Healthcare IT News - February 2009 - (Page 4) Healthcare IT News ■ February 2009 industry news www.HealthcareITNews.com By BernIe MonegaIn, Editor WASHINGTON Nehc takes over where ahIc left off, names officers with Obama’s stated commitment to promote the use of electronic health records and health information technology as part of a national economic stimulus package and comprehensive healthcare reform. NeHC, a public-private partnership dedicated to the creation of a secure and interoperable nationwide health information network, named new board officers in December, with John Tooker, MD, as chairman. The organization sucdevelopment and adopceeds AHIC, a federal tion of an interoperable advisory committee estabhealth system. lished in 2005, and AHIC Participants include Successor, Inc., founded in federal and state agencies, 2008 to transition the origihealth systems, payers, nal organization into a nonhealth professionals, mediJohn tooker, MD cal centers, community profit membership group. N e H C ’s m e m b e r s h i p a n d hospitals, patient advocates, major board represent virtually all employers, nonprofit health orgastakeholders whose participa- nizations, commercial and techtion is needed to drive the rapid nology providers. – The American Health Information Community, more recently known as AHIC Successor Inc. and colloquially as AHIC 2.0, will now be called the National eHealth Collaborative, or NeHC. Members of the organization’s board of directors met with President Obama’s transition team in January to offer to help the team The collaborative works in partnership with the Health Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP), the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) and the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN), as well as other health and IT member organizations. ■ More at HealthcareITnews.com e Connect: NeHC 0209 ● Manos Continued from page 3 and certification. Obama plans to take up where those advances left off, promising more money to accomplish that than in the past. There’s a lot that can be said for the backing of a president. According to the HIMSS Analytics Database, 85 percent of hospitals in the contracting phase of an IT acquisition have signed with a Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology-certified vendor since November 2007. Amid all the optimism, caution comes from an unexpected place. In a Jan. 12 blog, Peter Neupert, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Health Solutions Group, told lawmakers to think twice before finalizing their healthcare IT shopping list. “If the country is going to invest $50 billion in incremental health IT we all want it to be invested wisely,” he said. “The question is: What will generate the most benefit and how can we accomplish it?” That’s something to think about in light of Microsoft’s recent announcement to lay off 5,000 workers. More at HealthcareITnews.com e Connect: MaNoS 0209 ● sTIMulus Continued from page 3 to encourage the widespread adoption of healthcare IT. In addition to economic stimulus legislation, the House passed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act – and the Senate Finance Committee is considering – calling for $25 million for use of healthcare IT to improve children’s health. Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) has reintroduced workforce legislation calling for $100 million to train Americans to enter the health IT profession. Sens. Debbie Stabenow (DMich.) and Olympia Snowe (RMaine) have also reintroduced their $4 billion Health Information Technology Act of 2009 that would provide grants to help providers in rural areas who provide a high percentage of Medicare and Medicaid servicesto purchase healthcare IT. ■ More at HealthcareITnews.com e Connect: StIMuluS 0209 ● http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/nehc-takes-over-where-ahic-left-names-officers http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/helps-have-it-champion http://www.enovateit.com http://www.enovateit.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/it-takes-center-stage-capitol-hill
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