 
 
 
|
Electronic Health Records News & Views Archives
June 2006 - November 2006
(in reverse chronological order)
(See menu on left for EHR Notable Quotes and latest News & Views)
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November
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Federal and state HIT privacy efforts connected, says ONC
The various state and federal groups working on healthcare
IT privacy are “very linked and very complementary,”
according to Jodi Daniel, director of the Office of Policy
and Research, Office of the National Coordinator for Health
Information. At a Wednesday meeting of the National
Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, a public advisory
board to the Department of Health and Human Services, Daniel
outlined how the work underway by three HHS efforts will aid
in advancing HIT privacy.
(November 30, 2006)
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CCHIT to certify specialty-specific EHRs
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information
Technology announced Tuesday it will expand certification to
include electronic health record products specific to
medical specialties.
(November 29, 2006)
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It's business as usual for nation's interim healthcare IT
chief
The man in charge of
coordinating efforts to convert the nation’s paper-based
healthcare system to a digital one officially has until the
end of January on the job. In a recent interview with
Healthcare IT News, Robert M. Kolodner, MD, said his
stint could be extended, but he declined to elaborate.
(November 27, 2006)
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State Alliance for e-Health names taskforces
The State Alliance for e-Health has determined the names and
focus areas of its first three taskforces that will meet
next February, according to Kathleen Nolan, health director
for the National Governors Association’s Center for Best
Practices and project head of the State Alliance. The
selection of the taskforces and their areas of focus follows
from a sense of urgency the State Alliance has to get the
entire project up and running, Nolan said. “We want to move
pretty quickly so we can kick this off strong and get this
thing moving,” Nolan said. “These taskforces will add a
strong foundation to address the topics identified by states
as important to healthcare IT.”
(November 27, 2006)
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Proponents of HIT legislation find hope in Democrats
Many industry experts
and legislative analysts expect a healthcare IT bill to pass
under the newly elected 110th Congress, according to an
informal survey conducted by Healthcare IT News. With
a slim-to-none chance of lame duck Congressional
reconciliation on the current House and Senate HIT bills by
the close of 2006, HIT proponents are turning their hopes to
the New Democrat Coalition (NDC) and what can be done in
2007 and beyond. The NDC is a moderate, pro-growth
congressional group co-chaired by Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA),
Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), and Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI)
promoting economic growth through technology, science, and
research and development. According to Rep. Adam Smith, the
NDC leader on HIT issues, the NDC has built a reputation as
the “go-to” group in Congress on critical issues like HIT.
(November 21, 2006)
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CCHIT names trustees, moves toward nonprofit status
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information
Technology (CCHIT) announced Monday the establishment of a
new board of trustees, bringing it one step closer to
becoming a fully independent, nonprofit organization...
“CCHIT is under a contract with HHS and is required to
become a self-sustaining organization with a fiduciary board
at the end of its three year HHS funding period,” Reber
said. “Establishing a new trustee board is part of that
compliance.”
(November 21, 2006)
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National Library of Medicine Awards $75 Million for
Informatics Research Training
Donald A. B. Lindberg, MD, Director of the National Library
of Medicine (NLM), a part of the National Institutes of
Health (NIH), today announced that the NLM is awarding 18
five-year grants, totaling more than $75million, for
research training in biomedical informatics, the discipline
that seeks to apply computer and communications technology
to the field of health... “NLM’s informatics training
programs produce investigators trained in applying
biomedical computing to improve clinical medicine, basic
biomedical research, clinical and translational research,
public health, and other health-related areas,” said Dr.
Lindberg. “Such specialists are vital for research in such
key areas as the human genome, application of genomics to
treatment and diagnosis, and the use of electronic health
records to improve care and reduce error.”
(November 20, 2006)
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American College of Physicians to Offer Health Information
Technology Training Course
The American College of Physicians (ACP), announced today
that it will offer a health information technology (HIT)
training course in conjunction with the American Medical
Informatics Association (AMIA) and Oregon Health & Science
University (OHSU). The 15-week online curriculum includes a
day of in-person training to be held as a pre-session course
at ACP’s Internal Medicine 2007 meeting. The course will be
part of AMIA’s 10X10 program, which has the goal of training
10,000 health care professionals in applied health and
medical informatics by 2010.
(November 16, 2006)
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Deloitte Finds State Leadership And Sustainable Business
Models Are Vital For The Future Success Of Health
Information Exchanges
The Deloitte Center for
Health Solutions (the “Center”), a part of Deloitte & Touche
USA LLP, released two
point-of-view reports that provide insight into Health
Information Exchanges (HIEs) – multi-stakeholder
organizations that enable the secure exchange and use of
electronic health information.
(November 15, 2006)
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Epic responds to critics of electronic record installation
Following weeks of
blistering criticism of its electronic medical record system
and its ongoing installation at
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Madison's
Epic Systems Corp. has joined the subsidiary of
Kaiser Permanente in defending its product. Epic
Systems, a medical software developer, says it is very proud
of the Kaiser installation and its electronic records
system, which Kaiser has re-branded with the name KP
HealthConnect.
(November 15, 2006)
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SPECIAL AUDIO REPORT: Prospects for Health IT Legislation in
2007 'Look Pretty Good,' Rep. Kennedy Policy Adviser Says
"Prospects look pretty
good" for the 110th Congress to pass health IT legislation
in 2007, Michael Zamore, a policy adviser for Rep. Patrick
Kennedy (D-R.I.), said in an interview for an
iHealthBeat special audio report.
(November 15, 2006)
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New eRx certification promotes pharmacy interoperability
SureScripts, the largest network provider of electronic
prescribing services in the United States, has announced
that it will grant a new certification status to electronic
medical record and e-prescribing products that meet or
exceed benchmarks for “live” customer deployments. The new
certification, called GoldRx, guarantees that an EMR or
e-prescribing product not only meets basic technical
capability standards, but also has a “proven track record”
of pharmacy interoperability.
(November 14, 2006)
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Problems abound for Kaiser e-health records management
system
An electronic health records management system being rolled
out by Kaiser Foundation Health Plan/Hospitals has been
nothing short of an IT project gone awry, according to
sources at the company and an internal report detailing
problems with the HealthConnect system. Questions about the
project arose last week at about the same time Cliff Dodd,
the company's CIO, resigned. Dodd stepped down last Monday
after another Kaiser employee, Justen Deal, sent a memo to
every company worker warning of technological and financial
repercussions related to the rollout of the nearly $4
billion system from Epic Systems Corp.
(November 13, 2006)
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Giving health care the business
Pittsburgh center uses principles of case teams, data
measures and business process management to enhance complex
disease treatments.
(November 13, 2006)
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A new scheme for data sharing
Semantic interoperability isn’t a phrase that rolls off the
tongue, but health informatics experts believe the concept
has the potential to significantly improve communication
among health information systems. The task of harmonizing
disparate applications has been around for years, but
semantic interoperability aims to make the job easier. The
goal is to eliminate the language bottlenecks that arise
when systems that were never intended to talk to each other
attempt to do so.
(November 13, 2006)
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NGA chooses two governors to lead State Alliance for
e-Health
On Monday, the National Governors Association named the two
governors who will head up the newly formed State Alliance
for e-Health. Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen and Vermont Gov.
Jim Douglas have been chosen to run the State Alliance
because of their proven initiative on e-Health issues within
their states, said Kathleen Nolan, head of the project and
health director at NGA’s Center for Best Practices.
(November 9, 2006)
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Head of Kaiser's digital project quits
The executive overseeing Kaiser Permanente's ambitious
$3-billion push toward computerizing the medical records of
its 8.6 million members resigned Tuesday, a sign of the
challenges facing the project. The resignation of J.
Clifford Dodd, a senior vice president and chief information
officer for Kaiser, came four days after another Kaiser
employee sent a scathing e-mail to most of the company's
140,000 employees about his concerns over the high-profile
technology project, known as HealthConnect.
(November 8, 2006)
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Study reveals clinicians' tangled web of communications
A new study out today shows that paper-based workflows and
the lack of standardized tools and processes hinders
physicians and nurses from having effective communication
with patients and colleagues. Clinicians are experimenting
with a wide variety of mobile devices including pagers, cell
phones, smartphones and VoIP phones, the study found.
(November 7, 2006)
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HHS seeks info on genomic testing and healthcare IT
The Department of Health and Human Services today released a
request for information from the private and public sectors
on how healthcare IT can advance the use of genomic testing
information to improve and personalize healthcare... HHS is
specifically interested in any plans organizations have
under way to use healthcare IT for storing or sharing
genetic information and how this information can be used to
make evidence-based care decisions.
(November 7, 2006)
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Health information management celebrates week, looks for
workers
The switch from paper to electronic health records will
help doctors, nurses and other medical staff make important
health care decisions on a real-time basis. But who ensures
the information is complete, accurate and kept confidential?
This is the role of the health information management
professional... "HIM is dedicated to the effective
management of patient information and healthcare data needed
to deliver quality treatment and care to the public," said
Kim Wells-Ball, Director of HIM/Privacy Officer for Barton
HealthCare System. "As the healthcare industry moves further
into the information age, the role of the health information
management professional is becoming even more critical. On
top of that, we have a severe shortage of personnel in this
part of the health care field," she said.
(November 6, 2006)
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Study shows slow progress toward Bush's 2014 goal
Findings released last month from a first-ever comprehensive
study on the use of electronic health records in the United
States revealed that 24.9 percent of physicians use some
form of loosely defined electronic health record systems.
However, fewer than 10 percent employ what researchers
define as “a system most likely to benefit patient care.”
The 81-page report, “Health Information Technology in the
United States: The Information Base for Progress,” also
showed that only 5 percent of hospitals use computerized
physician order entry systems.
(November 1, 2006)
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IT among top topics at AHIMA, MGMA
Information technology was top of mind at two conferences
held by major industry organizations last month. The
American Health Information Management Association met in
Denver for its convention and exhibition Oct. 7-12. The
Medical Group Management Association met in Las Vegas for
its annual conference Oct. 22-25.
(November 1, 2006)
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AHIC begins setting goals for 2007
The American Health Information Community on Tuesday began
the work of establishing goals for 2007 aimed at helping the
healthcare industry adopt information technology. At the top
of the list were funding and privacy issues.
(November 1, 2006)
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California Hospital Wins Grant for Technology, Nurse
Training
The Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in California on
Monday received a $4.3 million grant from the Gordon and
Betty Moore Foundation for bar coding and nurse training.
(November 1, 2006)
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Groups Raise Concerns Over Privacy of NHS Database
Civil liberty groups
on Wednesday urged patients in the United Kingdom to boycott
a new national health database, which will provide police
and security services with access to patients' personal
health data, the Evening Standard reports.
Patients' records automatically will be collected from
physicians and hospitals and uploaded to the new central
database. The records could include information about mental
illnesses, abortions, pregnancy, HIV status, drug history or
alcoholism.
(November 1, 2006)
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Report Checks Progress on Network Recommendations
A progress report
examines action taken on the
14 recommendations set last year by the Commission on
Systemic Interoperability to establish a national health
information network.
(November 1, 2006)
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October
2006 |
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Federal panel issues NHIN guidelines
A federal advisory panel to the Department of Health and
Human Services unanimously approved today a draft of minimum
requirements for participation in the Nationwide Health
Information Network. According to Simon Cohn, MD, chair of
the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics’
Workgroup on National Information Infrastructure, the
37-page draft should help HHS address healthcare IT policy
issues.
(October 30, 2006)
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MGMA recap: IT a major concern
While healthcare IT was not the sole focus of the 2006
Medical Group Management Association annual conference, held
here October 22-25, numerous sessions featured IT-related
topics, and MGMA President and CEO William F. Jessee, MD,
addressed multiple IT issues at a conference press luncheon.
(October 27, 2006)
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NEWS RELEASE: HHS Officially Recognizes Certification Body
to Evaluate Electronic Health Records
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information
Technology (CCHIT) is the first group to be designated a
Recognized Certification Body (RCB), HHS Secretary Mike
Leavitt announced today. An RCB’s impartial seal of approval
will accelerate adoption of health IT products by removing
uncertainty about the technical capabilities of the
products, and thereby limiting the risk associated with
investing in health IT for health care providers. “Broad
adoption of health information technology that is
interoperable is absolutely crucial to providing patients
with better care, at lower cost, and with less hassle,”
Secretary Leavitt said. “I applaud the CCHIT for meeting the
requirements to become a Recognized Certification Body and
for their efforts to help bring the benefits of health IT
within reach of consumers.”
(October 26, 2006)
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After Kolodner, then what?
With Robert Kolodner himself stating he has roughly two
months left of his interim tenure as leader of the Office of
the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology,
Washington insiders are abuzz about who might be in line to
succeed him.
(October 26, 2006)
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ONC to help state and federal advisory panels collaborate
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health
Information Technology in its role as overseer plans to
ensure crossover issues are discussed and recommendations
are shared between the newly formed State Alliance for
e-Health and the federal advisory group, the American
Healthcare Information Community. Jodi Daniel, director of
the Office of Policy and Research at ONC, anticipates that
issues of importance to both the federal and state advisory
groups will arise... The State Alliance is designed to be a
consensus body to address state-level challenges, state
licensure and privacy laws and other state issues related to
electronic health record data exchange. It will particularly
focus on issues outside the federal government’s
jurisdiction, Daniel said.
(October 25, 2006)
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SPECIAL AUDIO REPORT: CalRHIO Summit Examines IT Efforts
Stakeholders at the California Regional Health
Information Organization summit on Oct. 20 - the last
scheduled meeting with the organization's initial grant -
discussed recommendations for advancing health IT in
California, including the possibility of designating a
health IT "czar" for the state and the search for
sustainable funding for projects.
(October 25, 2006)
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Second round of CCHIT certifications revs industry
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information
Technology’s second batch of certified ambulatory electronic
health records products announced Oct. 23 was met with
accolades, questions – and also some warnings by vendors...
Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, at an
Oct. 18 national summit hosted by the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, called CCHIT certification one of
the “cornerstones” for propelling HIT transformation in this
country. “Doctors all over the U.S. are prepared to adopt
EHR systems, but they can only afford to adopt it one time,
so they are looking for certified systems.”
(October 24, 2006)
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Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative Selects Wellogic to
Build Health Information Exchange Infrastructure
The Massachusetts eHealth
Collaborative (MAeHC) has selected Wellogic as its
technology vendor to build a health information exchange
connecting three hospitals and more than 100 physician
practices, as well as reference labs, imaging centers,
pharmacies, and other healthcare service providers and
trading partners. Development of this exchange utility marks
the second phase of MAeHC's charter to bring together the
state's major healthcare stakeholders for the purpose of
establishing an interoperable electronic health record (EHR)
system that will enhance the quality, efficiency and safety
of care in Massachusetts.
(October 18, 2006)
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World of Health IT Conference Is Huge Hit with EMEA Region
The conference brought together the health IT industry in
the EMEA region to focus on and discuss the benefits and
value of technology in healthcare. Close to 2,000 people
attended the first World of Health IT Conference and
Exhibition held in Geneva, Switzerland, from Oct. 10-13. The
event drew speakers, attendees and exhibitors from across
Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) including places
as diverse as Andorra and Azerbaijan, Iceland and Israel and
Saudi Arabia and Serbia-Montenegro. The main organizers of
this event include the Healthcare Information and Management
Systems Society (HIMSS), the European Commission (EC) and
the World Health Organization (WHO).
(October 17, 2006)
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Man pleads guilty to hacking organization's Web site
A North Carolina man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday
to charges that he hacked into membership information on the
American College of Physicians' Web site. William Bailey Jr.
of Charlotte illegally downloaded information on 80,000
members of the Philadelphia-based professional society from
its Web site, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia
said.
(October 16, 2006)
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ABCNews Begins 'Prescription for Change' Series, Including
Reports on Health IT
ABCNews' "World
News Tonight" on Sunday in the first segment of its
weeklong "Prescription for Change" series examined some
shortcomings in the U.S. health care system.
(October 16, 2006)
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2006 HIMSS Davies Awards Recognize Excellence in EMR-EHR
Implementation
As the benefits of digital versus paper records dominate the
focus of improving the delivery of healthcare, the
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society
(HIMSS) announced the recipients of the 2006 Nicholas E.
Davies Awards of Excellence in the Organizational,
Ambulatory and Public Health categories. The Davies Awards
recognize excellence in the implementation and use of health
information technology (IT) for healthcare organizations,
private practices and public health systems.
(October 13, 2006)
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Geisinger and IBM collaborate on new IT infrastructure
Geisinger Health System and IBM will collaborate on the
development of a data-mining project that will draw on
information gleaned from Geisinger's electronic health
record system to identify clinical trends and best practices
in order to improve patient outcomes.
(October 13, 2006)
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Telehealth positioned to advance in Canada
Patients in remote and rural communities could have better
access to healthcare thanks to Telehealth development -- a
primary focus for Canada's electronic health record catalyst
and Canada's premier Telehealth organization. Canada Health
Infoway (Infoway) and the Canadian Society of Telehealth
(CST) are announcing plans to work together to advance
Telehealth -- defined as healthcare practiced at a distance.
(October 13, 2006)
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HRSA contracts with SAIC for IT support
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) has
been awarded a 5-year contract to provide IT support to the
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The
contract is estimated at $33.9 million and will continue a
working relationship with HRSA that began in 1998. Under the
contract, SAIC will lead a team that will develop web and
database applications for HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health
Bureau, HIV/AIDS Bureau, and Bureau of Health Professions.
The support is intended to provide a framework for grantees
to report to HRSA on their performance. Additionally, the
database will be used to gather and analyze outcomes and
data accumulated under the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS
Resource Emergency (CARE) Act. The CARE Act addresses the
unmet health needs of persons living with HIV.
(October 12, 2006)
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Electronic Network to Pool Information About H.I.V.
To help determine the best therapies for patients with
H.I.V., seven medical centers around the country will create
the first electronic network to pool information about such
care through a federal grant being announced today.
(October 10, 2006)
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Brailer urges AHIMA members to safeguard data that matters
The nation’s former healthcare IT chief urged healthcare
information professionals gathered here for their annual
meeting to “continue to lead” and to make their efforts
“larger, louder and faster.” “You are at a flexion point,”
David J. Brailer, MD, told an audience of hundreds of
American Health Information Management Association members,
who often refer to themselves as coders. About 4,000 of them
were registered for this year’s conference and exhibition.
Brailer recognized the group’s unique position as the
healthcare industry moves toward adopting more information
technology. Some see the turn towards technology as “perhaps
the end of health information management as we see it,”
Brailer said. He acknowledged that it “could go many ways.”
He also noted that technology alone could not promise an
improved healthcare system. “It’s not that our efforts in
technology are wrong or misplaced,” he said. But we need
more than electronics.” What is important is that clinicians
have information provided to them that will enable them to
make the right decisions. There is no technology that can
automatically guarantee that, he said.
(October 9, 2006)
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AHIMA kicks off go-getter agenda
The American Health Information Management Association’s
78th annual convention kicked off Monday with an address
from AHIMA President Jill Callahan Dennis, who outlined an
ambitious to-do list for the 50,0000-member organization...
Just prior to the convention, the organization released a
survey that showed health information management
professionals have a positive impact on the implementation
of electronic health records. “This study confirms the
benefits that HIM professionals bring to EHR
implementations,” said AHIMA CEO Linda Kloss. “It also
points to areas where HIM professionals have the opportunity
for greater impact.”
(October 9, 2006)
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Hamot Medical Center Selects Allscripts Electronic Health
Record for Pennsylvania Physician Network
Allscripts (Nasdaq: MDRX), the leading provider of clinical
software, connectivity and information solutions that
physicians use to improve healthcare, today announced that
Hamot Medical Center has selected the TouchWorks(TM)
Electronic Health Record from Allscripts to connect and
automate 50
physicians in 16 practices across the Erie region. "The
Electronic Health Record is a powerful tool to improve the
quality of care and practice efficiency while enhancing
patient satisfaction," said Jim Reichert, M.D., Ph.D.,
Physician Leader of the Clinical Information Systems
Department at Hamot Medical Center. "With Allscripts, our
patients
will receive better care and we're confident that they'll
recognize and appreciate the difference." Hamot Medical
Center, a 343-bed acute care facility that is part of the
Hamot Health Foundation, purchased TouchWorks for its
fully-owned physician group, the Hamot Primary Care Network.
Together, the groups serve more than 1 million patients in
northwestern Pennsylvania, western New York and
eastern Ohio.
(October 5, 2006)
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Memphis health information exchange set to expand
The MidSouth eHealth Alliance will add a third local
emergency department to its list of healthcare data users in
mid November. The not-for-profit healthcare information
exchange demonstration project will expand thanks to a
combination of Vanderbilt University-developed technology
and policies modeled after the Markle Foundation's
Connecting for Health Common Framework. “Policy and
technology go hand in hand,” said Mark Frisse, MD, Accenture
Professor of biomedical informatics and director of regional
informatics programs at Vanderbilt University. “You can’t
think through technology until you understand policy.” “The
Connecting for Health’s policy framework is an actionable
set of documents for better patient care,” said Frisse.
“This work is essential reading for any groups desiring to
exchange personal health information across traditional
boundaries.”
(October 4, 2006)
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Mississippi Hospitals Use IT To Improve Care
Medical facilities in Mississippi are adopting
computerized systems to fill prescriptions, schedule tests,
view electronic health records and complete other
time-consuming tasks.
(October 3, 2006)
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Physicians Reluctant To Provide Care Via E-Mail
Physicians are reluctant to communicate with patients via
e-mail because they are not paid for their time, and they
are concerned about increasing their workload.
(October 3, 2006)
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Health IT Legislation Fails To Pass Before Congressional
Recess
Congress failed to pass compromise health IT legislation
before adjourning last week for recess.
(October 3, 2006)
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Pitt, CMU, RAND to partner on grant
The University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and
the Urban League of Pittsburgh will collaborate on a
transformation of clinical research to enhance patient care,
it was announced Tuesday. CMU and the Urban League, as well
as the RAND Corp., and the Intel Research Pittsburgh Lab,
are partners to the University of Pittsburgh's grant of
$83.5 million over five years from the National Institutes
of Health, to establish the Clinical and Translational
Science Institute (CTSI). CTSI is aimed at transforming how
clinical and translational research is conducted so that
promising treatments can be more readily available to
patients.
(October 3, 2006)
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N.Y. health care reform to get $1.5B in federal funding
New York state's plan to restructure its health care system
has gotten a $1.5 billion shot in the arm. Gov. George
Pataki announced that the federal Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services has approved the state's request for a
waiver, which will provide up to $1.5 billion in federal
funding to be invested in the State's health care reform
initiatives... Included in the state's program will be the
increased use of e-prescribing, electronic medical records
and regional health information organizations like The
Health Information Exchange of New York, a network formed by
Iroquois Healthcare Alliance, a Clifton Park group of 59
upstate hospitals, and the New York Health Plan Association,
the Albany group representing the state's health insurers.
The state's plan also calls for the expanded use of
ambulatory and primary care services.
(October 3, 2006)
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Future of Misys in doubt
The future of Misys is up in the air this week following
reports that the British-based healthcare and financial
software firm has ended its search for a buyer and reached
agreement with Chief Executive Kevin Lomax to allow him to
resign immediately. The company’s stock dropped 18 percent
Monday following the announcement of Lomax’s resignation.
(October 3, 2006)
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NJHA Electronic Record Task Force Starts Fall Agenda
The NJHA Electronic Medical Record – Electronic Health
Record Task Force returned from a summer break last week to
start working on its fall agenda. The task force reviewed
and discussed the EMR-EHR survey information that was
collected in July. According to Joseph Sullivan, task force
co-chair and senior vice president/chief information officer
of Saint Barnabas Health Care System, “It’s encouraging to
see the number of clinical systems currently being
implemented or planned for implementation at New Jersey
hospitals over the next 12-18 months, and the overwhelming
interest in sharing electronic medical record information
among New Jersey providers.”
(October 2, 2006)
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VA official takes IT lead
Veterans Administration executive Robert M. Kolodner, MD, is
stepping up as the nation’s interim healthcare IT chief.
Industry leaders are hailing the appointment of Kolodner,
and expect the now-former chief health informatics officer
for the Department of Veterans Affairs to pick up where
David J. Brailer, MD, ended when he resigned the post of
National Coordinator of Health Information Technology last
May after two years on the job.
(October 1, 2006)
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HIMSS opens Brussels office
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society
has opened a new office in Brussels, Belgium, as part of its
initiative to expand its global reach. According to HIMSS
officials, the new HIMSS branch is focused on bringing
together healthcare professionals in Europe, the Middle East
and Africa, or EMEA, who share the common goal of improving
the delivery of healthcare through information technology
and management systems.
(October 1, 2006)
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ELINCS Specification
The EHR-Lab Interoperability and Connectivity Specification
(ELINCS) project published ELINCS version 1.0 in July
2005... ELINCS v1.1 was published in October 2006 as a minor
update to v1.0... A draft of ELINCS version 2.0, issued in
February 2006, is provided below for review.
(October 1, 2006)
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September
2006 |
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HIT bill passage this year seen as unlikely
Congress went home last week before agreeing on language
that would reconcile House bill 4157, the Health Information
Technology Promotion Act, and Senate bill 1418, the Wired
for Healthcare Quality Act. The bill still could pass during
a lame duck session before the end of the year, say sources
close to the issue. This would be good news to Justin T.
Barnes, vice president of marketing and government affairs
at Greenway Medical Technology, who would like to see the
bill pass. “The underpinning of such a law is that it could
save lives and contain costs by eliminating duplication of
medical testing,” Barnes said. Barnes has testified before
Congress on healthcare IT three times and has helped to
craft the language for the proposed legislation.
(September 29, 2006)
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CCHIT updates status of EHR certification criteria
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information
Technology, or CCHIT, is finalizing its 2007 ambulatory
electronic health records (EHRs) certification criteria and
is preparing to publish its proposed inpatient EHR
certification criteria, said CCHIT Executive Director Alicia
Ray during a Town Call teleconference Wednesday.
(September 28, 2006)
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Intel unveils plans to take technology to the bedside
Intel unveiled plans Wednesday for a new mobile technology
platform designed to improve patient safety and make work
easier for nurses and doctors. The computer chip maker is
teaming up with Austin, Texas-based Motion Computing to
offer slates that clinicians can use at the bedside to
record vital signs, medication and progress notes. The
slates, called mobile clinical assistants, will be available
during the first half of 2007, according to Intel.
(September 28, 2006)
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Interoperable health records key to drug safety
The Institute of Medicine's Future of Drug Safety report,
released earlier this month called for a broad range of
recommendations spanning the monitoring, evaluation,
improvement and insurance of drug safety. In his praise of
the IOM report, Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike
Leavitt called on Congress to ensure that health information
technology legislation support and emphasize the importance
of interoperable health records.
(September 27, 2006)
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SureScripts Announces First Collaborations With Payer
Community
SureScripts today announced a series of collaborations with
members of the payer community as part of its rollout of new
services in 2006. MemberHealth, National Medical Health Card
Systems (NMHC) and RxAmerica have signed agreements that
will allow physicians using a SureScripts Certified
Solution™ to access information from each regarding their
patient's formulary, eligibility and medication history --
in real time, during a patient's visit.
(September 27, 2006)
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IOM report presses Medicare, Medicaid to adopt P4P
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services should gradually
implement pay for performance to help improve healthcare
quality for the 42 million Medicare beneficiaries in this
country, according to an Institute of Medicine report
released last week. The healthcare industry praised the
recommendation and IOM report, “Rewarding Provider
Performance: Aligning Incentives in Medicare,” which looked
at the pros and cons of implementing a pay-for-performance
program within Medicare.
(September 26, 2006)
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Survey shows increase in health information exchanges
The number of health information exchanges in the United
States has increased over the past year, and more of the
organizations are exchanging clinical data, according to
survey results released Monday at the Health Information
Technology Summit. Janet Marchibroda, executive director of
the eHealth Initiative, said the “Third Annual Survey of
Health Information Exchange at the State, Regional and
Community Levels” presents an optimistic assessment of
progress.
(September 26, 2006)
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Kolodner, McClellan stress quality
The federal government isn’t interested in paying more for
healthcare information technology for its own sake, warned
two of the administration’s highest-ranking healthcare
officials on Monday. However, both outgoing Medicare
administrator Mark McClellan and newly named interim
healthcare IT director Robert Kolodner said HIT is central
to what the government will pay for – improved outcomes and
better overall healthcare quality. “My main focus is how do
we improve quality and reduce costs for our beneficiaries,”
McClellan told attendees at the Third Health Information
Technology Summit. “Effective healthcare IT is an essential
part of that.”
(September 25, 2006)
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