Healthcare IT News - November 2008 - (Page 28)

28 The HIMSS Insider I November 2008 www.himss.org Stark Reality y now,the election results should be to spur healthcare IT investment.Infoway known–hopefully,no replay ofFlorida was funded by the federal government to 2000,and the broad political landscape estab- develop infrastructure,which the provinces lished.Perhaps we will even have a grasp on could use with their own investment to deploy the impact ofthe financial meltdown on the “e-health.”Over the last seven years,Canada's global economies.Ifso,we can begin to federal government invested $1.6 billion examine directions and condesigned to be matched by the straints for healthcare reform STANDARDS provinces to spread the use of and the role ofhealth IT. EHRs and other key healthcare The United States is well on IT programs such as regional its way to a healthcare meltPACS and e-prescribing.It is like down.The Medicare hospital ONC,only with money. trust goes bust in 10 years. By partnering with the by Ed Larsen Trust B that pays for physician provinces on real projects, and outpatient services is said to be solvent Infoway can point to real successes.Their because it is supposedly “pay as you go”by Web-based cancer surgical reporting system the current beneficiaries.Yet even as CMS now collects 99 percent ofrequired data elewas announcing there was no need to ments compared to 47 percent prior to increase Part B premiums this year,it was try- implementation.Registries have improved ing to reduce physician reimbursement by 10 chronic disease management,i.e.,63 percent percent.Medicare Part D,the prescription ofdiabetics are in control versus a 51 percent drug benefit program,has been well received baseline.Regional PACS have improved by seniors although they want more funds to imaging productivity and turnaround.They fill the “doughnut hole.”It is Part D that has estimate the productivity gain is equivalent to become the main component ofMedicare's finding 500 new radiologists,a gentle way of double digit spending growth. stating many unnecessary procedures are So,ifthe government has run its primary avoided by sharing images.They believe they healthcare program as well as it has managed now identify 94 percent ofdrug problems home mortgages,what should we expect? before they cause harm. Canada Health Infoway may provide an The fundamental barrier to such an investinteresting lesson.Infoway was based on the ment scenario here is the United States starts premise investment in healthcare IT would out spending much more on its healthcare,so lead to “reform”rather than requiring reform politicians are not willing to fund “new invest- INSIGHT ments.”Our per capita expenditures are now more than $7,000,double Canada's.We are in a “catch 22.”Because health spending is out ofcontrol,we will not spend more to control it.The Congressional Budget Office scores investment as expense,a high hurdle to jump ifbudget neutrality is the metric.That is why we have Rep.Pete Stark (D-Calif.),chairman ofthe House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee,proposing legislation to federalize all ofthe ONC initiatives,promote open-source (sometimes confused with “free”) EHR software and yet still not offer any funding for implementing EHRs and interoperable health information exchanges. In the new era ofgovernment interventions,this is clearly a marker that federal mandates are to follow.Ifthe private provider and payor sectors do not want healthcare IT to be federalized,they need to decide quickly what healthcare IT-based change programs they will support to control costs,expand access and improve quality.We should not expect nor wait for incremental healthcare IT funding.This may be our last opportunity for the private sector to choose its way forward. I For the complete article, see the November Standards Insight on the HIMSS Member Center Web page. Ed Larsen is an independent strategy consultant who tracks interoperability standards for HIMSS. Comments or questions can be sent to erlarsen@erlinc.com. PUBLICATIONS STAFF VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS Fran Perveiler MANAGER, PUBLICATIONS Nancy Vitucci SENIOR MANAGER, CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS Joyce Lofstrom SENIOR MANAGER, PUBLIC POLICY COMMUNICATIONS Sharolyn Rosier Hyson SENIOR EDITOR Matt Schlossberg COORDINATOR, COMMUNICATIONS Cari McLean BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR Charles E. Christian, FCHIME, FHIMSS Director, Information Systems/ Chief Information Officer Good Samaritan Hospital VICE CHAIR Liz Johnson, RN, MSN, FHIMSS Vice President, Applied Clinical Informatics Tenet Healthcare Corp. CHAIR ELECT Barry P. Chaiken, MD, MPH, FHIMSS Chief Medical Officer DocsNetwork, Ltd. VICE CHAIR ELECT Liz Johnson, RN, MSN, FHIMSS Vice President, Applied Clinical Informatics Tenet Healthcare Corp. John H. Daniels, FACHE, CPHIMS, CHPS, FHIMSS Chief Information Officer Evolvent Technologies Inc. David Finn Vice President/Chief Information Officer/ Privacy and Information Security Officer Texas Children's Hospital C. Martin Harris, MD, MBA, FHIMSS Chief Information Officer and Chairman, IT Division The Cleveland Clinic Foundation Executive Director eCleveland Clinic Joy G. Keeler, MBA, FHIMSS Principal Health Information Technology The MITRE Corp. Holly D. Miller, MD, MBA, FHIMSS Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer University Hospitals Carol R. Selvey, MHSA, FHIMSS Principal The Revere Group Jay Srini, FHIMSS Chief Innovation Officer UPMC Insurance Services Division Jonathan M. Teich, MD, PhD, FHIMSS Chief Medical Informatics Officer Elsevier Health Sciences Charlene S. Underwood, MBA, FHIMSS Director, Government and Industry Affairs Siemens Medical Solutions ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS lthough the live segment ofthe two-day HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo concludes on Nov.20,the event's educational sessions with question-and-answer discussions and expo are available on demand for 30 days. Dec.20 is the final day for registration and attendance. Free to qualified registrants,* the HIMSS Virtual Conference educational program includes opening and closing keynote sessions, education sessions around IT leadership and clinical informatics and several concurrent sessions designed for ambulatory-care professionals. Led by industry thought leaders,the conference's 22 keynote speeches and educational seminars feature the following topics as well: •electronic health record adoption HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo on Nov. 19-20 Available On Demand •clinical decision support •e-prescribing •revenue cycle management •healthcare reform…and more But the education does not end there for attendees:Through engaging video demonstrations and downloadable product brochures and documents,attendees can also explore today's leading healthcare IT solutions and gain product and industry knowledge in real time at the event's virtual exhibit hall.November's expo offers even more solutions than HIMSS' previous virtual events– with 30-plus exhibitors confirmed at time of publication. In addition,attendees can take advantage ofthe Interoperability Showcase booth where they can view video demonstrations on Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise's (IHE's) in-use,standards-based interoperability frameworks for delivering secure,real-time patient data exchange.The Interoperability Showcase booth offers clinical video scenarios simulating how health information is seamlessly passed among caregivers as well as downloadable success stories and information on national interoperability initiatives. I Register and learn more about HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo at www.himssvirtual.org. For more information, contact HIMSS Manager of Distance Education Mary Beth Micucci at mmicucci@himss.org. Mike McGill, PhD Internet2 Howard A. Burde, Esquire Blank Rome LLP A. John Blair, III, MD President and CEO Taconic IPA Sunny Sanyal Chief Operating Officer McKesson Provider Technologies * Registration is complimentary to qualified registrants: Non-qualified individuals may attend for a nominal fee ($79 HIMSS Members/$99 non-members). HIMSS AsiaPac09 online registration Davies Award committee appointments Now open IMSS AsiaPac09 has opened its online registration at www.himssasiapac.org. AsiaPac09 will be held Feb.24-27,2009 in the city ofKuala Lumpur,Malaysia. Visitors to the AsiaPac Web site will find information on the keynote speakers,e-sessions,exhibition,networking events and hotel information.Also available is information on how to register and sit for the Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems onsite exam.Coming soon will be details on the much-anticipated IHE Interoperability Showcase to be held at AsiaPac09. Additional information about HIMSS AsiaPac09 will be featured in upcoming issues ofthe HIMSS Insider. I H offer members networking, insight HIMSS is accepting applications for Davies Award committee appointments.In exchange for the one-year commitment,appointees are given a valuable opportunity to network with past Davies recipients,CIOs,clinicians and consultants with years of EHR experience;gain a broader understanding ofnew implementation strategies through application reviews; and learn best practices from site visits to healthcare organizations. Any individual or corporate complimentary member,who is not already serving in a leadership capacity within the Society,is welcome to apply.Individual members ofHIMSS are ineligible for a Davies Committee appointment if they are either employed by a vendor company or directly working in an extensive consulting capacity with/for a vendor company. Applications will be accepted through Nov.21.Information on qualifications,requirements and time commitments is available at www.himss.org/ davies.For questions,contact David Collins, director,healthcare information systems, HIMSS,at 703-562-8817 or dcollins@ himss.org. I Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia http://www.himss.org http://www.himssvirtual.org http://www.himssasiapac.org/AsiaPac09 http://www.himssasiapac.org/AsiaPac09 http://www.himss.org/davies http://www.himss.org/davies

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Healthcare IT News - November 2008 Contents $700M Strong PHR Power Stepping It Up Geo IT EMRs Go Rural HiMSS Insider: Making a Difference Home for the Blues Merge Amnesty Management Solutions: Outsourcing Appeal Clinical Toolkit: Enterprise PACS

Healthcare IT News - November 2008

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