Healthcare IT News - March 2009 - (Page 8) 8 Healthcare IT News ■ who work in healthcare – particularly in the IT sector – are happy to have the $19 billion for healthcare IT, part of the government’s $739 billion economic stimulus package. It seems to have widespread support within the industry, from policy wonks to vendors. We’re climbing aboard the approval bandwagon. The injection of cash seems reasonable. After all, industry insiders have been telling us for years now that the major barrier to the uptake of healthcare IT is cost. We believe it. ost peopLe m Stimulus a chance to do IT right President Obama talks about the audacity of hope. We need to be reminded by our leaders to act boldly – which doesn’t mean to act without thought. What is hopeful is that the industry is filled with thoughtful leaders like Probst, who are mindful that automating healthcare records that can’t talk to one another is only marginally better than using paper Bernie monegain records. editor It is a point that former Speaker of the House, founder of the Center for Health Reform Newt Gingrich, notes in all his talks. Interoperability is critical. Standards are vital. These are facts that most healthcare leaders today recognize and that many have been working for years to achieve. They are not about to give up now. The Healthcare Information and March 2009 www.HealthcareITNews.com MY TWO CENTS “we think the investment will turn out to be boon rather than bust.” With incentives built into the package, through Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, it seems more physicians and hospitals won’t be able to afford taking a pass on going digital. There are some in the industry who, like Marc Probst, CIO at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, support government investments in healthcare IT, but also worry about how the money will be spent. “I think it’s a terrible idea by the government to invest in healthcare IT – in EMR systems – without investing in standards,” Probst says. Probst is right to be concerned. Throwing a wad of cash at a problem never solved anything. Agreed. Probst is clearly not alone with his concerns. A recent poll of healthcare IT News readers revealed that 75 percent of respondents were worried the $19B could be wasted. We don’t think so. We think the investment will turn out to be boon rather than bust. Management Systems Society recommended to the Obama Administration and Congress that the government invest $25 billion to help physician practices and hospitals covert to electronic records. HIMSS urged the government to link the incentives for adoption of healthcare IT products to those that apply Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) specifications for interoperability and are certified by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), and the new law does just that. John Halamka, MD, who heads the standards panel, suggested in a recent blog that what the country needs to do is to set measurable goals. “By setting expectations, allocating the resources, and monitoring our progress, I am confident that we as a country can do this,” he said. Yes, we can. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: MoNeGaIN 0309 www.HealthcareITNews.com Published in partnership with 71 Pineland Drive, Suite 203 New Gloucester, ME 04260 T (207) 688-6270 F (207) 688-6273 Neil Rouda neil.rouda@medtechpublishing.com MedTech Publishing Company PUBLISHER EDITORIAL Jack Beaudoin, Editorial Director jack.beaudoin@medtechpublishing.com Patty Enrado, Contributing Editor patty.enrado@medtechpublishing.com Diana Manos, Senior Editor diana.manos@medtechpublishing.com Molly Merrill, Associate Editor molly.merrill@medtechpublishing.com Bernie Monegain, Editor bernie.monegain@medtechpublishing.com Eric Wicklund, Managing Editor eric.wicklund@medtechpublishing.com Nancy Vitucci, nvitucci@himss.org For advertising contacts, see page 37 or visit http://www.healthcareitnews.com Karen Diekmann, Production Manager karen.diekmann@medtechpublishing.com EDITOR, HIMSS INSIDER EDITORIAL STAFF ● ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MARKETING Danielle Hartley, Director, Marketing and Business Development danielle.hartley@medtechpublishing.com Nicole Carter, Manager, Audience Development nicole.carter@medtechpublishing.com Jenna Flynn, Coordinator, Marketing/Circulation jenna.perez@medtechpublishing.com READER SERVICES T (978) 671-0449 Email: cs-hitn@e-circ.net F (978)671-0460 Online: www.myHITN.com P.O. Box 9369, Lowell, MA 01853 The YGS Group T (717) 399-1900, ext. 139 HITN@theygsgroup.com Information Refinery, 800-529-2600, dfoster@inforefinery.com John Glaser, vice president, CIO, Partners HealthCare, Boston Denni McColm, CIO, Citizens Memorial Healthcare, Bolivar, Mo. Jane Olds, COO, Louisiana Health Network, New Orleans Wes Rishel, vice president, Gartner, Inc. William Spooner, senior vice president, CIO, Sharp Healthcare, San Diego Paul Tang, vice president, CMIO, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, California Steven Waldren, director, Center for Health IT, American Academy of Family Physicians LIST RENTALS REPRINTS CUSTOMER SERVICE to the article reported on today’s (Feb. 11) BBC News Web site titled “Hospital drugs reactions common.” The article refers to a study that finds that“one in seven hospital patients experience adverse drug reactions, half of which are completely avoidable.” In some cases these adverse drug reactions have unnecessarily resulted in patient deaths. The article highlights the need for UK hospitals to improve their prescribing practices, a major issue which has been identified and reported on a number of times in recent years. The study identifies electronic prescribing as one of the possible intervention strategies in the reduction of adverse drug reactions. “The real tragedy of this study is that injury and death caused by adverse drug reactions, doesn’t have to happen. There are electronic prescribing systems (with integrated clinical decision support) available here and now that are able to DrAW Your AtteNtIoN I New standard dead on arrival? “at the point that a clinician prescribes a medication to a patient, the clinical decision support checks the medication against information held in the patient’s electronic health record ” correctIons Healthcare IT News is published by MedTech Publishing Company, LLC, which is solely responsible for its editorial content. Editors are expected to meet the highest professional standards for accuracy, objectivity, fairness and independence. Errors of fact are corrected as soon as the error is established and corrections are published in the medium in which the error appeared. Inquiries or disputes about the factual accuracy of the record should be directed to the editor. EDITORIAL BOARD MAILBOX prevent medication errors. Such systems are demonstrating real benefits in the hospitals where they have already been introduced.” “Paper-based systems are no longer an acceptable means of recording and cross checking patient records against potential interactions. We strongly urge more hospitals to consider transferring from paper-based systems, which can be subject to error, to reduce the risk of adverse drug reactions and improve patient safety.” leTTers see page 9 edItorIal IndePendence Healthcare IT News is published in partnership with the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). HIMSS members are eligible to receive Healthcare IT News and related publications – both in print and online – as a benefit of membership. With the exception of the HIMSS Insider, which is produced by the staff of HIMSS and appears within the pages of Healthcare IT News every month, HIMSS and its leadership exercise no control over the editorial content of the newspaper and related publications. Neil Rouda Jack Beaudoin, John D. Payne PRESIDENT Neil Rouda VICE PRESIDENTS VICE PRESIDENTS PRESIDENT Jack Beaudoin John D. Payne 2006 JESSE NEAL AWARD WINNER http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/stimulus-chance-do-it-right http://www.healthcareitnews.com http://www.myHITN.com
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