Category — Health IT Policy

The Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel has extended its contract with HHS through April 30, 2010, the panel announced Tuesday, Healthcare IT News reports.

The panel and HHS have collaborated to expand the adoption and interoperability of electronic health records since HITSP’s creation in 2005, according to Fran Schrotter, HITSP’s project director and senior vice president and chief operating officer of the American National Standards Institute, which administers HITSP.

During the extension period, Schrotter said HITSP will:

• Collaborate with CMS on a project on quality demonstration;
• Conduct monthly informational update calls; and
• Take part in the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society’s annual conference and exhibition.

The contract extension ensures that HITSP volunteers remain engaged until the next phase of standards harmonization, which will be funded by the Office of the National Coordinator, is announced, Schrotter added (Manos, Healthcare IT News, 2/16

Above Article Publish On http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2010/2/16/hhs-extends-hitsp-contract-pushes-ahead-with-ehr-adoption.aspx

HHS is gearing up to award $50 million in task orders to establish a national Health IT Research Center, Federal Computer Week reports.

Joshua Seidman — acting director of the “meaningful use” division at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT — discussed HHS’ plans for the research center this week during a conference sponsored by the eHealth Initiative.

He said the Health IT Research Center will provide a virtual learning community through an online portal. The center also will help users develop communities around research subjects that support the meaningful use of electronic health records.

Support for Regional Extension Centers

Seidman said the research center will serve as a resource for about 60 regional health IT extension centers.

HHS is awarding nearly $600 million in stimulus funding to establish the extension centers in communities across the country. Officials are expected to select about half of the extension centers within the next few weeks, Seidman said.

The regional extension centers aim to offer health care providers guidance on:

• Best practices in health IT privacy and security;
• EHR vendor selection and group purchasing;
• Health data exchange and interoperability;
• Health IT project implementation and management;
• Workflow redesign and work force support (Lipowicz, Federal Computer Week, 1/26).

Above article publish on http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2010/1/27/hhs-to-award-50m-to-set-up-national-center-for-health-it-research.aspx

After federal officials publish an interim rule on the “meaningful use” of electronic health records, the Health IT Standards Committee will use public comments to shape a final version of the rule, according to John Halamka, vice chair of the committee, Government Health IT reports.

Halamka spoke last week during the panel’s final meeting of the year.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is scheduled to release interim certification standards on meaningful use by the end of the month. In addition, CMS is expected to publish guidance on the federal incentive payment programs.

During the standards panel meeting, Halamka said the committee strove to recommend meaningful use standards that would be amenable to health care organizations of different sizes and types.

The committee also pushed for data protection standards that align with the HIPAA privacy and security rule. The recommendations call for electronic health systems to authenticate identities, create an audit trail, encrypt and decrypt information and restrict access to authorized users.

When the committee returns to work in 2010, the group will continue its efforts to develop data standards, facilitate EHR adoption and reduce barriers to health IT, Halamka said (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 12/22).

Above article publish on http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2009/12/23/public-comments-will-help-shape-meaningful-use-rule.aspx

By, Bernie Monegain

WASHINGTON – The government announced Friday $60 million to support healthcare IT research projects aimed at “breakthrough” advances.

David Blumenthal, MD, national coordinator for health information technology, said the money would support the development of Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP).

SHARP projects will conduct focused research in critical areas where breakthrough advances are needed to address existing barriers to the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology.

Applications are due on Jan. 25, 2010, with awards anticipated in March 2010.

The SHARP program identifies and works to address barriers to adoption in the following four areas:

• Security of Health Information Technology research to address the challenges of developing security and risk mitigation policies and the technologies necessary to build and preserve the public trust as health IT systems become ubiquitous.
• Patient-Centered Cognitive Support research to address the need to harness the power of health IT in a patient focused manner and align the technology with the day-to-day practice of medicine to support clinicians as they care for patients.
• Health care Application and Network Platform Architectures research to focus on the development of new and improved architectures that are necessary to achieve electronic exchange and use of health information in a secure, private, and accurate manner.
• Secondary Use of Electronic Health Record Data research to identify strategies to enhance the use of health IT in improving the overall quality of health care, population health and clinical research while protecting patient privacy.

Each project will identify and implement a research agenda addressing the specific goals of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) and identify the barriers to adoption and meaningful use of heath IT that will be addressed in their research area.

HHS expects to award qualified applicants cooperative agreements to support research efforts in these four project areas. Each agreement will last four years. Awardees will implement a collaborative, interdisciplinary program of research addressing short-term and long-term challenges in their focus area.

Additionally, the projects are expected to develop and implement a cooperative program between researchers, healthcare providers, and other health IT sector stakeholders to incorporate research results into health IT practice and products.

Authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and part of the HITECH provisions of ARRA, the cooperative agreements are part of a series of grants to help strengthen and support the use of healthcare information technology.

“Innovative research and approaches are required to overcome some of the foremost challenges we face in achieving our vision of a transformed healthcare system enabled through health IT,” said Blumenthal. “The SHARP program will bring together some of the best and brightest minds in the nation to find breakthrough solutions and innovations that will eliminate barriers to adoption and, over time, increase the meaningful use of health IT to improve the health and care of all Americans.”

Above article publish on http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/60m-aimed-breakthrough-healthcare-it-research

On Wednesday, members of a Health IT Policy Committee work group on the Nationwide Health Information Network called for the creation of a national electronic directory of health care providers, Government Health IT reports.

Officials said such a directory could help CMS administer the federal economic stimulus package’s health IT incentive payments. The agency also could use the directory to communicate with thousands of physicians through the NHIN (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 12/16).

A national provider directory would include each physician’s e-mail addresses, fax numbers and telephone numbers, officials said.

The Social Security Administration is developing requirements for establishing its own provider directory, which also would include electronic health record information.

Obstacles

The work group members noted that several challenges might hinder the government’s ability to maintain an accurate, complete and up-to-date directory (Lipowicz, Federal Computer Week, 12/16).

For example, officials currently have no uniform standards for integrating directories and networks.

In addition, some health care providers might be reluctant to add and update their directory listings without incentives for doing so (Government Health IT, 12/16).

Officials also said the NHIN will need to establish a system to verify the identities of people using the network. The work group plans to hold a hearing on user authentication on Jan. 7, 2010 (Federal Computer Week, 12/16).

Above article publish on http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2009/12/17/nhin-work-group-calls-for-national-electronic-physician-directory.aspx

HDM Breaking News, By - Joseph Goedert

The meaningful use workgroup of the HIT Policy Committee has released its initial recommendations for a definition of “meaningful use” of electronic health records. The definition is important because under the economic stimulus law, providers must “meaningfully use” EHRs to receive financial incentives from Medicare and Medicaid.

These initial recommendations do not include a formal definition of meaningful use. But they are the initial recommendation of the functionalities that will be required by 2011 when incentives start. “This is the beginning of a conversation that will continue for some time,” said David Blumenthal, M.D., the national coordinator for health information technology, during a meeting of the HIT Policy Committee, a public-private advisory group. Blumenthal added that “there is a long way to go” before a final definition of meaningful use is achieved.

The workgroup’s initial recommendations include 22 objectives–most covering inpatient and outpatient care–for EHRs in 2011. These include, among others:

• Use CPOE for all order types including medications;
• Implement drug-drug, drug-allergy and drug-formulary checks;
• Maintain an up-to-date problem list;
• Generate and transmit permissible prescriptions electronically;
• Maintain an active medication allergy list;
• Send reminders to patients per their preference for preventive and follow-up care;
• Document a progress note for each encounter;
• Provide patients with an electronic copy or electronic access to clinical information such as lab results, problem list, medication lists and allergies;
• Provide clinical summaries for patients for each encounter;
• Exchange key clinical information among providers of care;
• Perform medication reconciliation at relevant encounters;
• Submit electronic data to immunization registries where required and accepted;
• Provide electronic submissions of reportable lab results to public health agencies;
• Provide electronic surveillance data to public health agencies according to applicable law and practice; and

• Comply with federal and state privacy/security laws and the fair data sharing practices in HHS’ Nationwide Privacy and Security Framework, released in December 2008.

The HIT Policy Committee will make the final recommendations on meaningful use definitions to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

HHS is mandated to publish an interim final rule for standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria of EHRs that qualify for financial incentives by the end of 2009. CMS will develop the formal definition of meaningful use to support the incentive programs. CMS will go through the full administrative rules process with a proposed rule, public comment period and a final rule. A timetable was not given.

The recommendations from the meaningful use workgroup include a matrix of objectives for 2011, plus enhanced objectives for 2013 and 2015. The workgroup will refine the initial recommendations for 2011 and 2013 within three months.

The meaningful use workgroup also has laid out an “achievable vision” for benefits to be realized by 2015. These include reductions in heart attacks, medical errors, and preventable hospitalizations.

For more information, click here. Scroll down and click on “meaningful use preamble” and “meaningful use matrix.” Updates from certification/adoption and information exchange workgroups also are available.

Above article published on http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/meaningful_use-38487-1.html

By Wendy Johnson

Although HHS has yet to publish its criteria for “meaningful use” of EHRs, the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology is pushing forward with a new certification program that opened Wednesday.

“We don’t want to lose time,” Dr. Mark Leavitt, CCHIT chairman, told AHIMA Conference attendees Monday in Grapevine, Texas. To date, CCHIT is the only body recognized by the federal government to certify EHRs to qualify for ARRA funding. “We’re skating toward where the puck is going to be rather than waiting for it to move,” Leavitt said.

CCHIT now offers two types of EHR certification. Both would likely expire on Dec. 31, 2012:

• CCHIT Certified 2011–Maximum assurance that it has comprehensive, integrated EHR capabilities and that it meets or exceeds ARRA standards. This certification is tailored to specific uses, such as ambulatory clinics, child health, e-prescribing, inpatient settings and emergency departments.

• Preliminary ARRA 2011 Certification–Maximum flexibility in meeting ARRA standards. This option is designed for vendors, developers and providers to ensure they will meet the 2011 certification requirements when HHS finalizes the rules next spring. This “chocolate and vanilla” certification is designed for vendors to give them the “thumbs up on the ARRA side,” Leavitt said.

The commission will add a third, site-specific program for healthcare providers around June 2010, including for long-term care, post-acute care, behavioral health and other settings, he said.

Above article published on

http://www.fierceemr.com/story/arra-certification-starts-week/2009-10-06?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

On Monday, National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal said state governments will provide the foundation for establishing a nationwide health information exchange infrastructure, Government Health IT reports.

Blumenthal spoke during the Medicaid Management Information Systems Conference in Chicago.

He said he hopes “in the very near future” to announce an initiative designed to help states create health data exchanges. Funding for the project would come from the $300 million set aside for such projects in the federal economic stimulus package’s health IT provisions.

Cross-Border Challenges

Blumenthal noted that states will need to determine how medical providers can exchange patient health data across state lines.

Although such coordination can boost patient care, privacy restrictions often pose challenges for cross-border data sharing, Blumenthal said.

Patient-Centered Care Coordination

Blumenthal suggested that officials use a patient-centered model when developing health data exchange policy.

He said, “If you think about where the patient is in this complex of rules, regulations and technological opportunities, you will find a path toward meaningful collaboration in effective use of health IT” (McCloskey, Government Health IT, 8/18).

Above article published on

http://www.ihealthbeat.org/Articles/2009/8/18/Blumenthal-States-Must-Design-Health-Data-Exchange-Blueprint.aspx

Healthcare IT News Staff

Healthcare IT chief David Blumenthal has joined the White House e-mail campaign for healthcare reform with a public letter sent via e-mail expounding the virtues of electronic health record systems as a critical piece of transformation.

Blumenthal’s e-mail Wednesday follows one sent last week by senior White House adviser David Axelrod aimed at countering what he called “the viral e-mails that fly unchecked and under the radar, spreading all sorts of lies and distortions.

This initiative will lower costs, improve the practice of medicine and result in more reliable, efficient care, the letter says. It will also be “daunting” and “hard for some clinicians and hospitals,” Blumenthal concedes.

“The goal of assuring an electronic health record for every American is daunting,” he says. “We at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) do not pretend otherwise. We know this will be hard for some clinicians and hospitals, and we stand ready to help with resources provided by the Congress and the Administration.”

The positive benefits of a transition to a “modernized, interconnected, and vastly improved system of care delivery” are worth the struggle, he says.

“As a primary care physician for over 30 years, I spent the first twenty shuffling papers in search of missing studies and frequently hoping, during middle-of-the-night emergencies, that I knew enough about patients’ medical histories to make good decisions,” says Blumenthal. “All that changed when I began to have access to patients’ electronic medical records.”

Blumenthal urges readers to support ONC’s upcoming work under the HITECH Act, and pledges to keep Americans updates and “fully engaged” in the process.

The full text of the letter appears below.

Electronic Health Records and the 21st Century Health Care System

A Message from Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

In my role as National Coordinator for Health IT, I have the privilege to be part of a transformative change in health care that will help to extend the benefits of health information technology (HIT) to all Americans. With the passage earlier this year of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, we have the tools to begin a major transformation in American health care made possible through the creation of a secure, interoperable nationwide health information network.

Of course, this system is not an end in itself. Rather, it will enable countless other improvements in the quality and efficiency of health care that will make Americans healthier and their economy stronger.

My personal belief in this transformation is not based on theory or conjecture. As a primary care physician for over 30 years, I spent the first twenty shuffling papers in search of missing studies and frequently hoping, during middle-of-the-night emergencies, that I knew enough about patients’ medical histories to make good decisions. All that changed when I began to have access to patients’ electronic medical records. It made me a much better doctor. I would never go back, and neither would the vast majority of American physicians who have made the leap into the electronic age.

In fact, it would be hard for any health professional today to escape the conclusion that the antiquated, paper-dominated system we now have in place isn’t working well for patients, creates added costs and inefficiencies, and isn’t sustainable. As we look at our nation’s annual health care expenditures of approximately $2.5 trillion, there are many ways our current system fails both patients and providers. It is clear that change is necessary.

But how and why is nationwide electronic health information exchange so critical to achieving such change? Most importantly, because it provides the best opportunity for each patient to receive optimal care. The technology will make patients complete medical information securely and reliably available to health care providers where and when it is needed when clinician and patient are together facing medical decisions that can make a lasting difference.

Better, faster, more reliable and efficient care also ultimately reduces system-wide costs by delivering results that help to avoid expensive or prolonged hospitalization from delayed or ineffective treatment, avert costly and sometimes fatal adverse events and unnecessary procedures, and can help to eliminate the onset of disease by better informed management of each patient’s health.

The goal of assuring an electronic health record for every American is daunting. We at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) do not pretend otherwise. We know this will be hard for some clinicians and hospitals, and we stand ready to help with resources provided by the Congress and the Administration.

We also recognize that we cannot achieve the benefits of a nationwide health information system unless we can assure all Americans that their personal health information will remain private and secure when this system exists. Putting into place safeguards for the privacy and security of this information, when it is in electronic form, will be an ongoing priority that influences and guides all of our efforts.

In the days, weeks, and months ahead, we will be rolling out a number of pivotal initiatives called for under the HITECH Act. I urge you to join and support us as we lay the foundation for every American to benefit from an electronic health record, as part of a modernized, interconnected, and vastly improved system of care delivery. We at ONC will be making every effort to keep you updated and fully engaged in all the steps of this national journey.

Above article published on

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/blumenthal-open-letter-seeks-support-oncs-health-it-plans?page=0

Diana Manos, Senior Editor

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is now releasing healthcare IT funding from the stimulus package to state Medicaid programs.

According to a CMS letter mailed Wednesday to state Medicaid directors, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act enables the government to pay a 100 percent federal financial participation (FFP) match to states that help Medicaid providers adopt, implement or upgrade certified electronic health record technology to demonstrate meaningful use.

It will also pay a 90 percent FFP match to cover a state’s administrative costs for running an HIT Medicaid incentive program. States may now request the 90 percent FFP match for administrative planning activities, according to the letter.

Medicaid directors should contact their CMS regional office for further guidance and maintain ongoing communication while initiating planning activities. State health IT incentive programs should be part of larger statewide efforts to promote healthcare IT use and exchange.

CMS advised states who plan to apply for a FFP match to plan how they will audit their healthcare IT incentive payment programs for errors.

CMS is working on a final rule, due by the end of the year, with more information on how Medicaid providers will have to show meaningful use to qualify for health IT incentive payments.

Above article published on

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/states-can-now-apply-health-it-medicaid-funding-cms-says