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HIMSS to Congress: 3 actions to improve health IT
September 12, 2014 | By Susan D. Hall
HIMSS has presented three "Congressional Asks"--formal requests to Congress to accomplish specific goals to advance health IT.
These proposals will be presented to Congress during the annual HIMSS Public Policy Summit Day, Sept. 18, as part of National Health Information Technology Week, according to an announcement.
The three requests include:
1. Minimizing disruption in our nation's health system emanating from federally-mandated health IT program changes. This request notes that various federal agencies are involved in regulating aspects of health IT development and adoption, often leading to confusing and conflicting regulatory guidance.
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Ebola Outbreak Drives Home Need for ICD-10
SEP 12, 2014 7:14am ET
The ongoing outbreak of the Ebola virus is an example of the way transitioning to ICD-10 can benefit the ability of public health officials to respond to global pandemics, according to an executive at 3M Health Information Systems.
In a recent blog post, Ann Chenoweth, the company's director of industry relations, said the lack of specificity in classifying Ebola in ICD-9 can hamper quick coordination of action.
"When looking at ICD-9 today, Ebola is often classified to 078.89, Other specified diseases due to viruses," Chenoweth wrote, "but I have also seen Ebola classified to 065.8, Other specified arthropod-borne hemorrhagic fever. This lack of specificity in the ICD-9 code description makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to clearly identify Ebola patients in the data. In turn, the ability for our public health organizations to quickly and proactively identify emerging epidemics can be severely compromised."
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Sticking to the Plan: Apps Improve Medication Adherence
SEP 11, 2014 1:49pm ET
It is simple in theory: Patients take their drugs on time and in the dosages prescribed by their physicians. However, in practice, medication non-adherence continues to be a serious problem in the United States, with a patient dying every 90 minutes due to an accidental overdose or missed dose of a prescription drug, according the Express Scripts 2013 Drug Trend Report. It's also costly for the U.S. health system: the United States wastes $317.4 billion annually on unnecessary medical costs that could be avoided by eliminating medication non-adherence, according the same report.
A 2013 poll of U.S. adults showed that nearly two-thirds of Americans who take prescription medications do not take their medication as prescribed. The poll was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies for the Council for Affordable Health Coverage.
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Engaging patients: 5 things providers can learn from payers
Posted on Sep 08, 2014
By Andrew Underhill, Systems Made Simple
Payers have long embraced the idea that patients who are engaged in their care are ultimately healthier than those who are not. In recent years, insurers have worked to boost patient engagement by creating incentive programs, social media campaigns and targeted education that encourages healthier lifestyles, regular wellness visits and chronic disease management. The underlying goal is to educate beneficiaries on the critical role they play in preserving their health.
While these efforts are laudable, it is ironic that payers are taking the lead in patient engagement when healthcare providers have more direct contact with patients. Providers are in the middle of a cultural evolution from delivering care to patients to partnering with patients. Moreover, current payment models do not reward engagement strategies because reimbursement is tied to care episodes rather than long-term health management.
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ONC not going at interoperabilty alone
You could go blind reading all the reports and recommendations on the vexing issue of interoperability of health information systems.
But despite all the advisory committees, task forces and expert panels dealing with the subject, the country’s health IT czar isn’t seeing stars. The federal government needs help from companies and expert groups of all kinds to move interoperability forward, she says.
“Interoperability is the perfect example of where we’re not going to only do this federally, and we have got to partner with the private sector,” National Coordinator Karen DeSalvo said at the eHealth Initiative’s 2020 Roadmap Executive Summit.
Her comments came after a day-long meeting Thursday where eHealth Initiative [eHI] members, dozens of providers, payers, employers, EHR vendors and other health IT thought leaders gathered to stamp out details of the initiative’s forthcoming 2020 Roadmap, a vision to advance health IT use in a post-meaningful use era.
The initial report is set to be released in November, with a more fleshed-out version in the spring.
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PwC-led team to offer 'open source' EHR to DoD
September 8, 2014 | By Marla Durben Hirsch
PwC has joined forces with Medsphere, DSS, Inc. and General Dynamics Information Technology to vie for the coveted U.S. Department of Defense Healthcare Management Systems Modernization (DHMSM) electronic health record contract, and plans to merge "open source" software with commercial applications in its proposal, PwC has announced.
Perhaps in acknowledgement of the increased pressure on DoD to ensure that its new system has the capability to share data with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), the PwC partnership intends to propose "open architecture," which "promotes greater ease of integration with existing DoD legacy systems, as well as unlimited access to ongoing EHR innovations," according to PwC's Sept. 5 announcement.
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ONC: EHRs are improving patient safety
September 9, 2014 | By Marla Durben Hirsch
Electronic health records are making major strides in improving patient safety, according to the Office of the National Coordinator's latest data brief. The brief, based on the 2013 National Ambulatory Medical Care Physician Workflow Survey of 11,000 physicians, found that three times as many physicians reported that their EHR prevented a potential medication error than caused one; 47 percent were reminded to provide preventive care by their EHRs.
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Why final rule comes as last straw
Posted on Sep 11, 2014
By Bernie Monegain, Editor
CMS and ONC disappointed many CIOs and IT teams around the country on Aug. 29 when it issued a final rule for Stage 2 meaningful use that lacked the flexibility on reporting that so many had counted on – and perhaps expected, because what they had proposed seemed like a reasonable compromise to them.
CHIME, which represents 1,400 CIOs, fired off a statement the same day.
Russell Branzell“CHIME is deeply disappointed in the decision made by CMS and ONC to require 365-days of EHR reporting in 2015,” Russell Branzell wrote in his response to the rule. “This single provision has severely muted the positive impacts of this final rule. Further, it has all but ensured that industry struggles will continue well beyond 2014.”
CHIME and other industry organizations had proposed reporting on Stage 2 requirements for any three-month quarter. In their view, it was a practical approach, one that made it more likely they would succeed and one that showed their continued support for the Meaningful Use Program.
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NIB strategy due ‘later this year’
8 September 2014 Sam Sachdeva
The National Information Board is set to release its long awaited informatics strategy later this year, outlining a ten-year plan for how to make the most of data and technology in healthcare.
An update on the NIB’s informatics strategy in the board’s latest working group papers says the document is due to be released soon.
The National Information Board is comprised of representatives from a number of health organisations including the Department of Health, NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre.
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Telemedicine beneficial in management of chronic diseases, lowering costs
September 11, 2014 | By Katie Dvorak
There are many uses for telemedicine to manage chronic diseases, and no matter the process, the technology offers beneficial results and costs reductions, according to a recent study.
The study, published online in the journal Telemedicine and e-Health, looks at the impact telemedicine has on cost, quality and access to care, focusing three chronic diseases: congestive heart failure, stroke and obstructive pulmonary disease.
The authors, which include former American Telemedicine Association President Rashid Bashshur (pictured)--executive director of eHealth at the University of Michigan Health System--found that for each chronic disease, a different telehealth approach was needed.
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Providers: Apple Watch, HealthKit intriguing for patient care, but challenges persist
September 11, 2014 | By Dan Bowman
As Apple looks to team with provider organizations and other health technology vendors on efforts relating to its forthcoming HealthKit platform and its new wearable device, Apple Watch, it will be interesting to see how much traction it gains among clinicians.
To that end, we queried our FierceHealthIT Editorial Advisory Board for their thoughts on Apple's new offerings. Here's what six of our advisers had to say:
Roger Neal, vice president and CIO, Duncan (Oklahoma) Regional Hospital: Ultimately, as a geek, I really like stuff like that for myself. But, my professional techie persona is trying to figure out how to make it all work in our new healthcare world. Some of these systems are capturing more and more relevant information that would be wonderful to have in a patient's global chart, but trying to get at that data securely, import it somewhere and store all of it on patient after patient scares me. Where is it all going to go and how are we going to make it all work securely and privately together?
I think at some point, a lot of this information will be more relevant for healthcare than today. We'll get there and the sophisticated tracking and monitoring via watch, wristband, clothing or whatever will play a part in that. I think on the population wellness front, these types of tools can be of great use if you can co-manage all the data coming in on hundreds or thousands of patients.
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Global Kinetics's wearable KinetiGraph helps diagnose Parkinson's disease
September 10, 2014 by Arezu Sarvestani
Australia's Global Kinetics Corp. lands FDA clearance for its wrist-worn Personal KinetiGraph to help diagnose symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
FDA medtech regulators put the stamp of approval on Global Kinetic Corp.'s Personal KinetiGraph, a wearable device designed to help physicians diagnose symptoms of Parkinson's disease and other movement-based disorders.
The Personal KinetiGraph is the 1st device of its kind, capturing movement outside of the clinic and creating automated reports that neurologists and other caregivers can use to identify signs of neurological disorders. Most Parkinson's diagnoses today are done with in-clinic evaluations, patient's personal reports of symptoms and reactions to medication, Global Kinetic said.
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L.A. County's New EHR System Could Become Model for Rest of U.S.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Los Angeles County's Department of Health Services is installing a new countywide electronic health record system that officials say could end up being a model for other health care organizations across the country.
An L.A. County Civil Grand Jury report examined the initiative this summer, assessing how EHR implementation and integration of EHR systems and data among county departments could set the pace for development of a countywide health information exchange for both private and public providers.
L.A. DHS Faces Unique Challenges
Los Angeles DHS is the second largest public health system in the U.S. and serves nearly 10 million residents, according to the report. Robert Bart, CMIO of the department, said DHS includes four traditional hospital-based facilities -- Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center and Ranchos Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center -- as well as several offsite clinics.
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ONC Releases Final EHR Guidelines
9/10/2014 05:13 PM
Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT abandons voluntary 2015 criteria and instead adds flexibility to 2014 EHR certification criteria.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) on Thursday released a new final rule for electronic health records (EHRs), which increases the flexibility of the 2014 edition of certification and adds some criteria initially proposed in the 2015 voluntary EHR certification criteria now abandoned by the ONC.
Although it believes that many of the reasons for creating a voluntary certification edition remain valid, the ONC opted to end its pursuit of this option after "consideration of public comment, further reflection of ONC goals and timelines, and a desire to adhere to the administration's principles," the office said, in a document slated to appear in the Federal Register on September 11.
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Report: eHealth Strategy South Africa (2012)
By health-e on September 11, 2014 in Health Management, National Health Insurance (NHI), Policy and Legislation, Public Health & Health Systems, Reports
This 36-page policy document outlines the Department of Health's eHealth strategy, which is set to lead the department in improving patient information systems nationwide.
The document employs the World Health Organisation’s definition of eHealth as “the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for health to, for example, treat patients, pursue research, educate students, track diseases and monitor public health.”
It outlines ten strategic national priorities for eHealth leading up until 2017. These include capacitating health workers, standards and developing applications to support health care delivery.
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Drug Cost Comparison Tool Seen as Valuable Resource
SEP 9, 2014 8:34am ET
Doctors have great interest in a web-based resource that shows the current prices of comparable brand name and generic drugs at pharmacies in a chosen zip code, according to a study conducted by Community Catalyst.
In the study, physicians highly concerned about patients' abilities to pay for medications were presented with hypothetical resources showing the retail and out-of-pocket costs for drugs at local pharmacies. Following exposure to each resource, the doctors indicated that it would likely facilitate discussions of affordability, reduce non-adherence, and improve patient engagement. Physicians also reported which comparative features were the most useful, how often they would use such a resource, and how such a resource might save time addressing cost.
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States get telehealth report cards
Posted on Sep 10, 2014
By Erin McCann, Associate Editor
How do individual states stack up when it comes to telemedicine coverage and reimbursement? A new report from the American Telemedicine Association details just that -- assigning letter grades to each state and shedding light on the winners and those who still have a long way to go.
After examining 13 key indictors relating to telemedicine coverage and reimbursement -- think Medicaid coverage, eligible providers, private insurance, etc. -- ATA researchers found both good news and some not-so-good news.
The good news? Some states did have comprehensive coverage and policies that promoted the adoption of telemedicine. Seven states, according to the research, reached the "A" level: those being Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Tennessee and Virginia.
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Apple Watch Takes Tech Giant into New Territory
SEP 9, 2014 4:24pm ET
Apple on Tuesday unveiled a new product category for the Cupertino-Calif.-based company—a smartwatch designed to provide consumers with a variety of technology services including comprehensive health and fitness apps to help them lead healthier lives.
Called Apple Watch and available in early 2015 starting at $349, the device includes an activity app designed to help motivate users to be more active, and a workout app that provides metrics during workout sessions. Billed as bringing together the capabilities of “an all-day fitness tracker and a highly advanced sports watch in one device,” Apple Watch uses an accelerometer, a built-in heart rate sensor, GPS and Wi-Fi from an iPhone to provide an overall picture of a person’s daily activity.
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The Apple platform for wellness arrives
Posted on Sep 10, 2014
By John Halamka, CareGroup Health System, Life as a Healthcare CIO
On September 9 I was at the Flint Center in Cupertino where Steve Jobs introduced the first MacIntosh 30 years ago. Who can forget the iconic commercial “why 1984 won’t be like 1984”? It was the year I graduated from college and the year I married my wife Kathy.
Now, 30 years later, we’re on the cusp of a different kind of revolution: the consumerization of healthcare middleware that gathers data about your body/activity from multiple sensors and consolidates it into a secure container on your personal smartphone. No cloud storage is used. In fact, Apple has specifically changed its policies so that health data is never replicated to iCloud. Data remains on your device under your control. Apple does not specifically provide a function to transmit data off the device. The intent of Healthkit is that it serves as middleware, consolidating data and providing a container to share data with other apps that you specifically trust.
For example, Beth Israel Deaconess could create a Patientsite application that you trust to access healthcare data on your phone. Your care team could monitor this data for meaningful variations and intervene via a home care visit or telemedicine connection when appropriate.
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Success of Consumer-Based Apple Watch Tied to Healthcare Stakeholders
SEP 9, 2014 7:45am ET
Apple’s expected launch today of its long-awaited iWatch device could revolutionize the mobile healthcare market by capturing the hearts and minds of consumers.
However, two industry analysts say the success of this “smartwatch” with health/activity tracking capabilities hinges on more than just the ability of Apple to attract hordes of consumer users.
“No brand can do better than Apple in attracting consumers. And, no company has better resources and talent to design products that people want to use. The key is whether Apple will not only get the hardware/software piece right but also the right partnerships to help consumers with the motivational factors to positively change their health behaviors,” says Harry Wang, director of health and mobile product research at Parks Associates.
In addition to breakthrough wellness and fitness tracking functions, iWatch must garner partnerships with key healthcare industry stakeholders including providers and health insurers, argues Wang.
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Glasgow works with Emis on child health
8 September 2014 Sam Sachdeva
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has implemented a bespoke version of Emis Web to build a single shared child health record, while it helps Emis to develop its child health functionality.
A total of 22 child and adolescent mental health services teams are using the system to securely share patient information within a single patient record, after the first team went live in March 2013.
Karen McFadden, the health board's programme lead, told EHI it chose Emis Web for its child health services because of the company’s flexibility and willingness to customise the software to meet its requirements.
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How to engage baby boomers in healthcare technology
September 9, 2014 | By Katie Dvorak
As baby boomers age, their increasing need for care will place a high demand on the healthcare industry. Advances in technology may help ease that burden, but only if developers use the right tools and platforms, according to a recent study.
The study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, looks at the degree to which the baby boomer generation is prepared to embrace, or is currently embracing, consumer health tech.
Respondents of all ages, from 18-64 years, were surveyed for the study. The findings show that boomers are more likely than those age 64 and up to embrace five technologies: websites (84.5 percent), email (81 percent), call centers (52 percent), video conferencing (49.6 percent) and texting (49.6 percent).
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Nations should learn from each other on health IT strategies
September 9, 2014 | By Susan D. Hall
The use of health information and communications technologies (ICTs) to improve chronic care "is still in its early days," according to research at Health Affairs comparing approaches used in Australia, Canada, Denmark and the U.S.
The study looked at four types of solutions: electronic health records (EHRs), health information exchange (HIE), telehealth, and patient self-management tools.
The next five years will be critical in addressing common issues, the authors say, adding that common challenges present the opportunity for nations to learn from each other.
Australia has comparatively high EHR adoption (92 percent) and moderate health information exchange adoption (27 percent). The U.S. and Canada have comparatively moderate EHR adoption (around 50 percent) and low levels of HIE.
Denmark, meanwhile, has high EHR adoption (more than 80 percent among primary care providers) as well as high HIE adoption (90 percent).
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http://www.clinical-innovation.com/topics/mobile-telehealth/study-majority-patients-ready-telehealth
Study: Majority of patients ready for telehealth
Laura Pedulli
Sep 08, 2014
The majority of patients indicate a readiness for telehealth, according to a study published in Telemedicine and e-Health .
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic conducted a phone survey of a random sample of 263 patients who had been seen in the outpatient setting at a single institution. The sample was stratified by proximity to the local institution with oversampling for patients living outside a 120-mile radius.
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Mayo, Ralph, Stella and Sloane-Kettering: Will Fashion Meet Function in Wearables?
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Stella McCartney has been working with adidas for several years, integrating her fashion sense along with sensors in the miCoach sports bra. Women's fashion designer Tory Burch announced her collaboration with Fitbit at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show. Barneys, the tony Manhattan fashion store, has been working with Intel (which acquired Basis Science, a maker of a wearable health-tracking device, for an estimated $100 million to $150 million this year) on chic smartwatch styling. And this month, Ralph Lauren announced that its iconic polo shirt will morph into a Tech Shirt, galloping into the fitness wearables space.
Will the Polo pony ride a growth curve for consumers and health wearables? And will fashion-meets-health-function move demand beyond early-adopting fitness folks?
Credit Suisse says wearables will be worth $30 billion to $50 billion in the next five years. Currently, Deloitte gauges the wearables market at $3 billion in 2014 (including smart glasses, fitness bands and watches), and VisionGain projects the market to be just over $5 billion by year's end.
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Doctors Say Electronic Records Waste Time
A new study shows that technology has slowed doctors' work.
Doctors complain that they waste an average of 48 minutes a day, or four hours a week, when they record their patients’ health information into digital records, a new study shows.
The results were collected in a small survey, whose findings were put into a letter that was published Monday in the online edition of JAMA Internal Medicine. A draft of the letter was released Monday to a group of health care reporters at the National Library of Medicine. Dr. Clement McDonald, lead author of the study and director of the NLM Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications, presented the letter, “The Use of Internist's Free Time by Ambulatory Care Electronic Medical Record Systems.”
The findings came from a 19-question survey that the American College of Physicians sent in December 2012 to 900 ACP members and 102 non-members. They received a 53.6 percent response rate; respondents had used 61 different EMR systems.
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Success of Consumer-Based Apple Watch Tied to Healthcare Stakeholders
SEP 9, 2014 7:45am ET
Apple’s expected launch today of its long-awaited iWatch device could revolutionize the mobile healthcare market by capturing the hearts and minds of consumers.
However, two industry analysts say the success of this “smartwatch” with health/activity tracking capabilities hinges on more than just the ability of Apple to attract hordes of consumer users.
“No brand can do better than Apple in attracting consumers. And, no company has better resources and talent to design products that people want to use. The key is whether Apple will not only get the hardware/software piece right but also the right partnerships to help consumers with the motivational factors to positively change their health behaviors,” says Harry Wang, director of health and mobile product research at Parks Associates.
In addition to breakthrough wellness and fitness tracking functions, iWatch must garner partnerships with key healthcare industry stakeholders including providers and health insurers, argues Wang.
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Almost 30% of Broadband Households Own, Use Connected Health Device
SEP 5, 2014 8:44am ET
New survey data from research firm Parks Associates shows that 27 percent of U.S. broadband households currently own and use at least one connected health device.
The survey of more than 5,000 U.S. broadband households also reveals that 13 percent of U.S. broadband households are very likely to purchase a connected health device within the next 12 months.
"The most popular connected health devices are treadmills, exercise bikes, and ellipticals," said Harry Wang, director of health and mobile product research at Parks Associates, in a written statement. "These devices come with built-in support for mobile health apps, which effectively merges the demands of mobile and healthcare consumers.”
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The promises and pitfalls of mHealth
Posted on Sep 08, 2014
By Eric Wicklund, Editor, mHealthNews
To say Harry Greenspun, MD, is well versed in mobile healthcare and technology is to put it mildly.
Greenspun, senior advisor at Deloitte's Center for Health Solutions, is also chairman of the HIMSS Government Relations Roundtable and a member of the new HIMSS mHealth Community, and has advised the Obama Administration on the importance of healthcare IT investment.
Prior to joining Deloitte, he served as chief medical officer for Dell and Northrup Grumman. He's a co-author of “Reengineering Health Care: A Manifesto for Radically Rethinking Health Care Delivery,” and serves on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Digital Health, WellPoint External Advisory Council on Health Inequities and the advisory boards for Georgetown University, the Global Medical Microtechnology Association and Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance.
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Karen DeSalvo: Everyone can weigh in on path to interoperability
September 8, 2014 | By Susan D. Hall
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is focused on gaining as much input as possible on how to make true interoperability happen, National Coordinator Karen DeSalvo said in a recent conversation with Sam Ho, M.D., executive director at United Healthcare and chairman of eHealth Initiative's Board of Directors.
The ONC plans to release a refreshed health IT strategic plan for comment later this year, DeSalvo said, and is "looking forward to some strong feedback on the priorities we should place to move forward."
"[T]here are going to be places where it makes more sense for there to be advancement from the private sector or perhaps the solutions can come from other sources. The solutions don't all have to come from the federal government," she said. "We look forward to another chapter of the strategic process that engages and incorporates what everybody can own and how to make sure we all have a piece of this."
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DeSalvo: America 'waiting for us to get interoperability right'
By Tom Sullivan, Editor
Calling it a “changing of the horizon,” national coordinator Karen DeSalvo, MD, said that her office is working to refresh the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan.
“It’s an opportunity to look at HIT beyond the EHR and policy levers beyond meaningful use,” DeSalvo said of the forthcoming plan.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, in fact, has been reshaping itself for the future and is currently working on its strategic plan alongside a 10-year roadmap for interoperability — and that is against the backdrop of health IT reports put out by other federal entities, notably JASON and PCAST.
Documents from JASON, conducted by independent scientists at The MITRE Group advising the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) delve into health infrastructure and information exchange, essentially pointing to what needs to be done.
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ONC Data Brief: Physicians Report EHRs Prevent Medication Errors
September 5, 2014 by Gabriel Perna
Three times as many physicians report that electronic health records (EHRs) are preventing a potential medication error than causing one, according to a newly released data brief from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).
The data brief used the 2013 National Ambulatory Medical Care Physician Workflow Survey to assess the physician-reported impacts of EHR use – both positive and negative – on quality and patient safety related outcomes. More than half of the approximately 11,000 physician respondents reported that the EHR alerted them to a critical laboratory value and 45 percent said it alerted them to a potential medical error. Only 15 percent said it led to a medical error.
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CMS pays out $24.8B in meaningful use incentives through July
Author Name Jennifer Bresnick | Date September 5, 2014 |
The pace of Stage 2 meaningful use attestation among eligible providers and hospitals is picking up steam after a slow start earlier this year, contributing to more than $24.8 billion in incentive payments cashed by the healthcare industry during the lifetime of the EHR Incentive Programs.
The latest figures from CMS indicate that 95% of eligible hospitals (EHs) have registered for the programs, with 92% of facilities successfully receiving payments for either Stage 1 or Stage 2. Similar success on the provider side shows that more than 90% of eligible professionals (EPs) have signed up, and more than three-quarters of EPs have already made some sort of financial commitment to EHR technology.
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Stage 2 MU Attestation Rate Remains Sluggish
SEP 5, 2014 10:23am ET
As of Aug. 25, 143 eligible hospitals and 3,152 eligible professionals have attested to Stage 2 meaningful use, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
CMS reported the latest Stage 2 attestation numbers during a Sept. 3 Health IT Policy Committee meeting. While the numbers are an improvement compared to the 78 hospitals and 1,898 EPs that had attested as of August 1, they are still sluggish.
“The numbers are very low, particularly for Stage 2 attestation. I mean they are like 4 percent of [providers] that should be currently going for Stage 2,” HITPC member and Intermountain Healthcare CIO Marc Probst commented during the meeting.
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Enjoy!
David.
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