Healthcare IT News - September 2008 - (Page 6) 6 Healthcare IT News ■ September 2008 industry news www.HealthcareITNews.com Commission develops HIe accreditation program By Molly MerrIll, Associate Editor FArmINGTON, cT – The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission is developing a new accreditation program for health information exchanges. EHNAC, a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body, will develop evaluation criteria for regional health information organizations, community health data/network partnerships and other groups that promote data sharing across multiple independent stakeholders. The HIE program will assess the privacy policies, security measures, technical performance, business practices and organizational resources of participating entities. EHNAC expects to convene a workgroup focused on criteria development later this year. “It is absolutely critical that HIEs allowing for local variation have an accreditation proin the business functions gram at the national level,” the HIE fills,” Root said. said Jan Root, executive EHNAC will coordinate director of the Utah Health with other certification and Information Network, a accreditation organizations, statewide value-added including the Certification network whose board Commission for Healthcare will decide in this month Lee Barrett whether to expand into a clinical Information Technology (CCHIT). “Leaders from both the federal information exchange. “It’s essential that HIE accreditation estab- and state levels have been calllish performance standards while ing for authoritative standards that would establish accountability, ensure efficiency and promote involvement with RHIOs and other types of networks,” said Lee Barrett, executive director of EHNAC. “This HIE accreditation program will fill that much-needed role and add a measure of confidence for provid ers, payers and other potential HIE participants.” ■ More at HealthcareITnews.com e Connect: eHNaC 0908 ● CVe Continued from page 3 HHS selected 14 collaboratives in a dozen states to be CVEs. Some doctors don’t favor the idea of report cards, saying they could give a false representation of their practice. Darrell Pruitt, a dentist in Fort Worth, Texas, predicts doctors “will become fed up with manipulation by insurance executives and politicians” and will “side-step the rigged system one way or another.” If that happens, “many will retire early and far fewer bright kids will want to become doctors,” Pruitt said. “As always, the poor will be hurt the most while clever entrepreneurs will get rich at their expense. Nothing changes.” ■ More at HealthcareITnews.com e Connect: CVe 0908 ● sTuDy Continued from page 3 their own claims, the study found. According to Paul Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change and co-author of the study, health plans are devoting a lot of attention to price and quality transparency tools, yet “we’re a long way from a critical mass of consumers trusting and using the information to choose physicians and hospitals.” The study found that many large employers view price and quality transparency as a key to a broader consumerism strategy, while others are skeptical about the benefits and are proceeding cautiously to avoid potential unintended consequences. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt has said, “Every American should have access to a full range of information about the quality and cost of their healthcare options.” Since 2006, HHS has been promoting “value-driven healthcare” with commitment from federal government, private employers and health plans that pledge to advance the use of healthcare IT to collect data on quality and pricing. ■ More at HealthcareITnews.com e Connect: StUDY 0908 ● Do you think america is ready for healthcare transparency? send your thoughts to senior editor Diana Manos at diana. manos@medtechpublishing.com. e ● Connect: orIoN 0908 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://HealthcareITnews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9878 http://HealthcareITnews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9874 http://www.orionhealth.com http://HealthcareITnews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9876 http://www.healthcareitnews.com/eConnect.cms?id=9931
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