HIT: Just in Time to Cure the Recession?

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Despite the promise of new jobs, EHR errors are still causing publicity and concern. By now we know the feds are handing out money – to colleges and non-profits, mostly – to jumpstart the adoption and meaningful use of electronic health records. But what’s recently become clear, too, is the role health information technology is playing in jumpstarting the still-saggy U.S. economy – if it will just work right. Read on to find out how the feds are promoting HIT as the source of new jobs while concurrently making major CYA moves to deal with reports of EHR errors.

Will the Feds Use EHR Taxes to Raise $20B HIT Fund?

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

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Medical device tax could pose big costs for consumers. Now that the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) includes approximately$20 billion for healthcare IT, the administration is starting to throw a lot of money around. Just where is that $20 billion coming from? Some industry folks think it could come in the form of a new tax on medical devices. In a recent post on the Health Data Management Blog, Editor-in-Chief Greg Gillespie spotlights this new tax – a 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices set to go into effect in 2013. He says this figure hasn’t received much exposure in the media because it doesn’t sound like much – unless you’re in the medical devices market. The tax could generate almost $2 billion every year, says Gillespie.

A Patient’s Very Own Tele-Reminder

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

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Researchers turn cell phones into medication sensors to monitor leukemia drug. Health care providers are lining up for federal ARRA money, but they’ll mainly be hiring outside IT experts to set up programs and move the health system in the e-world. And private companies are racing to create the IT solutions that will win the providers that money – but not just with electronic records. Disease management is a field that IT has been involved with for years already.

HHS Pumps More Money into HIT Adoption Efforts

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

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Big schools, little schools and all kinds of lucky non-profits will get ARRA money. Under the gun to get its “meaningful use” definition straight in order to meet the deadlines of October 2010 for hospitals and January 2011 for eligible providers, the Department of Health & Human Services is getting serious about HIT adoption, and the serious American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 money is starting to roll out. In April 2010, the agency announced close to half a billion dollars in grants to schools and non-profits relating to the goal of establishing widespread and meaningful use of electronic health records by 2014.

DEA Clears One Hurdle to “Meaningful Use” of EHR

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

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E-Prescribing of Controlled Substances Allowed Under New Regs Doing its part to hasten the EHR revolution, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued an interim final rule on March 31, 2010 revising its regs to allow pharmacies, hospitals and physicians to use electronic prescriptions for controlled substances, known as Schedule II drugs, such as opioids, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and anabolic steroids. This opens a door for practitioners to prove they are “meaningful EHR users” under the ARRA and HITECH and thus be eligible for incentive payments beginning next year. The DEA’s new regs align federal policies on controlled substances with the goal of moving the health care industry toward e-prescribing.

Here’s Who Got the Latest $1 Billion in HIT Stimulus Funds

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

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Want to know who’s getting those ARRA dollars? Here’s the list. If the feds are going to get providers anywhere close to their ambitious HIT implementation goals, we’re going to need a lot more HIT workers. That’s why the Department of Health & Human Services and Department of Labor are shelling out big bucks to train the next wave of ‘meaningful users’. The government has extended about $1 billion in ARRA grants to further develop health information technology (HIT), skills-building and education in the healthcare sector, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced recently.

99% of Physicians Are Wired: Why Aren’t They All Talking to Patients?

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

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According to a new report published by Manhattan Research, certain specialties are more likely to communicate online with their patients. In “Physicians in 2012: The Outlook on Health Information Technology,” Manhattan Research reports that dermatologists and medical oncologists connect most often with their patients via email and online messaging. The top five specialist groups who communicate most online also include neurologists, endocrinologists, and infectious disease specialists. Overall, 39% of surveyed physicians email, secure message, or instant message their patients, which is a 14% increase since 2006, according to the report.

Shore Up Your HIPAA Compliance Before Enforcement Storm Hits This Year

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

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Tip: You’re not off the hook if the breach is your vendor’s fault. Using electronic health records may cut costs and reduce errors, but they also can increase your compliance risks — and scrutiny from the feds. Wake-up call: You are accountable for compliance even if a third party installs and maintains your records system. Providers will still be responsible for ensuring the same privacy protections as if they did have their own IT department, points out Jim Sheldon-Dean with Lewis Creek Systems in Charlotte, Vt.

HITECH: Physicians Must Meet 25 Criteria To Achieve ‘Meaningful Use’

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

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While waiting for CMS guidelines, some practices have dragged heels on EHR adoption Practices that have been waiting for CMS to define the term “meaningful use” are finally in luck. But as is always the case when the feds are involved, don’t look for a quick one-sentence definition. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 (ARRA) offers annual bonuses to practices that show “meaningful use” of electronic health records, and in 2015, practices that aren’t showing meaningful use will face penalties. However, the government was slow to issue a definition of the term “meaningful use,” causing some physicians to delay adoption of EHRs because they didn’t want to risk being a non-meaningful user. On Dec. 29, CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology announced that the definition was finally available for public comment. “CMS’s proposed regulation would define and specify how to demonstrate ‘meaningful…

Hospitals Find New HIT Issues in OIG’s 2010 Work Plan

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

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Watch out. If your hospital breaches 1,000 records, you face a whopping $282,000 fine. Hospitals that read the HHS OIG’s 2010 Work Plan carefully will find an important clue about how to handle health information technology in the future. And it’s buried in a very real and present threat, so read on to find out how to not only avoid penalties from CMS in the present but also prepare for ARRA’s “meaningful use” requirement, which CMS announced on Dec. 30 will be tied to quality data. Reporting quality data and portable device compliance under HIPAA are two hot areas for hospitals in 2010, according to Jim Sheldon-Dean, director of compliance services at Lewis Creek Systems, who gave a recent audio presentation titled “OIG 2010 Work Plan for Hospitals.” And that makes sense, given CMS’s…

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