Social Security launches IBM-backed health records exchange system
IBM, health information technology services provider MedVirginia LLC and the Social Security Administration have implemented the first electronic health records (EHRs) exchange system for a U.S. government agency, designed to reduce the amount of time needed to process requests for medical records from months to minutes. The effort, part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Nationwide Health Information Network Cooperative, is the first health information exchange between a regional health information organization and a federal agency. The new system uses IBM’s Health Information Provider to also improve claims accuracy and reduce costs, according to Michael Matthews, Chief Executive Officer of MedVirginia. “Now is the time to expand the usage and functionality of EHRs,” Matthews said. “This significant milestone demonstrates that disparate health systems across the U.S. can securely connect and exchange health information in order to enhance the quality, safety and cost-effectiveness of patient healthcare.”http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/26967.wss

Harvard professor Blumenthal selected as new national coordinator for heath IT
David Blumenthal, director of the Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital, has been named the new national coordinator for health information technology, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Blumenthal, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, will help determine how to spend a $2 billion budget provided for health IT in the federal stimulus package. He will also help develop rules and policies to implement other health IT provisions in the package, Medicare and Medicaid health IT incentive programs, enhanced privacy and security requirements; and develop a national health information network. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the position of the national coordinator for health IT is now permanent; Blumenthal succeeds Robert Kolodner, who had served as health IT coordinator since September 2006.  http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/03/20090320b.html

New Hampshire Senate passes bill requiring insurers to reimburse for telemedicine 
A bill that prevents New Hampshire health insurers from requiring a doctor to meet a patient face-to-face in order to be reimbursed – allowing use of telemedicine as a substitute – has been passed by the state Senate and awaits approval by the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Supporters maintain that the bill, S.B. 138, will lower healthcare costs and provide better care in rural areas.Opponents question whether the bill is an insurance mandate that will drive up premiums. And others worry that it will result in unsupervised experimental medicine, though proponents say the bill includes language that defines telemedicine as having to fit within the current scope of practice. http://www.nhbr.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...

 New health IT standards organization launched by national drug programs council 
In an effort to coordinate interoperability among healthcare standards development organizations and promote health information technology, the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) has formed a new association, the Standards Charter Organization (SCO). SCO’s goals are to develop an executive forum and a process for senior leadership of the U.S. healthcare standards development community to have strategic and tactical dialogue, planning and collaboration across standards development organizations; and to unify and harmonize healthcare industry standards to meet the interoperability and standards definition needs of all healthcare stakeholders, according to John Klimek, SCO chairperson and NCPDP senior vice president. Other charter members of SCO include Accredited Standards Committee X12; ASTM International; Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium; and Health Level Seven. http://www.ncpdp.org/press/...

Australia’s ‘archaic’ health system needs reform to encourage health IT adoption
Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications provider, is calling for a reform of the nation’s health system, saying that Medicare and other payment structures for health workers are “archaic” and are holding back adoption of more-efficient information technology services. Deena Shiff, Telstra’s business division director, requests a governmental review of the basis on which doctors are paid, and for the removal of existing barriers blocking the use of new technologies such as videoconferencing. “The basis on which medical professionals are rewarded acts as a drag on innovation in delivering clinical services,” Shiff said. “It effectively deters them from making full use of the available technology.” Under present Medicare rules, reimbursements are only issued for consultations where doctor and patient are physically present in the same room. And, with few exceptions, Medicare will pay only for services provided by one doctor or health provider with the same patient at the same time.http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/...

Online healthcare information has good and bad points for doctors, consumers
Use of online health information in Britain is receiving a pros-and-cons treatment in the nation’s top medical journal. The National Health Service (NHS) promotes the Internet as a great tool for doctors, while university researchers argue that the Web is “filled with false medical claims.” NHS Trust Chairperson Joanne Shaw in the March 21 issue of the British Medical Journal calls the demand for online health information “unstoppable,” something that “should be welcomed and encouraged as good for patients and doctors alike.” She adds that the Internet “does not diminish the role of doctors, but casts them as expert advisers rather than authoritarian figures with exclusive guardianship of special knowledge.” In contrast, Marco Masoni is one of several researchers at the University of Florence who believes that search engines such as Google need to improve their filters to keep misleading or fake advertising off the Internet. “If improving the filter is too complex, it would be better to simply not display sponsored links in results of searches on medical terms or products,” Masoni said. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/... and http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content...

Hawaii considers creating office of state coordinator for health information exchange
Hawaii Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu has introduced legislation to establish an office of state coordinator for health information exchange that would develop a statewide health data exchange program. Proponents say creating an online database will give physicians easy access to patient medical records, patient histories, laboratory results, and prescription records. The program will ultimately lower the rate of medical errors and result in better patient care, Karamatsu said. “Health information technology is an essential component to quality healthcare,” he said. “Passage of this measure will be one of the most important actions that we as a legislature take this year because we will be making new strides in healthcare, creating new jobs, and bringing in new federal funds.”http://jonriki.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/...

EHR security and privacy record bill awaits signature by New Mexico governor
A bill that establishes privacy and security regulations for New Mexico patients and doctors who participate in an electronic health record (EHR) system awaits signing into law by Gov. Bill Richardson. The bill (S.B. 278) passed overwhelmingly in both state houses this month, by votes of 61-2 from New Mexico representatives and 36-4 in the Senate. SB 278 requires patients to give annual consent for their records to be included in the EHR system. The Electronic Medical Records Act also requires the EHR service to provide a log indicating who has accessed a client’s medical record and for what purpose. Gov. Richardson has indicated he will sign the bill. About 15 percent of providers or 600 physicians in New Mexico use electronic records. http://www.health.state.nm.us/documents/...

Recovery Act may help jumpstart merger of HIEs with P4P programs
IBM’s chief healthcare officer believes the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) may be just the thing needed to connecting health information exchanges (HIEs) to pay-for-performance (P4P) programs. Janet Marchibroda, the former CEO of the eHealth Initiative, said the stimulus law has “an enormous impact on how providers can use healthcare information technology infrastructure and standards for (P4P).” ARRA’s grants, loans and technical assistance will bring $300 million to regional and local HIEs, meaning “the time is ideal to bridge health IT and quality.” Forty-two percent of existing HIEs were operational as of 2008, up from 32 percent one year earlier, according to a study by eHealth Initiative – a fact that bodes well for HIE development, Marchibroda adds. http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/recovery...

E-health incentive plan receives unhappy reaction from Australian software suppliers
Medical software suppliers in Australia are giving a thumbs-down to the government’s newest Practice Incentive Payments (PIP) e-health incentive program for general practitioners, saying the idea is “ill thought through.” The government’s PIP plan requires medical software suppliers to have at least applied for a proper certification and provide GPs with access to necessary electronic clinical resources by April 30. By July 1, the program also requires suppliers to have secure messaging capability in place. Some medical software manufacturers say they are being rushed into compliance without adequate support or funding. “The government does not even have all of its standards in place yet,” said e-health consultant Dr. David More. “How can they tell suppliers what to do?” http://www.6minutes.com.au/articles/z1/view.asp?id=473979

Responsibility for creating EHR storage standards lies with government
Six in 10 American adults say the government should be responsible for standards on how medical information is collected, stored, exchanged and protected, according to a survey by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions in Washington, D.C. In comparison, 21 percent of survey respondents said standards should be set by health plans, and 5 percent believe employers should handle the task. The remaining 14 percent said no entity in particular should set standards. Results for the Web-based survey were based on responses from 4,001 U.S. adults. The 2009 Survey of Health Care Consumers is Deloitte’s second annual study of health care consumers’ attitudes, behaviors and unmet needs.http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/article/... and http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/...

Former IntelliCare employees establish new telehealth services firm SironaHealth
A group of employees from the former telemedicine company IntelliCare Inc. in Portland, ME have launched a new medical services firm, SironaHealth Inc., according to new company president Jeff Forbes. In February, Medco Health Solutions of New Jersey shut down its subsidiary, IntelliCare, laying off 200 of its 250 employees, half of whom were based in Maine. IntelliCare’s management team purchased physical assets from IntelliCare to establish SironaHealth and have rehired 150 of the laid-off employees, including 75 in Maine, Forbes said. SironaHealth operates as an employee-owned and managed company, and provides full-service telehealth call center and nurse advice programs to various healthcare organizations, Forbes added. http://www.sironahealth.com/media/...