doctors have made their medical records completely electronic, said Janet Marchibroda, chief health care officer for IBM, who said the stimulus dollars will help with some of the conversion challenges.

State of Indiana Holds Leadership Position in Electronic Health Record Growth
MidwestBusiness.com, 5/15/09
Few would question that dramatic change in the U.S. health care arena is well on the way. With billions of dollars on the table to fund systemic change in critical records management and other aspects of service delivery, what will American health care services look like a few years from now?

Availability of EHRs Partially Determined by Race, New Study Shows
iHealthBeat, 5/22/09
Findings of a new study suggest that uninsured and underinsured Hispanic and black patients are more likely than insured white patients to be treated by doctors who don't use electronic health records. Researchers from the National Center for Health Statistics, a branch of CDC, found that EHR adoption among doctors who treat underserved minorities is typically lower—and slower—than adoption among other doctors. The research also showed doctors practicing in a group or clinic were more likely to adopt new technology than doctors in solo or partner practices.

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