Archive for December, 2009
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1 HHS Announces Additional $38 Million in Grant Funding to Support Health IT Workforce Development
Dec 28, 2009. Government Initiatives, Grants.As the adoption of EHRs and other health IT surges, the need for a strong health IT workforce also grows. In response to this need, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently announced two additional grant programs to support the training and development of the health IT workforce. These programs are titled Information Technology Professionals in Health Care: Program of Assistance for University-Based Training Programs (University-Based Training Program) and Information Technology Professionals in Health Care: Competency Examination for Individuals (Competency Examination Program).
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1 Telehealth: An Emerging Field in Health IT
Dec 22, 2009. Health Information Technology, Insight.Telehealth is an emerging field that links patients and physicians across the country and beyond via video and health information technology. The telecommunications giant AT&T is investing heavily in this growing “telehealth” industry.
For the past year, AT&T scientists have focused on the home health market, developing prototypes of products that will integrate into the telehealth field. One of these products is a ‘smart slipper’ that has insole technology with four pressure sensors and a 3-axis accelerometer that reads how well a person is walking.
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0 New Program to Advance Health IT Research
Dec 21, 2009. Government Initiatives.On Friday, Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, announced a new program to encourage innovation in health IT.
Through the HITECH Act, $60 million will fund projects for the Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) Program to support health IT research. Each research project will be charged with formulating and executing a research agenda that will focus on specific goals of HITECH, and developing innovative solutions to overcome health IT barriers.
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0 ONC Meeting Update
Dec 17, 2009. Today.The ONC Health Information Technology Policy and Standards Committees were hard at work at a meeting in Washington on Monday. The HHS website has posted the agenda and presentations from many of the Policy Committee workgroups, including the workgroups for:
- Meaningful use,
- Certification/adoption,
- Health exchange,
- NIHN, and
- Strategic planning.
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0 The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Dec 15, 2009. Today.December is the time of year for gift-giving. Many of us are running around with our lists and packing our shopping carts full of DVDs, video games, holiday sweaters, and virtually everything imaginable for our loved ones. How many of those items will go back to be returned or exchanged the day after Christmas? Have you ever searched for the perfect gift that will always be useful, and never need to be returned, exchanged, or exiled to the back of a closet? This holiday season, consider purchasing an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system. EHRs will benefit you, your staff, and most importantly, your patients.
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2 Federal EHR Incentive Program: Does it Offer a Foundation for Success?
Dec 14, 2009. Insight.“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” ~David Brinkley
With the goal for every American to have an Electronic Health Record (EHR) by the year 2014, the Federal government is throwing many ‘bricks’ at physicians. It will be interesting to see if these bricks will actually build a foundation for EHR success; or, act as roadblocks on the way to widespread ‘meaningful use’ of EHR technology.
Metaphorically, I will relate the ‘bricks’ in Mr. Brinkley’s quote to the policy and programs tied to the billions of dollars in ARRA funds allocated for Health IT. Under the HITECT Act, language suggests that physicians are eligible for about $44,000 in incentive payments through Medicare or Medicaid if they prove ‘meaningful use’ of an EHR. Months after the passing of the HITECH Act, the definition, conditions, and standards of ‘meaningful use’ are still under debate.
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0 Competition in the Health IT Market Grows
Dec 11, 2009. Health Information Technology.Everyone wants a piece of the Health IT pie; from Google to Microsoft, and Intel to Oracle, all are pushing for the largest piece of the growing Health IT market. Most recently, Microsoft has made plans to acquire Sentillion, a privately held health care IT company that provides software applications for caregivers and physicians.
Microsoft plans to invest in Sentillion’s technologies, which includes Vergence, a clinical workstation platform that streamlines caregivers’ access to applications and patient data, and Tap & Go and Tap2, which provide immediate access to clinical applications with the “tap of a passive proximity badge,” according to the company’s Website.
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1 Study Shows EHRs May Increase Physician Drug Safety Reporting
Dec 9, 2009. News.Pfizer recently announced results of an online survey that shows physicians are more likely to report drug side effects through an EHR system, as compared to traditional paper reporting. In addition, nearly 60 percent of survey respondents thought that the use of EHRs for adverse event reporting would improve patient care.
Of the 300 physicians surveyed, two-thirds utilized some form of an EHR system and one-third used a paper-based system. 50 percent of total respondents and 60% of respondents who are EHR users reported they would be more likely to report drug data using an EHR system. This study also confirmed a common barrier to EHR adoption; of those still using paper-based systems, 80 percent cited cost as the major deterrent.
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1 Meaningful Use – A Look at Required Data Standards
Dec 8, 2009. Today.The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act provides reimbursements to physicians who purchase and implement an Electronic Health Record (EHR). In order to participate in the program, physicians and EHR vendors must meet a set of requirements. You may have heard the term “meaningful use” in the news; it refers to a set of requirements for physicians and vendors. EHR vendors must provide certain functionality, and physicians must actually utilize the features in their practice.
Interoperability between different EHR systems is one of the main goals of meaningful use. Sharing patient data has many benefits, such as aiding clinical research, ensuring medical information is available as patients change providers, and adding to a knowledgebase which can help doctors with diagnostic and treatment issues. However, before EHR systems can share data, they must all speak the same language. Here is a brief look at some of the data standards proposed for inclusion in meaningful use:
SNOMED CT – Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine – Clinical Terms is a standardized medical vocabulary pertaining to most areas of clinical information. It offers a consistent way to access and store information across different specialties and practices. Meaningful use requires SNOMED for clinical problems and procedures.
LOINC – Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes – is the proposed meaningful use data standard used for identifying and recording laboratory observations and results.
RxNorm – is a standardized nomenclature for clinical drugs and delivery devices, and is the proposed standard for drug and medication allergies.
UCUM – The Unified Code for Units of Measure is a code system that includes all units of measure currently used in science, engineering, and business. It is designed to facilitate electronic communication and is proposed for meaningful use.
UNII – Unique Ingredient Identifier is an FDA standard designed to create a universal way to identify different ingredients found in drugs, biologics, food, and devices. Meaningful use will require UNII for tracking allergens.
Although these standards may seem arcane to physicians, they could determine whether or not a practice qualifies for the HITECH stimulus reimbursements. If you currently have an EHR, check with your vendor to see if they support these standards. If you have not yet purchased an EHR, be sure to ask the vendor if they support these standards. Remember, qualified professionals can receive $66,000 under Medicaid, and up to $44,000 under Medicare. The reimbursements start in 2011, so physicians should purchase an EHR soon to qualify in time.
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Ryan Ricks Security Officer
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1 Dangerous Definitions: Hospitals Urge Officials to Better Define Terms for EHR Incentive Payments
Dec 8, 2009. Health Information Technology.As the battle in defining the term ‘meaningful use’ continues, another war on words has come to light. The American Hospital Association is reporting that a group of 43 hospitals and health systems have collectively sent a letter to Federal officials, urging them to better define certain terms under ARRA and the HITECH Act to maximize the number of medical providers that will be eligible for health IT incentive payments.
This group conveys a valid point in their letter: “Bearing in mind that the purpose of ARRA is to encourage the adoption and use of electronic health records, we would like to comment on the definition of a hospital and the definition of a hospital-based physician, both of which are key to ensuring that incentives are available to the greatest number of hospitals and physicians.”
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