June 10, 2008

Healthcare IT draft under consideration by House
Federal lawmakers are giving strong consideration to a discussion draft designed to promote various aspects of healthcare information technology. The draft by Reps. John Dingell (D-MI) and Joe Barton (R-TX) would establish the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, extend HIPAA privacy protections to health information, create federal advisory committees on health IT policy and health IT standards, direct the Department of Health and Human Services to set standards for electronic health data exchange, create incentive programs for physician health IT adoption, and require patients to be notified when their information has been breached. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Health plans to vote on the draft in July.
For details, visit http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_110/110nr283.shtml

GE, Pittsburgh Medical Center launch digital lab company
General Electric and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) are going digital with the formation of Omnyx, a new company designed to develop and market digital systems for diagnosis and interpretation of human tissue. The new company, to be headquartered in Pittsburgh, will eventually develop and market a virtual microscope that will scan and store imagines electronically, according to Omnyx Chief Executive Officer Gene Cartwright. "This new company will revolutionize patient care and the ability to diagnose disease at the earliest possible stage, which in turn can lead to more effective treatment and monitoring," Cartwright said. "Digitizing pathology will allow Omnyx to provide doctors with better tools for the full care continuum, enhancing their decision-making capabilities in key disease areas." GE and UPMC will each own 50 percent stake in the company.
For details, visit http://pressroom.gehealthcare.com/proom/...

EU launches Europe-wide 112 emergency number
With the summer holiday season ahead, the European Commission has launched a Web site to push use of the toll-free emergency number 112. The site at http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/112/index_en.htm will show consumers how the emergency number functions in different European Union-member countries, such as how calls are answered and in which languages. The site is currently available only in English, but other languages will be added in coming months, according to EU Telecoms Commissioner Vivlane Reding. "As European citizens are increasingly traveling to other countries for business or pleasure, there is a need for a single number, identical across the (EU), to call in an emergency," Reding said. The Web site is the result of a February survey where only 22 percent of respondents reported knowing that they can call 112 throughout Europe in case of an emergency.
For details, visit http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleases... and http://ec.europa.eu/information...

CMS prepares pay-for-performance Health IT pilot
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is preparing a pay-for-performance pilot project that would reward four IT-using physician practices for using information technology to help care for Medicare beneficiaries with medical illnesses such as congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease and diabetes. Goals of the pilot include improving continuity of care, helping to stabilize chronic conditions, preventing chronic conditions from worsening and reducing negative health outcomes. Practices that treat at least 50 Medicare beneficiaries in Arkansas, California, Massachusetts and Utah will take part in the pilot through the CMS Medicare Care Management Performance Demonstration project. The pilot is scheduled for a three-year period.
For details, visit http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/... and http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DemoProjectsEvalRpts/...

Highmark implements $29 million EHR/e-Rx grant program for docs
Pittsburgh, PA-based health insurer Highmark Inc. will contribute $29 million to help physicians acquire e-prescription/e-Health record (EHR) technology for their practices. Hallmark will cover up to 75 percent of the cost for a doctor's office to acquire, install and implement an EHR system, for up to $7,000 per physician, with the balance paid by the physician, according to Highmark President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Kenneth Melani. "Highmark considers this initiative to be a critical step toward full utilization of EHRs and the facilitation of health information exchanges that will improve access to patients' medical histories, including medications, test results and care-management programs," Melani said. The company hopes to begin administering grants this summer, he added.
For details, visit https://www.highmark.com/hmk2/about/newsroom/2008/pr060608.shtml

Doctor's visits go online with new Web software program
Boston-based healthcare technology firm American Well Corp. on June 19 plans to offer Web-based software that provides patients with a menu of doctors who are ready to give instant care online or by telephone. The product is an improvement over the e-mail-like exchanges between physicians and patients currently offered by other online health firms, according to American Well Chief Executive Officer Roy Schoenberg. "I don't know if we're going to be the eBay of healthcare, but there are certainly some similarities," Schoenberg said. The Internet-based software is being marketed to health plans, which in turn would offer the service to clinicians in their network and to patients under their coverage. Physicians who provide care through the system would be paid $25 to $55 per patient, based on existing insurance reimbursements, according to Schoenberg.
For details, visit http://masshightech.bizjournals.com/masshightech/...

German healthcare leader Klinikum combines teleradiology, EHRs
One of Germany's largest hospitals has become the first to link its teleradiology service with an electronic health record (EHR) system. Klinikum Chemnitz, based in Chemnitz, Germany, will use the Soarian Integrated Care system developed by Siemens Healthcare to store radiology diagnosis and corresponding findings on a single health record, then share the information with different hospital departments treating a patient. The system will also enable the hospital to "more effectively act as a regional centre of expertise, providing radiology expertise to county hospitals, medical centers and practicing physicians," according to Prof. Olaf Schlimpert, director of the medical information technology department at Klinikum Chemnitz. Klinikum has four campuses and is considered the area's specialist on neurosurgery, traumatology, angiology and radiology.
For details, visit http://www.ehealtheurope.net/news/3823/...

U.S. women prefer EMR technology in a healthcare system
Sixty percent of adult American women consider technology that enables doctors to electronically send medical records and patient histories to other doctors "very important" or "extremely important" in a healthcare system, according to a survey by the American Academy of Family Physicians. The survey of 1,270 adult women, conducted in March by Harris Interactive, also noted that 60 percent of respondents find the current healthcare system full of confusing communications, duplicative paperwork and contradictory recommendations. The findings point to some of the most important cost-drivers in America's healthcare system, according to AAFP President Jim King, M.D. A difficult-to-navigate system "leads to fragmented care, duplication of tests and sometimes unnecessary procedures - all of which steadily drive up the cost of health care for the nation as a whole," King said.
For details, visit http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/...

AMIA awarded $500,000 to convene health informatics conference
A $500,000 grant has been awarded to the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) by the Rockefeller Foundation to help convene a conference in collaboration with the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) on "capacity building in health informatics." The conference is part of the Foundation's "Making the eHealth Connection" conference series to be held at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Lake Como, Italy, in July 2008. The grant will also help support AMIA's efforts to address the growing global workforce shortage and implement global health and bioinformatics education programs. "This grant sets the stage for planning a set of collaborations with some developing economies in the Global South that will support global education in the knowledge and skills relating to practical applications of biomedical and health informatics," AMIA President Don Detmer, M.D. said.
For details, visit http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/... and http://www.rockfound.org/about...

Trusting system leads to ultra-high EHR usage rate in Western MA
Ninety-four percent of patients in the North Adams area of Massachusetts are participating in the area's electronic health record (EHR) program, according to the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC). That amounts to roughly 25,000 patients, or 15 of every 16, working through 50 physicians at 14 practices. While not a hugely populated area - North Adams has less than 50,000 residents - the high EHR adoption rate in the mere two years of the program's existence has drawn attention to the results, according to MAeHC President Micky Tripathy. "By helping to build a system that their patients trust, leaders from physician offices, the [area's one] hospital and the community have made it possible for everyone to benefit from better and more efficient care," Tripathy said. MAeHC expects to roll out additional program functions, including a patient portal and ambulatory electronic lab ordering, later this summer.
For details, visit http://www.maehc.org/documents/...

Telecare can smooth flow of UK's 'bottlenecked' charity care services
The eligibility criteria for charity telecare services in the United Kingdom contains too many barriers and should be revised, according to executives at some of the region's more prominent charities. Many "carers" - persons who provide aid to patients who are in their own homes - are unpaid for the service and work regular full-time jobs, according to Imelda Redmond, chief executive officer of Carers UK. Roughly 2.3 million people become carers each year, and this causes difficulties for employers when workers leave at a moment's notice to care for loved ones. Telecare technology could ease the problem, but "the system is bottlenecked through local authorities," Redmond said. The technology should be available to all families directly from vendors, she said. In May, health secretary Alan Johnson launched a six-month debate to collect input about such services. The public is encouraged to contribute opinions publicly and through the national Web site at www.careandsupport.direct.gov.uk.
For details, visit http://www.ehiprimarycare.com/news/... and http://www.careandsupport.direct.gov.uk/

Jamaican health ministry working on e-health infrastructure
Jamaica's Ministry of Health and Environment plans to emphasize development of an e-health infrastructure within the coming year. Health Minister Rudyard Spencer said the country needs an e-Health infrastructure that "relates to and interfaces with other government agencies" to provide benefits such as real-time access to patient information, reliable connectivity, improved ability to monitor service delivery islandwide; and an effective referral system for patients. The system will also act as a tool for better management of patient information for all Jamaicans, Spencer said. "E-health is especially important to a developing country such as Jamaica, in order to better finance health care and to retain skilled workers, who are essential to the quality and sustainability of the health care system," he added.
For details, visit http://www.jis.gov.jm/parliament/html/2...