The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has started accepting applications from organizations seeking to be named as testing and certification bodies for electronic health record systems, Modern Healthcare reports.

Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate “meaningful use” of certified EHR systems will qualify for federal incentive payments.

ONC issued the final rule on the temporary testing and certification program on June 18, and the rule appeared in the Federal Register on June 24.

The stimulus package gave ONC the option of retaining the Certification Commission for Health IT as the sole EHR certification group or recognizing a new organization, according to Modern Healthcare. ONC opted to expand its search for a new group, and CCHIT has joined a pool of applicants for the distinction.

Carol Bean, a standards harmonization analyst for ONC, said HHS to date has received about 40 application inquiries and 14 requests for applications. She said ONC has 30 days after receiving an application to decide whether the organization qualifies as an “authorized testing and certification body” under the temporary certification program.

The final rules for the permanent authorization program have not yet been released, although a proposed rule was issued in March (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 7/1).

Source:http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2010/7/2/onc-starts-accepting-applications-for-ehr-certification-groups.aspx

The Health IT Standards Committee’s implementation work group is considering the development of an online collection of resources to help health care providers and vendors meet proposed “meaningful use” criteria for electronic health records, Government Health IT reports.

Earlier this year, CMS published a notice of proposed rulemaking describing how health care providers can demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHRs to qualify for incentive payments under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package.

At a recent work group meeting, health care providers asked for more guidance on how to comply with the meaningful use rules.

Aneesh Chopra — chair of the panel and U.S. Chief Technology Officer — said the work group could generate a digital library that would enable health care providers to access details about requirements for each meaningful use provision.

He said the panel’s blog could serve as an initial source of information. He added that the work group also could pass along user feedback to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

The work group is scheduled to offer recommendations to the full Standards Committee on April 28. The panel might propose a formal resource Web site as part of its recommendations (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 3/31).

Above article publish http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2010/4/1/panel-mulls-creation-of-resource-web-site-for-meaningful-use-rules.aspx

Vendors and users of electronic health record modules should monitor them closely for potential data security breaches, according to the Health IT Standards Committee, Government Health IT reports.

The suggestion was included in a summary of the committee’s recommendations on the interim final rule on standards and certification criteria for health IT under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package. The rule describes the requirements for certified EHR systems that physicians and hospitals must use to qualify for health IT adoption incentives.

John Halamka — vice chair of the committee, who published a summary of the recommendations in a March 9 blog post — said the committee “recommended that a list of acceptable technology standards be included in the certification process” in part because IT security standards change quickly, particularly for those strengthening encryption.

According to Halamka, the committee also recommended that the interim final rule “specify broad families of standards” for clinical operations, such as a major version of each standard that also includes a “detailed implementation guide that serves as a floor.”

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has offered the interim final rule for public comment until Monday (Mosquera, Government Health IT, 3/11).

Above article publish on http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2010/3/12/standards-panel-calls-for-increased-monitoring-of-security-in-ehr-modules.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

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

By: Roy Mark

While the Obama administration’s drive to dramatically increase health IT spending portends a financial bonanza for vendors, the boom will not come without risks, says Input.

The U.S. health IT market is set for disruptive change, predicts a report by Input released Sept. 10. The key drivers of the change will occur “as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and national health care legislation increase the need for innovative health care technology that also reduces costs,” according to Input’s statement. Compounding the change will be the addition of the baby boomers to the swelling ranks of Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

“As the federal government begins analyzing the data collected through EHR [electronic health records] systems, a wide array of new health care IT market opportunities will emerge for vendors,” Tim Dowd, Input’s CEO, said in the statement. “This includes companies supplying health information systems, decision support automation, data warehousing, data mining tools and middleware to connect EHRs to regional information exchange organizations and other internal systems.”

According to Input, the federal budget combined with the deficit “will drive growth opportunities in the health care IT market as technology offers the ability to dramatically cut health care costs. Simultaneously, the stimulus package is setting the groundwork for the next stages of IT investment by making $2 billion available for the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT (ONC). Input’s research also predicts that the Obama administration’s push for greater adoption of … [EHR] systems will open up adjacent IT market opportunities.”

Disruptive change, though, also brings risks, among them possible public and provider backlash over “the costs of buying and maintaining systems, and training staff to manage and oversee a new federal health care program; … the additional work needed to ensure security and privacy of data, since it will be transferred among different providers; and … building IT systems that track health outcomes to satisfy the federal government’s desired method of compensating providers,” Input said in its statement.

“The Obama administration’s efforts to forge ahead with an aggressive health care IT improvement plan are not without their challenges,” Dowd said. “Whatever form the country’s health care reform legislation ultimately takes, it will create the need for more technology innovation, which will require planning and insight to remain ahead of the curve.”

Input predicts that U.S. state and local government health organizations will increase their investments in health IT systems and services from $7.6 billion in 2009 to $9.6 billion by 2014.

Above article published on

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Health-Care-IT/Disruptive-Change-Predicted-for-Health-IT-Market-481673/

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

Diana Manos, Senior Editor

As part of a federal effort to dispel myths about health reform, David Blumenthal, the nation’s coordinator for health information technology, said HIT can reduce medical errors and improve the quality of healthcare.

At a Friday Webcast hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services, Blumenthal was part of a panel of federal experts gathered to promote the Obama administration’s proposal for health reform. The panel members took questions from the public via email, Twitter and Facebook.

Blumenthal said healthcare technology sounds “abstract and forbidding,” but it contributes many valuable and fundamental elements of better care. As a primary care physician of 30 years, he said he began using healthcare IT 10 years ago and found it helped him to provide better care and lower costs by preventing duplicate tests for his patients.

Health IT can also remind doctors of important preventative tests that their patients need, helping to improve care, he said.

Blumenthal disputed a Webcast viewer’s question about whether health IT could be used to ration care, saying health IT helps the doctor and patient determine the best course of treatment by providing “everything they need to make a correct and wise decision.”

Blumenthal - who said he was initially hesitant to adopt IT - said The Obama administration has made a commitment toward health IT in the stimulus package, and “I am quite confident we are going to make this transition. This is going to happen because it’s the right thing to do.”

Also on Friday, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a series of reports on how health reform will impact each state. This report comes as Congress takes a summer recess with Senate Finance Committee members unable to find a compromise on their version of the bill. The Finance Committee is the last remaining Congressional committee out of five that must pass legislation before a bill can move to the full House and Senate floor for a vote.

Above article published on

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/blumenthal-touts-health-it-hhs-health-reform-webcast

By Gautham Nagesh

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will reimburse states that issue incentive payments to health care providers to encourage adoption of electronic medical records, according to guidance released on Sept. 1.

A letter from CMS Director Cindy Mann to state Medicaid directors details a program under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that offers financial incentives for eligible Medicare and Medicaid providers to adopt interoperable electronic health records. Approximately $20 billion will be distributed to providers by 2014, mostly in the form of grants.

The payments will help defray the costs of deploying electronic health record systems and can be used to pay for hardware, software, support services and training. But the grants will not necessarily cover the entire cost of installing such systems.

“The incentive payments are not direct reimbursement for such activities. Rather they are intended to serve as an incentive for eligible providers to adopt and meaningfully use certified EHR technology,” Mann said in her letter.

The funds can be used only for electronic health records technology that is certified and interoperable with state or federal administrative management systems.

“Therefore, states risk making unallowable incentive payments prior to receiving guidance on how to make these systems compatible,” Mann wrote.

States are immediately eligible to request 90 percent reimbursement for administrative costs associated with planning and issuing the payments. But that money comes with significant conditions attached. For administrative reimbursement, states must obtain prior approval from CMS for any planning activities or expenditures. They also must provide documentation demonstrating adequate oversight of their incentive programs.

Under the Recovery Act payments would be limited, based on average costs of setting up electronic health record systems, which have yet to be determined. Mann said the secretary of Health and Human Services will establish guidance on those limits.

CMS plans to issue a proposed rule by the end of the year that will contain more detailed information, and will work with states to determine when they are ready to begin issuing payments.

Above article published on

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090904_7905.php?oref=topnews