Healthcare IT News - March 2009 - (Page 21) www.himss.org March 2009 I HIMSS Insider 21 A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E H E A LT H C A R E I N F O R M AT I O N A N D M A N A G E M E N T S Y S T E M S S O C I E T Y I VOLUME 5 I NUMBER 3 ©CHICAGO CONVENTION & TOURISM BUREAU Don't miss HIMSS09 next month T HERE IS STILL TIME TO REGISTER for HIMSS09. Registration is open at www.himssconference.org/registration and remains open throughout conference. Standard registration rates apply through March 9; after that date, attendees registering pay late-registration/on-site rates. HIMSS09 registration includes entrance to keynote presentations, education sessions and the exhibit hall, Sunday, April 5, through Wednesday, April 8; the opening reception; CD-ROM conference proceedings; and a registration tote bag and kit (while supplies last). On-site, self-service registration kiosks are also available for attendees to register for conference and optional events, as well as to print their badges and tickets. Attendees and exhibitors, who did not receive their registration packets in the mail, can also print their badges and tickets at self-service kiosks with a valid photo ID. Badges and tickets may only be printed once on-site. Changes to previously registered attendees cannot be made at the self-service kiosks on-site. A full-service, staffed registration area is available on-site for these changes. Prior to conference, attendees can return to the registration Web site to add additional events to their registration. For the latest HIMSS news and updates, visit www.himssconference.org. I T TIME OF PUBLICATION, the House and Senate began deliberations on the Conference Report of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, harmonized economic stimulus legislation as passed by the Senate and House. The legislation includes $790 billion for such items as unemployment benefits, job training and transportation projects; including over $20 billion for health IT. Within the specific health IT titles of legislation, the legislation includes $19.2 billion for health IT: • $2 billion for the Office of the National Coordinator; and • $17.2 billion for incentives through the Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement systems to reward providers that demonstrate a meaningful use of certified EHR technology. The legislation also establishes the ONC; two federal advisory committees, HIT Standards Committee and HIT Policy Standards; grants and loans programs to assist providers and consumers in adopting and utilizing health IT; and a number of privacy and security provisions that aim to strengthen privacy protections for electronic health information through such activities as apply the security provisions and penalties as directed by HIPAA to business associates of covered entities and prohibiting the sale of a patient's medical information without the permission of the patient. The legislation includes additional funding for health IT: • $85 million for the Indian Health Service • $1.5 billion for the community health centers through the Health Resources and Services Administration and Health IT Economic Stimulus Legislation • $500 million for the Social Security Administration • $50 million for the Veterans Benefits Administration • $2.5 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Distance Learning, Telemedicine and Broadband Program • $4.7 billion for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program If the House and Senate pass the Conference Report, the legislation will then be sent to the President for his signature. HIMSS plans to hold many educational opportunities concerning the legislation in the coming months, through a webinar series and education sessions at HIMSS09. Learn more at www.himss.org and www.himssconference.org. I Visit the HIMSS Advocacy and Public Policy Center at www.himss.org/advocacy for the most current information. HIMSS10 call for proposals HE CALL FOR PROPOSALS for the 2010 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition, Feb. 28 - March 4 in Atlanta, opens this month. The online proposal form and reviewer application is available March 16 through the first week of May at www.himss.org/education. Individuals interested in submitting proposals should spend time researching intended audiences, various topic categories and evaluation criteria, which are all available online. Evaluation criteria to note: proposals should be void of commercial or propri- T Opens this month Breaking News on HIMSS09 HIMSS10 [continued on page 22] New Education Sessions Focus on Impact of Health IT in Economic Stimulus H focused on the impact of the health IT provisions in the economic stimulus package under review by Congress. Prior to publication, plans called for a $20 billion investment in the industry, primarily to encourage hospitals and physician offices to begin using electronic health records. A combination of employment growth in the healthcare sector and the likelihood of billions of dollars in new federal funding likely being pumped into U.S. hospitals and physician practices this year for health IT, as well as Chicago's central location, seem to be driving strong attendance numbers for the conference. “Healthcare organizations and physician practices have heard President Obama's call for computerized health records for all Americans in the next five years, and they recognize the likelihood of billions of dollars in investments coming from the federal government for the acquisition and implementation of health IT,” said H. Stephen Lieber, CAE, president and CEO, HIMSS, in a news release. “Hospitals and physician practices will be aggressively pursuing the acquisition of electronic medical record applications this year and will be in search of IT solutions' providers, consultants and all other ancillary services necessary for them to be eligible to receive the federal funding IMSS09 INCLUDES 10 EDUCATION SESSIONS try's move from paper-based processes to electronic business applications. Called the U.S. Healthcare Efficiency Index, this tool is intended to raise awareness about the cost savings that can be achieved by increasing adoption of electronic business processes. One-third of respondents believed the largest cost savings would come in the area of claims submission. Another quarter believed cost savings would be achieved in the area of eligibility verification. Only 2 percent of respondents did not believe savings could be achieved in one of the areas identified in this survey. Summary: A tool was recently launched to measure the healthcare indus- Electronic Claims Potential Areas of Cost Savings if All Claims Were Conducted Electronically Claims Submission Eligibility Verification Claims Payment Claims Remittance Claims Status None of the Above 34.48% 23.71% 17.03% 15.73% 6.68% 2.37% For more information, visit www.himss.org/vantagepoint. Congress is posed to enact.” Attendees can select from the sessions below to learn more about the effects this economic stimulus legislation could have on their healthcare organizations. Sessions include: 1. Funding in Economic Stimulus: Where's the Money and What Strings Are Attached 2. ONC's Plans for Its Economic Stimulus Funding 3. The Effect of Economic Stimulus on State Health IT Projects 4. Focus on Rural and Underserved Communities in Economic Stimulus 5. The Goal of Economic Stimulus: A Democrat/Republican Panel 6. A Strategic Approach to Managing Opportunities and Risks for Health IT in Economic Stimulus 7. Developing a Plan to Operationalize the Results of Economic Stimulus 8. Optimizing Opportunities in Economic Stimulus for the Physician Practice 9. The Meaning of Economic Stimulus for Healthcare Enterprises: Bracing for Impact 10.Achieving Health Information Interoperability by Leveraging Economic Stimulus Look for more information about speakers and times for these sessions, as it becomes available, on the news section of the HIMSS09 Web site, www.himssconference.org. I http://www.himss.org http://www.himss.org/education http://www.himssconference.org/registration http://www.himss.org http://www.himssconference.org http://www.himss.org/advocacy http://www.himss.org/advocacy http://www.himssconference.org http://www.himss.org/vantagepoint http://www.himss.org/vantagepoint http://www.himssconference.org
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