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November 2009 News


  • Health IT panel to heed calls for simpler EHR standards

    By Mary Mosquera - November 19, 2009
    A panel advising the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT (ONC) said it will heed the overwhelming consensus it has received in recent public comments to develop the simplest possible certification standards for accelerating health IT adoption.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 20, 2009

  • Blumenthal: Patient Care, Not Tech, Will Drive Meaningful Use

    Posted by Mitch Wagner - November 19, 2009
    National health IT coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal dropped a big hint about upcoming criteria for giving out e-health records grants. He advised healthcare IT managers to focus on "goals of care" rather than technology.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 20, 2009

  • Keep health IT standards simple, says chief technology officer

    By Bob Brewin - November 19, 2009
    The Health and Human Services Department plans to issue proposed standards for health information technology systems in December, and the government's chief technology officer told an advisory committee on Thursday that policymakers should push for adoption of simple criteria that can evolve.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 20, 2009

  • Senate Retains Tighter HIPAA Transactions

    By HDM Breaking News - November 19, 2009
    The consolidated Senate health reform bill includes language to significantly tighten the HIPAA transaction standards and other administrative simplification provisions.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 19, 2009

  • Library of Medicine publishes SNOMED draft

    By Mary Mosquera - November 18, 2009
    WASHINGTON – The National Library of Medicine has published a draft map linking content from SNOMED Clinical Terms to ICD-9-CM billing codes, as a precursor to the development of similar maps.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 18, 2009

  • CCHIT calls for comments on 2011 certification criteria

    By Bernie Monegain, Editor - November 17, 2009
    CHICAGO – The first public comment period for the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology's 2011 development cycle is open through Dec. 11.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 17, 2009

  • Kerry proposes small biz health IT loan guarantees

    By Mary Mosquera - November 16, 2009
    Senate Small Business Committee chairman Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced a bill to authorize loan guarantees of up to $1.8 million for small medical practices to purchase electronic health record systems.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 17, 2009

  • Blumenthal: HITECH is specific about health information exchange

    By Mary Mosquera - November 12, 2009
    The stimulus law compels the creation of ways to exchange health information within states and across a nationwide heath information technology infrastructure, according to the nation’s health IT coordinator.
    To view the full article click here
    To view David Blumenthal's public e-mail
    Added November 16, 2009

  • CMS plans to increase data sharing among Medicaid agencies

    By Mary Mosquera - November 12, 2009
    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services plans to boost data sharing among its various programs that have common functions using the Medicaid Information Technology Architecture (MITA) and the nationwide health information network (NHIN).
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 16, 2009

  • National Quality Forum releases Quality Data Set

    By Diana Manos, Senior Editor - November 12, 2009
    WASHINGTON – The National Quality Forum has released a new quality data set, a common technological framework for defining clinical data necessary to measure performance and accelerate improvement in patients' quality of care.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 12, 2009

  • Study: Healthcare isn't ready for new security rules

    By Bernie Monegain, Editor - November 12, 2009
    OAK BROOK, IL – A recent survey of healthcare organizations found that 94 percent aren't ready to comply with the privacy and security provision of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which take effect next February.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 12, 2009

  • HHS releases $9 million to help fight healthcare-acquired infections

    By Bernie Monegain, Editor - November 11, 2009
    WASHINGTON – To reduce healthcare-acquired infections in surgical centers, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has made up to $9 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act available to state survey agencies in 43 states.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 12, 2009

  • Federal data breach notification standard must pre-empt state laws

    By Jill R. Aitoro - November 10, 2009
    Two Senate measures would regulate how both public and private sector organizations protect personal information and respond to data breaches, but the real impact of any federal standards will depend on whether they pre-empt existing state laws.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 12, 2009

  • Boom Times For Health IT Sector

    By Mitch Wagner - November 10, 2009
    Health information technology (HIT) is the fastest growing segment of the $1 trillion global health care marketplace, and is poised to continue its impressive growth through 2013, according to a study released Tuesday.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 12, 2009

  • Med schools offer doses of new reality

    By Sarah Lovenheim - November 10, 2009
    When Aaron Laviana started medical school at Georgetown University in 2007, he dissected a cadaver in his first week, in anatomy class. Today, classes such as "Physician-Patient Communication" and "Social and Cultural Issues in Health Care" come first. Dissection doesn't begin until month four at Georgetown -- as part of a unit on limbs -- and anatomy class no longer exists.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 12, 2009

  • HHS plans end-of-year NHIN competition

    By Mary Mosquera - November 09, 2009
    The Health & Human Services Department plans by the end of the year to ask for industry proposals that will help move the nationwide health information network into full production.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 9, 2009

  • Health info security laws a hurdle to health Internet

    By Mary Mosquera - November 06, 2009
    Federal agencies hope to use the government’s Connect software to share health information with private healthcare providers, but current information security and privacy laws significantly block their way, government health IT executives said yesterday.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 9, 2009

  • Healthcare systems racing to fill CIO positions with 'right talent'

    By Patty Enrado, Contributing Editor - November 04, 2009
    OAK BROOK, IL – The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is a major contributor in the spike in CIO recruitments at hospitals and healthcare systems, according to a national executive search expert.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 9, 2009

  • Heatlh data in the raw

    By Carolyn Duffy Marsan - November 06, 2009
    The Obama administration is moving aggressively to open government information to the public, and it wants to use the latest Web-based tools to do it. At the forefront of the transparency movement is www.data.gov, a Web site that aims to be an online clearinghouse for federal data, including healthcare-related information.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 6, 2009

  • HL7 offers standard for clinical research in an EHR

    By Bernie Monegain, Editor - November 06, 2009
    ANN ARBOR, MI – Health Level Seven, which sets standards for healthcare information technology, has published a standard for clinical research in an electronic health record system.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 6, 2009

  • CMS encourages EHR use for Medicare quality reporting

    By Mary Mosquera - November 02, 2009
    Healthcare providers will have the option to use electronic health record systems to report Medicare quality and electronic prescribing measures to CMS in some of its pay-for-performance programs next year, according to an announcement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 4, 2009

  • Kansky: States must rise to the HIE challenge

    By Patty Enrado, Contributing Editor - November 04, 2009
    CHICAGO – The $2 billion allotted for health information exchange under ARRA is a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to help overcome a lot of barriers associated with HIEs.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 4, 2009

  • Electronic medical records critical to better health care

    By Dr. Scott Ransom - November 02, 2009
    When Dr. Henry Plummer developed the concept of the “unit record” nearly 100 years ago, his idea was to place all of a patient’s records in a single file that traveled with the patient and could be stored in a central repository. His concept of medical care continuity quickly became the standard for medical record keeping worldwide.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 2, 2009

  • Experts give five tips for improving medication adherence

    By Bernie Monegain, Editor - October 30, 2009
    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.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 2, 2009

  • ONC launches blog for feedback on policy agenda

    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.
    To view the full article click here
    Added November 2, 2009