Here are a few I have come across this week.
http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/newsroom/news-stories/eprcriteria
Department of Health publishes criteria for successful introduction of Electronic Patient Records
The Department of Health has published criteria for suppliers to successfully introduce information systems into hospitals which will enable electronic patient records.
An end of November deadline was set for suppliers to deliver significant progress in the acute sector. This was in the context of good progress having been made in delivering the infrastructure which can support electronic records, but greater pace needing to be injected into the programme for hospitals' electronic information systems.
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http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2252354/criteria-patient-record
Guidelines published on what is a "successful" go-live of patient records
Milestones required by end of November published by Department of Health
Written by Tom Young
The Department of Health has released details of standards that suppliers must meet for an installation of the electronic patient records system Lorenzo to be considered successful.
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Partnership Tests Value of EMRs
Carrie Vaughan, for HealthLeaders Media, November 3, 2009
Many Americans are nervous about the security of their personal health information in a digital interoperable healthcare system—and for good reason. It seems like there is a new headline every week about a data breach involving personally identifiable patient information. Healthcare isn't exactly known for being the most advanced when it comes to data security. The industry still has a long way to go when it comes to securing electronic data. Unlike a paper-based health system, criminals don't need to break-in to a physical location to gain access to personal health information in a digital world.
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http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/5348/bury_goes_live_with_first_lorenzo_pas
Bury goes live with first Lorenzo PAS
03 Nov 2009
E-Health Insider has learned that NHS Bury has gone-live with Lorenzo Release 1.9, the first version of the software to include native patient administration functionality.
The trust went live with the new system, after switching off its old PAS, this morning.
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http://www.rand.org/news/press/2009/10/05/
Electronic Health Records Linked to Improved Quality in Primary Care Practices
Routine use of electronic health records may improve the quality of care provided in community-based primary care practices more than other common strategies intended to raise the quality of medical care, according to a new study by RAND Corporation researchers.
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Wednesday, November 04, 2009
School-Based Telehealth in Line for Double-Barreled Boost
Kids in public schools -- particularly those in low-income families and living in medically underserved areas -- could be getting more medical attention through school-based telehealth networks, according to a new report from a national children's advocacy group.
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http://govhealthit.com/newsitem.aspx?nid=72314
Connect software will embed ‘meaningful use’
By Mary Mosquera
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Federally developed software that lets organizations exchange health information will incorporate features next year to help users become “meaningful” users of health IT, according to a Health and Human Services Department executive.
The updated version of the Connect software tool-set will make it easier for health care organizations to conduct transactions such as electronic prescribing and file sharing called for in the multi-billion-dollar health IT incentive plan, they said.
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http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20091104/REG/311049988
Justice Department move could affect EHRs
By Joseph Conn / HITS staff writer
Posted: November 4, 2009 - 5:59 am EDT
In a case that could have implications for the privacy of health records, the Obama administration has invoked secrecy privileges in a suit alleging massive domestic spying by the government.
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http://www.ehealtheurope.net/news/5343/jordan_unveils_integrated_health_system
Jordan unveils integrated health system
03 Nov 2009
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has unveiled its integrated healthcare technology system for the first time in public.
The demonstration at the Prince Hamzah Hospital in Amman showcased the VistA open source clinical and healthcare information management system and the computerized patient record system due to be implemented over the next year.
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A new perspective on meaningful use
November 5, 2009 — 2:09pm ET | By Neil Versel
The big EMR vendors have never been without their critics, but few drive their point home as well as SEEDIE, the Society for Exorbitantly Expensive and Difficult to Implement EHRs. It's got a professional-looking site with a picture of a happy child right at the top of the home page. ("What does this little girl have to do with selecting an EHR? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! But it does register 10 on the warm and fuzzy meter!") Actually, it's a dig at the Epic Systems home page, which pictures a little girl writing in the sand on a beach.
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http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091028_2840.php
Health Hazard
By Andrew Noyes, CongressDaily 10/28/2009
Warning: Patient privacy could complicate the blueprint for an electronic medical records system.
Implementing a nationwide system of electronic medical records as prescribed by President Obama's economic stimulus package is a herculean task that will require a complex new matrix of policies and standards. Two Health and Human Services Department advisory committees are hard at work on blueprints for both, but some worry privacy safeguards will be an afterthought.
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VistA once again held up as an example of an EMR success
November 5, 2009 — 12:21pm ET | By Neil Versel
Lest anyone forget, there's a huge organization right here in the good old U.S. of A. that has been quite successful with an enterprise-wide EMR implementation for several years: the Department of Veterans Affairs. That EMR, the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture--better known as VistA--is the subject of a major feature in the Wall Street Journal, intended as a lesson for the thousands of other hospitals that are moving to digitize their medical records.
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Commonwealth Fund: U.S. Healthcare is Lagging Behind Other Countries
Janice Simmons, for HealthLeaders Media, November 5, 2009
When it comes to paying for healthcare, the United States—when compared with 10 other industrialized countries—tops the list as having the highest spending per capita ($7,290), while lagging behind those nations in access, quality, and use of health information technology, according to the Commonwealth Fund's 12th annual international health policy survey.
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http://health-care-it.advanceweb.com/editorial/content/editorial.aspx?cc=209879
A New Dawn for Computer-assisted Coding
Motivated by the upcoming ICD-10 transition, and incented by ARRA, hospitals should embrace CAC to drive clinical, financial and operational performance improvement.
By Mary Bessinger, MBA, RHIA, CCS, CPHQ
Although traditional coding processes may include the use of encoders or other computerized tools, they still require coders to read, or at least visually scan, all of the clinical documents from a treatment episode to identify health care provider-attested information. This information is used to justify the assignment of disease classification and medical procedure codes to the case for claim submission to a payer. Coders must then individually input a subset of the codes for which they have found justification to ensure completeness and accuracy of the claim. This repetitive, manual process not only absorbs much time and resources, but it also introduces the opportunity for human error and inconsistencies, resulting in rejected claims or underpayment from incomplete coding.
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http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/physicians-still-worried-about-ehrs-disrupting-work
Physicians still worried about EHRs disrupting work
November 04, 2009 | Patty Enrado, Contributing Editor
EDEN PRAIRIE, MN – Physicians have limited knowledge of the American Recovery and Reinvestment provisions, according to a recent online survey of 1,001 physicians, and they are still reluctant to adopt information technology.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091104/hl_nm/us_philips
Philips betting on remote healthcare for future
By Harro ten Wolde Harro Ten Wolde Wed Nov 4, 2:03 am ET
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Dutch Philips Electronics is betting it can help doctors monitor patients remotely to keep an aging population healthier and battle rising medical costs.
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http://www.physorg.com/news176476261.html
Protecting your virtual privacy
November 3, 2009
The details of your personal life, such as grocery purchases and pizza topping preferences, are collected every day ― online and by club and discount cards from the gym, department store and supermarket. Though this data seems innocent enough, when it's put together it can tell a whole lot about your health, finances and behavior. That information, a Tel Aviv University researcher reminds us, could eventually be used against you.
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Where Does H1N1 Influenza Information Come From?
An Overview of Influenza Surveillance in the United States
By Tara Kirk Sell, Jennifer Nuzzo, Eric Toner, November 2, 2009
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracks influenza illness in the U.S. through a combination of disease- and syndrome-based surveillance systems. Here we provide a brief summary of the main data sources for the CDC, explain what these sources can and cannot tell about an outbreak, and explain the differences in data collection during the spring wave of the 2009 H1N1 influenza A pandemic, the outbreaks during the summer months, and those now occurring.
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http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp?id=50308
Health Information Technology in the United States, 2009
On the Cusp of Change
October 26, 2009
Health information technology (HIT) has the potential to revolutionize the delivery of health care. In our two previous reports about HIT in the United States we detailed the challenges faced by policy-makers working toward the goal of increased adoption of electronic health records. Since that time the role of health information technology in promoting higher quality, more efficient health care has taken a central position in the current health care reform debate. There is broad bipartisan support to speed health information technology adoption, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has made promoting a national interoperable health information system a priority, authorizing significant resources to achieve this goal.
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http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20091102/REG/311029970
EHRs can help moderate use of antibiotics: research
By Jean DerGurahian / HITS staff writer
Posted: November 2, 2009 - 11:00 am EDT
Incorporating clinical-decision support into electronic health records can help mitigate the use of antibiotics, according to researchers presenting at the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
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http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/stimulus-39295-1.html
EHR Firms: Go With Existing Standards
HDM Breaking News, October 30, 2009
A coalition of electronic health records vendors is urging the HIT Standards Committee to focus its efforts on achieving implementation of data standards that the committee already has recommended to federal officials, rather than reopening decisions already made. The committee, authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, advises federal officials on standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria for the electronic exchange of health information.
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http://www.govhealthit.com/newsitem.aspx?nid=72306
Feds urged to set simple, expandable HIE standards
By Mary Mosquera
Friday, October 30, 2009
Technology executives from across the business world told a federal health IT advisory group yesterday it should establish simple but expandable health information exchange standards or risk overwhelming healthcare practitioners.
The Health IT Standards Committee, which is helping establish the ground rules for the administration’s health IT incentive plan, has recommended a set of standards for delivering “meaningful use” of health IT by 2011.
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http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/experts-give-five-tips-improving-medication-adherence
Experts give five tips for improving medication adherence
October 30, 2009 | Bernie Monegain, Editor
WASHINGTON – A group of healthcare and consumer organizations and companies has released five policy recommendations designed to promote better medication adherence, and one of them is use of information technology.
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Texas test lab says it may compete with CCHIT
November 2, 2009 — 1:53pm ET | By Neil Versel
It's the news we've been waiting for since June, when the Healthcare IT Policy Committee recommended that there be multiple entities that certify EHRs for compliance with federal "meaningful use" standards: A group has come forward to say it may compete with the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology.
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Epic's Faulkner steals the show at CHIME
November 2, 2009 — 3:50pm ET | By Neil Versel
Editor’s Corner
Dr. David Blumenthal may have been the featured speaker at last week's College of Healthcare Information Management Executives Fall CIO Forum, but he wasn't the most sought-after attendee at the meeting in Indian Wells, Calif. No, that honor would have to go to Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO of Epic Systems, the Verona, Wis.-based EMR vendor that's celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
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http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/HIPAA-39292-1.html
HHS Issues HIPAA Enforcement Rule
HDM Breaking News, October 30, 2009
The Department of Health and Human Services has published an interim final rule that strengthens enforcement of the HIPAA privacy and security rules. The actions were mandated under the HITECH Act within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The interim final rule is effective on Nov. 30, 2009, and HHS will accept comments through Dec. 29.
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E-Health Privacy Regulations Draw Congressional Fire
Posted by Mitch Wagner on November 2, 2009 02:13 PM
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued an interim final rule to beef up penalties for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act (HIPAA), as several Congressmen criticize the agency for leaving dangerous loopholes in the law.
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http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091101/REG/311019956/1035/TECHNOLOGY
Legislation causes boom in health care tech market
Companies leading the switch to digital medical records are poised to prosper
November 1, 2009
In whatever way Congress and the Obama administration eventually change the national health care system, there is one segment of the health care market where reform has already begun and is gaining momentum.
The category, known as health care information technology, consists of companies dealing with the conversion of paper medical records to a digital format.
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http://govhealthit.com/newsitem.aspx?nid=72299
ONC launches blog for feedback on policy agenda
Friday, October 30, 2009
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT launched a blog this week to give the public a way to comment directly on the work being done by the two key advisory panels that are helping shape health IT policies.
The blog site is here.
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Nation's Hip Fracture Rate Could Drop By 25 Percent With Aggressive Osteoporosis Prevention Plan, Kaiser Permanente Study Finds
Study of 650,000 Men & Women Over 50 Finds 38 percent Drop in Hip Fracture Rate
DOWNEY, Calif., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Aggressively managing patients at risk for osteoporosis could reduce the hip fracture rate in the United States by 25 percent, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the November issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The first step must be a more active role by orthopedic surgeons in osteoporosis disease management, researchers say.
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Enjoy!
David.
In one of your weekly overseas health IT links, you mention Epic CEO and founder Judy Faulkner. Did you know she could very well monopolize America's healthcare system? This article discusses how: http://freedomist.com/2011/10/stealing-your-medical-records-for-profit-and-political-gain-the-epic-systems-scandal/ - very shocking don't you think?
ReplyDeleteNo I don't actually as I have seen good analysis that suggests that claim is essentially 'rubbish' and simply not true. This blog takes evidence - if you have some provide it to support the claim or just go away.
ReplyDeleteThanks
David.