Healthcare IT News - October 2008 - (Page 6)

6 Healthcare IT News ■ October 2008 industry news www.HealthcareITNews.com research teams unveil new models for pHrs By DIaNa MaNos, Senior Editor WashinGtOn – Nine research teams from across the country recently unveiled “next generation” prototype personal health records as part of an 18-month, $5 million grant program sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The PHRs developed include various innovative ways of tracking chronic care, managing medications, encouraging more active lifestyles and synching healthcare appointments with personal calendars. The teams are expected to publish details of their prototypes over the next several months. Project HealthDesign supervised the project, which was based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with additional support from the California HealthCare Foundation. Grantees included researchers from the University of WisconsinMadison, Stanford University, T.R.U. E Research Foundation, Vanderbilt University, the University of Colorado at Denver, the University of Washington, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, RTI International, the University of California-San Francisco and the University of Rochester. The goal of the project is to revolutionize the purpose and potential tools that can interpret of electronic PHRs, moving their data and provide custhem from static repositotomized feedback to guide ries to dynamic, tailored their health decisions, day applications, said Risa in and day out.” Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, presi“Capturing obser vadent and CEO of RWJF. tions from the home and “Giving people online interacting with patients access to their medical Paul tang, MD information is important, but it’s in everyday life helps put patients not enough to help them truly take on their own health care team,” charge of their health,” Lavizzo- said Paul Tang, MD, an internist, Mourey said. “They need smart PHr see page 8 oBaMa Continued from page 1 Small providers and those serving rural and underserved populations would receive top priority for financial support, Obama said. Obama agreed with the AAFP that EHR systems would allow physicians and other providers to have instant access to information on treatment options when treating patients. “Yes, it is essential that we modernize our healthcare system for the 21st century,” Obama said. “Most medical records are still stored on paper, which makes them difficult to use to coordinate care, measure quality, or reduce medical errors. Processing paper claims also costs twice as much as processing electronic claims, he said. According to the most recent comprehensive survey of physician adoption of healthcare IT, only 4 percent of physicians have a fully functional electronic health record system and 13 percent have basic systems. The study, conducted by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College and the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, surveyed more than 2,700 physicians nationwide between September 2007 and March 2008. Congress has been struggling to pass a healthcare IT adoption bill this year, with patient privacy one of the divisive issues. When AAFP asked Obama how he would balance patient privacy concerns with the need for an electronic health records system, he said, “The primary issue concerning health data collection and sharing will be ensuring patient control and confidentiality.” “The exact way this will happen will depend on the type of information systems that are adopted for various purposes,” Obama said. “Regardless, [as] part of the standard setting process, I will work with the private sector to ensure that electronic records are available when needed, but also confidential and under patient control.” ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: oBaMa 1008 ● e ● Connect: eNovateIt 1008 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.enovateit.com http://www.enovateit.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=10035 http://www.healthcareitnews.com/eConnect.cms?id=10067

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Healthcare IT News - October 2008 Contents Seattle's Slate Board 2.0 MGMA Newsmaker IT Battles Infection Beyond Adoption Excellence in Maine Carrot and Stick HP Layoffs Mobile Workstations Automating Offices

Healthcare IT News - October 2008

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