January 20, 2009

Economic stimulus plan – with $20 billion for health IT – may go before lawmakers
The House Appropriations Committee is expected this week to take action on an $825 billion economic stimulus proposal that includes $20 billion for health information technology, with federal and state agencies the most likely benefactors. As proposed, nearly $18 million of the funding would be used to provide health IT grants to states, as well as provide upgrades to database systems for Indian Health Services, community health centers and the Social Security Administration. But the package overall “uses technology to put Americans back to work, creating jobs and new spending at a time when the country needs it most,” said Information Technology Industry Council President Dean Garfield. “New investments in electronic medical records, increased spending on science and technology in our nation’s classrooms, new and faster reach for broadband, and energy efficiency are sound and sensible ways to jumpstart the economy.” The Senate is drafting its own version of the stimulus package, which may or may not include the $20 billion for health IT. http://techdailydose.nationaljournal.com/2009/...

Healthcare, government to test new HIPAA 5010 transaction standards
Four major healthcare organizations are collaborating with the federal government to develop a standards-testing project for electronic healthcare transactions. The Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association will work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in testing the new X12 HIPAA 5010 transaction standards. The standards are an updated, more-extensive version of the industry codes used by insurers, physicians and hospitals participating in federal health programs. Existing codes are no longer viable and do not take into account new diseases, diagnoses or procedures, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The review group hopes to have a live testing project demonstration ready in time for the HIMSS09 Conference in early April. http://www.caqh.org/PR200901.php

New online tool from RAND evaluates impact of healthcare reform proposals
RAND Corp. has launched an online tool to provide policymakers and others with a way of understanding and evaluating the effects and unintended consequences of potential upcoming healthcare reform proposals. The tool, Comprehensive Assessment of Reform Efforts (COMPARE), offers a snapshot and an in-depth look at the implications that various policy changes could have on a range of outcomes, such as costs to government and others, as well as the ease with which changes could be implemented. COMPARE also depicts gaps in the public’s knowledge about the consequences of changes in the healthcare system, according to COMPARE Co-Director Elizabeth McGlynn. New findings revealed thus far include: an individual mandate is the most cost-effective strategy for decreasing the number of uninsured; the policy’s design impacts how effective it will be; and a link between having health insurance and life expectancy. COMPARE can be accessed at www.randcompare.org.   http://www.rand.org/news/press/2009/01/13/index.html

European market faces multiple barriers to continent-wide telecare system
Not all members of the European Union are ready for a full-scale roll-out of a continent-wide electronic health record system, and that could be a major problem as the populations of various nations age, according to a preliminary report commissioned by the European Commission. “ICT & Ageing” identifies four major barriers to development of telecare and telehealth in Europe: existence of a basic infrastructure, which roughly half of the EU’s members are somehow deficient in; acceptance of telecare and telehealth within a national market, a financial and attitude-based problem that should diminish over time; lack of clear incentives to promote implementation of home telehealth; and limited technological support for telemedicine within the European marketplace, according to the report. http://www.ehealthnews.eu/content/view/1450/62/ and http://www.ict-ageing.eu/ict-ageing-...

Technology to help change the face of doctors’ practices in years to come
As the trend towards “more e-health” continues in 2009, expect to see more doctors to close their traditional practices and open telehealth-based ones in future years, according to medical experts and healthcare marketing firms such as Manhattan Research. Such a change means more chatting with a doctor online via video, e-mailing physicians with a question, or going to a fee-based Web site for medical advice. Other trend-based changes to arrive in future years include virtual clinics, receiving test results online and “Twittering” doctors: the use of social networking sites to get answers on tough cases. “When confronted with a strange set of symptoms,” health economist Jane Sarasohn-Kahn said, “some doctors are going on Twitter – a free social networking and micro-blogging service – and asking other doctors, ‘Hey, I’ve got a conundrum. Can any of you help me out?’” http://www.myretailhealthcarenews.com/2009/01/15/...

CCHIT looking for public comment on plan to expand certification programs
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) seeks feedback on plans to expand its health IT certification programs into “advanced levels of technology for products that go ‘beyond the basics’ in any domain.” The commission’s draft expansion roadmap and supporting materials are available for review at www.cchit.org . Comments will be accepted until Feb. 5. CCHIT has previously focused on professional specialties, care settings, and patient populations. http://www.cchit.org/expansion/ and http://www.cchit.org/files/Expansion/...

Most Americans prefer PHRs, but few actually put them to use 
More than 70 million Americans now say they want personal health records (PHRs), but only 7 million of them actually use the product, according to a report from pharmaceutical and healthcare market research firm Manhattan Research. “Cybercitizen HealthTM v8.0,” Manhattan Research’s latest consumer study and strategic advisory service, notes that offerings in the past year by vendors ranging from Google, WebMD, and Microsoft to multiple insurers and employers have generated substantial interest. But for average consumers not motivated by a serious illness, “significant barriers such as privacy concerns, lack of understanding, and doubts to PHR efficiency hinder adoption.” The level of consumer adoption of PHRs is also unlikely to show significant growth in the future, according to Manhattan Research Director Erika S. Fishman. http://www.manhattanresearch.com/newsroom/Press...

Kentucky considers implementation of statewide health information exchange
In an effort to “position the commonwealth as a national leader in e-health,” the state of Kentucky plans to begin developing a statewide health information exchange network within the current year, according to government officials. The exchange will ensure patient privacy as paper records are converted to digital, and provide physicians with current information on drug interactions and current health histories that will help prevent medical errors or duplicative service, Lt. Gov. Mongiardo said. The state will use an existing federally funded Medicaid Transformation Grant to begin the project. “While all states are looking for ‘shovel-ready’ projects as part of a proposed federal stimulus, we are looking for innovative and groundbreaking ways to implement health technology – technology that will save lives and significantly reduce costs,” Gov. Steve Beshear said. “This initiative is an important first step in making Kentucky a national leader in the emerging e-health movement.”http://governor.ky.gov/pressrelease.htm...

HIE providers Medicity, Novo Innovations to merge
Health information exchange (HIE) providers Medicity and Novo Innovations are merging into an organization that will connect more than 1,800 healthcare organizations and 85,000 physicians nationwide, and become a dominant force in the HIE market, according to representatives at both companies. The combined company will be known as Medicity and will remain headquartered in Salt Lake City. Novo Innovations’ Alpharetta, GA-based facility will head up East Coast operations, according to Medicity Chief Executive Officer Kipp Lassetter, M.D. “We realized that we had the opportunity to come together to build a new type of ‘operating system’ for interconnected healthcare,” Lassetter said. “By combining our technologies and expertise, we have expanded our ability to fully integrate the silos of healthcare data that exist in every community and immediately establish thousands of nodes on an exchange platform that we believe will become a de facto standard for healthcare.” Terms of the deal were not released. http://infosite.medicity.com/news/article_09_0114.htm

Investing in health IT technology is still the way to go for office-based physicians
Despite a rough economic climate, office-based physicians should continue to invest in health information technology because it will drive down operating costs, according to a study by market research firm Health Industry Insights. According to “Where Should Office-Based Providers Look in a Down and Uncertain Economy?”, U.S. healthcare spending has barely been affected by economic slowdown during the five recession periods since 1960. And even though the situation has changed since 1960, with newer benefit plans shifting costs to consumers, causing a greater and more immediate softening in healthcare spending, “it makes sense for office-based physicians to continue to invest in healthcare IT solutions that help them to lower operating costs and improve the quality of care, while enabling them to collect on Medicare incentives that result in increased revenue,” the report notes. http://www.healthindustry-insights.com/HII/...

Low-income countries now eligible for free SNOMED Clinical TermsTM licenses
The International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) plans to make development of electronic health record (EHR) systems easier for lower-income countries by offering free affiliate licenses for the use of SNOMED Clinical TermsTM (SNOMED CTTM). SNOMED CTTM is a standardized terminology that can be used as the foundation for electronic health records and other applications. It contains more than 310,000 unique concepts and more than 1.3 million links or relationships between them that ensure information is captured consistently, accurately, and reliably, according to Dr. Jennifer Zelmer, IHTSDO’s Chief Executive Officer. The terminology is used in more than 40 countries worldwide; 49 low-income countries are expected to obtain the free licenses. More than half are in Africa, where a health information system project is currently underway to create a standardized, clinical terminology program. http://www.ihtsdo.org/news/article/...

Telemedicine improves examination of sexually abused children in rural hospitals
Telemedicine can significantly improve the examination procedure and treatment of child sexual abuse victims and prevent further abuse of those children in rural areas, according to a study by researchers from the University of California at Davis and the Department of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Central California in Madera, CA. The study, published in the Dec. 29, 2008 issue of Pediatrics the Official Journal of The American Academy of Pediatrics, used telemedicine to provide 24-hour available live consultations for assault victims at two rural hospitals. In 86 percent of the cases, the consultations resulted in use of multi-method examination techniques. Eighty-nine percent of the cases resulted in improved forensic evidence collection. The research supports the notion that telemedicine can be a feasible method of examination for sexual assault or abuse cases, according to the study authors.   http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/123/1/223?rss=1