Edition Eighteen (6/2/09)

Weigh Your Risks When Protecting Electronic Records From Fire
HealthLeaders, 6/2/09
Hospitals protect paper medical records from fire by installing sprinkler systems and building features that enclose storage rooms. But with electronic recordkeeping growing more prominent, the strategies for safeguarding patient data are shifting to systems that protect electronic equipment.

"Meaningful Use" Criteria Out Soon?
Health Data Management, 6/1/09
The HIMSS Electronic Health Record Association, a trade group for EHR software companies, has learned that the federal government by June 16 may publish criteria for the definition of "meaningful use" of electronic health records software. The definition is important because the Medicare and Medicaid financial incentives mandated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act require meaningful use of certified EHRs.

Insurers: Mandate CORE Transactions Rules
Health Data Management, 6/1/09
America's Health Insurance Plans, a national trade organization for health insurers, is recommending that the Obama Administration mandate use of the CORE rules for electronic claims and related transactions. CORE is the Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange within CAQH, a Washington-based payer advocacy group. The initiative seeks to build industry consensus on voluntary tightening of the HIPAA standards to make health care financial/administrative transactions as easy as a bank ATM transaction.

HITSP to Assist I.T. Groups, Define 'Meaningful Use'
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 6/1/09
Members of the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel, a holdover from the Bush administration's health I.T. promotion efforts, will be spending 2009 working in connection with two key health care advisory bodies created by Congress. After the group’s board meeting, HITSP Chairman John Halamka said that its marching orders are to do what needs to be done to assist the HIT Policy Committee and HIT Standards Committee, both products of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

CCHIT at Work on New Timelines, New Programs
Healthcare IT News, 6/1/09
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology has published the criteria and test scripts developed during 2009, along with a newly developed "Concise Guide to CCHIT Criteria" on its Web site. The guide maps the criteria to the characteristics of a qualified electronic health record as specified in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and highlights the 2009 criteria changes. The commission is also planning to transition its certification program timelines to adapt to the new requirements of ARRA.

Extra Funding Could Mean Millions for IHS I.T.
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 6/1/09
When asked to name her top priority as the new director of the Indian Health Service, physician Yvette Roubideaux said she believes her first task is “to listen.” Roubideaux should have no problem doing just that, given that money talks and members of the American Indian community have expressed their opinions on two large, recently announced sums of money for this HHS agency.

Obama to Fill Cybersecurity Slot
Health Data Management, 5/29/09
President Obama announced that he will appoint a federal cybersecurity officer. The position will coordinate the nation’s efforts to protect government and private computer networks. The creation of the position was recommended in a new “Cyberspace Policy Review” document commissioned by the White House, which was posted at whitehouse.gov. The document spells out a 10-point plan for improving data security.

HHS Estimates Cost of Implementation Grants
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 5/29/09
HHS expects to spend on average only $1 million to $2 million each on two-year grants to start up an unspecified number of health information technology regional extension centers under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to a draft description of the program published in the Federal Register. HHS capped at $10 million the maximum amount it would award to any regional center, with the money to begin flowing in fiscal 2010. HHS said it proposes to waive the 50% local match requirement for the initial grant payments "given current national economic conditions."

Survey: Flexibility Key to Health I.T. Extension Program
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 5/28/09
Flexibility should be a key principle HHS incorporates in its plan to create a national health information technology extension service, a health I.T. promotion organization reported based on a survey of its members and of organizations engaged in health information exchange (HIE). The eHealth Initiative is a not-for-profit coalition formed to promote HIE. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, HHS is obliged to create through the ONCHIT a health I.T. extension program “to assist health care providers to adopt, implement, and effectively use certified EHR technology.”

Could Federal Government Efforts Be Slowing EHR Adoption?
iHealthBeat, 5/28/09
Health I.T. proponents have, by and large, lauded the federal government's efforts to promote EHR adoption. The hope is that with the federal government's support—both financially and politically—more and more physicians will make the transition to digital records. It seems like sound logic, but a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association finds that is not what is happening.

Electronic Patient Records Will Force Consolidation in Health Care
New York Times, 5/28/09
The Obama administration’s ambitious plan to accelerate the adoption of electronic patient records will be a “steamroller” that drives the consolidation of the health technology industry and threatens many small physician practices, predicts Leonard M. Fuld, head of a large competitive-intelligence firm. In an interview, Mr. Fuld summarized the conclusions of a “war game” his firm organized last month, “The Battle for Healthcare Information,” and added some postgame observations of his own.

ONCHIT Will Award Extension Center Contracts This Fall
Government Health IT, 5/27/09
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health I.T. plans to start awarding contracts to establish a set of regional health information technology extension centers between October and December of this year, according to a draft plan for rolling out the centers ONC posted on the Federal Register Web site. ONC proposed to make two-year awards in fiscal 2010 and furnish heath care providers in the extension centers’ geographic area “with robust support,” according to the plan. Although funding would vary, ONC anticipates an average award value of $1 million to $2 million per center. The maximum for any one regional center would be $10 million.

Organization Helps Hospitals Adopt I.T. Practices
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 5/27/09
Proponents say technology is a key driver to improving productivity, but seeing those gains, reducing costs, and increasing efficiency can take time. Having a culture of adoption already in place can mitigate some of the challenges. There are restrictions that interfere with efficient adoption, and in health care, that comes from limited quality measures, patients who are not fully informed, and distorted markets, according to the working paper, released through the National Bureau of Economic Research.

State Privacy Panels, CONNECT Meeting Announced
Modern Healthcare, subscription needed 5/27/09
A series of eight HHS-sponsored Web-based panel sessions on state privacy laws and their role in health information exchange are scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays in June, according to an announcement from the ONCHIT. Each 90-minute session will begin at 2 p.m. ET. The sessions will be conducted under the auspices of the Health Information Security, Privacy, and Confidentiality Panel, which was formed in 2006 by contractor RTI International and funded by a $17.23 million contract from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality at HHS.

Maryland Enacts Incentives for EHR Use
Health Data Management, 5/27/09
Maryland officials believe the state is the first to enact legislation to require private insurers to offer financial incentives to health care providers for adoption of electronic health records. Gov. Martin O'Malley signed HB 706, which also requires two commissions to designate a statewide health information exchange by Oct. 1, 2009.

The Holy Grail of Evidence-Based Medicine
HealthLeaders, 5/28/09
I am probably more optimistic than most health care professionals about the value of evidence-based medicine. To me, it is a tool that can be used or misused to achieve certain goals. Misuse doesn't mean the tool should be tossed out—it just needs to be policed.

Report: I.T. Vital to Care Management
Health Data Management, 5/28/09
A new research report on care management for the chronically ill asserts that information technology is essential to controlling costs for these patients and improving their treatment. “Effective care management strategies require a strong foundation in data warehousing, business intelligence, and clinical analytics,” according to the report from Health Industry Insights, a Framingham, MA-based research and consulting firm. “Population management and consumerism strategies require the ability to define specific microsegments of members.”

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