Healthcare IT News - September 2007 - (Page 5)

www.HealthcareITNews.com industry news September 2007 ■ Healthcare IT News industry news ahIc makeover in the works Healthcare IT News posts original news stories on its Web site daily. Here are recent top stories, as selected by the editors. Government considers public comment on how best to proceed. underserved California areas to reCeive it grants California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, as part of his comprehensive healthcare proposal to reform healthcare IT, announced this week that $25 million in new grants for healthcare technology projects would be awarded to underserved parts of the state in order to expand access to specialty doctors. The grants will include technology improvements for safety net providers such as health clinics, critical access hospitals and country health departments. Preventive healthcare and medical education programs are other areas to which the grants will extend support. Date: 8/24/07 By DIaNa MaNos, Senior Editor wasHINGtoN – The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, responsible for shepherding AHIC’s transition from a federal to publicprivate entity, is seeking comments from the public on how best to proceed. Under its own charter, the panel must be remade by 2009. How that will occur has been controversial. ONC has faced recent heat from some members of Congress over whether AHIC should continue as a private or public entity. AHIC Chairman and HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt has asserted it should new organization include: ■ Acceleration and coordination of be replaced by a public-private partnership, while Sen. Edward Kennedy current AHIC interoperability initia(D-Mass.) and others are pushing for tives including standards harmonizareplacement with a public body. tion and certification of health IT; ■ Prioritization of stakeholder What’s at stake is the past two years of work already laid out by AHIC, requirements for nationwide health Michael Leavitt proponents of Leavitt’s plan say. IT interoperability; ■ On Aug. 6, the ONC issued a draft white Advancement of the harmonization of paper on its proposed transition for public technology standards and policies, includcomment with comments due Sept. 10. The ing those to protect confidentiality, privacy white paper is a combination of transition and security; ■ proposals provided by contractors Alchemy Oversight of the Nationwide Health LLC, Avalere Health LLC and Booz Allen Information Network, including necessary Hamilton, presented to AHIC on June 12. governance and/or accreditation of particiIn the 17-page paper, which AHIC notes pant organizations; ■ And advancement of certification of prodis intended “for discussion purposes only,” a proposal for the private-public replacement ucts, network participants and operations. entity is outlined. Proposed activities for the aHIC see page 7 eMrs Could help diagnose hypertension in Children Electronic medical records could play a role in diagnosing high blood pressure among children and adolescents in the United States, said authors of a study published Tuesday. The study, published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, focused on hypertension in juveniles, which is a growing problem linked to increases in childhood obesity. Hypertension often indicates other diseases in children, such as endocrine disorders, kidney or heart disease. Date: 8/22/07 Much ado about AHIC By DIaNa MaNos, seNIor eDITor all green for e-prescribing By BerNIe MoNegaIN, Editor aLeXaNDrIa, Va texas MediCal Center boosts doCuMent workflow Children’s Medical Center intends to implement new workflow and document management systems that will electronically link to its new hospital, Children’s Medical Center Legacy in Plano, Texas, which plans to open in 2008. Children’s Medical Center plans to implement Streamline Health’s enterprise suite of workflow solutions, beginning with the Health Information Management suite, which will be integrated with the hospital’s Cerner, Epic and other clinical and patient financial systems, in a multiphase initiative. Date: 8/20/07 alaska has become the 50th state to pass changes to state laws and regulations that clear the way for e-prescribing. the move turned SureScripts map, above, to ‘all-go’ for electronic prescribing across the country. Industry insiders hailed the news as a ‘major milestone” and “another step forward for the efficiency and safety of patient care.” – After three years in the works, SureScripts has announced that the entire country – every one of the 50 states – is ready to handle electronic prescriptions. Alaska became the 50th state to pass changes to state laws and regulations that clear the way for e-prescribing. Similar changes were announced recently by Georgia, South Carolina, Washington D.C. and West Virginia. Industry insiders hailed the news as a “major milestone.” “Community pharmacy is vital to the healthcare system, and e-prescribing is another step forward for the efficiency and safety of patient care,” said Steven C. Anderson, president and CEO of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. Bruce Roberts, National Community Pharmacists Association executive vice president and CEO, said electronic prescriptions would result in enhanced safety and presCrIBe see page 7 n.C. allianCe sets rules for data on Mobile deviCes The North Carolina Healthcare Information and Communications Alliance, Inc., this week released its security policy template for managing data on portable media devices, such as laptops, PDAs and USB drives. The template details policies, standards and procedures for protecting sensitive information when its use is required outside of an enterprise’s fixed security and firewall protections. “The protection of private health information is paramount,” said Holt Anderson, executive director of NCHICA. Date: 8/17/07 More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: WeBBrIeFS 0907 States want one certification panel By DIaNa MaNos, Senior Editor ● — State leaders say they will press the federal government for a single healthcare IT certification body. The group, at a meeting of the State Alliance for e-Health last month, also gave a nod to the already established Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, and agreed states should be more involved in developing the certification process. The alliance, a collaborative of governors, state legislators and other state leaders charged with promoting the advancement of healthcare IT, also approved recommendawasHINGtoN tions for states to: ■ Create online provider licensure applications ■ Develop common licensure application forms ■ Educate other state leaders on the importance of interstate alignment of privacy protections ■ Sustain healthcare IT advancement through financial and political support ■ Ensure appropriate consumer protections are in place ■ Urge feds to work more closely with states to smooth out inconsistencies in sTaTes see page 6 of concerted effort to advise the federal government on advancing healthcare IT, the American Health Information Community faces a day of reckoning and is nearing the top of the heap for heated discussion in Washington. The panel is slated for replacement by 2009. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology stirred the pot on Aug. 6 when it called for public comments on how AHIC should continue its work of advancing standards harmonization and washington the development of a national network of networks. A reader survey conducted by Healthcare IT News showed a broad spectrum of opinions. Suggestions ranged from disbanding AHIC to maintaining federal oversight. Of course, some are skeptical of federal oversight, saying it doesn’t amount to much, while others fear that without federal oversight, private interests will take over. Phaneendra Nath Vellanky from Bearing Point, a worldwide management and technology consulting company, said it makes “perfect sense” to make AHIC a permanent fixture – “considering the volume of transactions, importance of the information and technological complications involved.” Peter Andersen, MD, clinical informatics officer of MaNos see page 6 fter two years Watch http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=7661

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Healthcare IT News - September 2007

Contents Alaska Sweep SiCKO Debate Data Exchange Rx EDITH knows Hold That Script IT in the Sun Breathing Easy IT on the Menu Ambulatory EMRs Identity Crisis

Healthcare IT News - September 2007

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