Healthcare IT News - November 2007 - (Page 3) www.HealthcareITNews.com industry news November 2007 ■ Healthcare IT News industry Healthcare IT News posts original news stories on its Web site daily. Here are recent top stories, as selected by Healthcare IT News editors. news “i think the biggest accomplishment of the blueprint is that we were able to reach concensus around a broad set of principles.” – Janet Marchibroda and concrete strategies and actions that can be taken, along with a proposed timeline for their implementation. “The blueprint gives us a huge impetus on the legislative front,” said Christine Bechtel, vice president of public policy and government relations at eHI. “Congress has told us that it is much easier to take action when there is consensus in the industry.” BlUePRInT see page 4 It critical to blueprint for reform Clinton: eleCtroniC reCords key to better system Electronic medical records are the answer to improving the quality of U.S. healthcare, presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) said in a recent Kaiser Family Foundation Web cast. Clinton said she has been “among the leaders” in advocating electronic medical records and she, with former Sen. Bill Frist, will continue to “push that rock up the hill.” Clinton said electronic medical records could go a long way in improving the varying quality and cost of care. Date: 10/19/07 Plan designed to offer practical steps to improve healthcare using IT and information exchange. By RICHaRD PIzzI, Associate Editor WASHINGTON – The eHealth Initiative last month put forth its plan for improving the nation’s healthcare system. The eHealth Initiative Blueprint: Building Consensus for Common Action was developed collaboratively by almost 200 diverse healthcare organizations. Participating groups included clinicians, consumers, employers and healthcare purchasers, healthcare IT suppliers, health plans, hospitals, laboratories, pharmacies, public health agencies and state and regional leaders. “I think the biggest accomplishment of the blueprint is that we were able to reach consensus around a broad set of principles,” said Janet Marchibroda, eHealth Initiative’s chief executive Janet Marchibroda officer. “There is broad agreement on the path forward.” eHI launched the collaboration process that led to the document in March 2007. The blueprint was designed to offer practical guidance on how to improve health and healthcare using healthcare IT and health information exchange. The final document catalogs many of the activities that are currently taking place and provides consensus-based guiding principles insiders: FranCe Could be model For u.s. data exChange Since 2004, France and its Ministry of Health have been supporting electronic heath record projects across the country’s 22 regions. Of all the regions, FrancheComté has the most advanced regional health information exchange, or HIE, in the country. As of late summer 2007, approximately 4,000 medical records have been operational and more than 560,000 patient IDs have been recorded and are being managed. Open standards technology has been critical, insiders said. The United States could learn some lessons from the French model, said Ilan Freedman, vice president of marketing for dbMotion. Date: 10/18/07 Privacy goes public By DIana Manos, Senior Editor w dod names it vendor For Formulary management The Department of Defense has awarded the TRICARE Formulary Management and Publication contract to Zynchros, Inc., a Seattle-based company specializing in pharmacy benefit management software. TRICARE Management Activity, a Department of Defense agency, administers the healthcare plan for active duty service members, retirees and their families serving the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Date: 10/17/07 the exhibition hall at the annual Radiological Society of North america’s 2006 meeting was packed. Organizers anticipate an even larger crowd this year. the gathering is at Mccormick Place in chicago. By Molly MeRRIll, Contributing Writer RSNa 2007 kicks off Nov. 25 Watch The agenda includes: ■ a one-day molecular imaging symposium; ■ a half-day series course in Gastrointestinal Musculoskeletal and Neuroradiology; ■ a one-day Mentored Cardiac CT Case Review; ■a one-day Quality improvement Symposium; ■ a four-day Bolstering Oncoradiologic; and ■ an Oncoradiotherapeutic Skill for Tomorrow (BOOST) program. RSNA will feature demonstrations by care sites and commercial vendors on topics such as ways to integrate the healthcare enterprise and sharing image-enabled electronic health records. Honorary members at RSNA this year are Francisco A. Arredondo, MD, Guatamala; Byung Ihn Choi, MD, Seoul, Republic of Korea; and Christian J. Herold, MD, Vienna, Austria. ■ More at HealthcareITnews.com e Connect: rSNa 1107 chicAGo – Billed as the largest medical meet- CaliFornia law bans ForCed rFid implants Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) signed a bill that prohibits the forced implanting of radio frequency devices in order to protect individual privacy rights. The bill, S.B. 362 by Sen. Joe Simitian, (DPalo Alto) is called Identification devices: subcutaneous implanting. It is designed to protect individuals from being required, coerced or compelled to undergo RFID implanting. The bill specifies the protection of minors and dependent adults from their guardians or parents as well as employees from their employers and is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000. Date: 10/15/07 More at HealthcareITnews.com e Connect: WeBBrIeFS 1107 ● ing in the world, RSNA 2007: Connecting Radiology kicks off on Sunday, Nov. 25. The Radiological Society of North America gathering at McCormick Place goes through Friday, Nov. 30. A spokeswoman for RSNA said the group expects 62,000 attendees at this year’s show. RSNA brings together healthcare specialists from more than 100 countries to explore and discuss the latest in radiologic innovations. Seven hundred commercial companies also will convene to display their equipment, products and services. RSNA boasts more than 1,000 education exhibits and over 1,500 scientific oral presentations. Highlights of this year’s show include advances in multislice CT, MR imaging, minimally invasive therapy and molecular imaging. advancing healthcare IT you’re more likely to hear about standards, interoperability, sustainability and affordability before you’ll hear about privacy. Most smart legislators and federal officials know to mention it in their second breath or in the fine print, but not front and center. I’d venture to guess that recent turn of events are going to change all that. Deborah Peel, MD, staunch activist for privacy, practicing psychiatrist and founder of the Patient washington Privacy Rights Foundation, won some major ground last month in her effort to capture attention – everyone’s attention – on the issue of privacy and medical records. First, Microsoft, Inc. launched a platform Oct. 4 for personal health records that will strictly abide by privacy standards that Peel and a coalition of activists agree will keep control in the patient’s hands. Now suddenly the radar is bleeping with activity. This has private industry’s attention. Will everyone in the healthcare IT business have to decide to abide by the privacy principles Microsoft has embraced or be left behind? Peel thinks so. To back that up, Peel and the Coalition for Patient Privacy came to Capitol Hill Oct. 18 to formally urge Congress to pass basic privacy protections this year. “Setting national Manos see page 6 hen it comes to ● http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8020 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8019
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.