By 2014, hospitals and physicians whom Medicare reimburses for services and items will need to have adopted an electronic health record (EHR) according to rules promulgated under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) or risk reductions in their Medicare reimbursement. On December 30, 2009, the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), released their respective proposed rules for qualifying for EHR stimulus funds under HITECH: The “meaningful use” and “certified” EHR standards.
Meaningful Use
Use of electronic communications with patients
The Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and its HIT Policy Committee worked hard throughout the summer to develop a framework for the “meaningful use” standards required to qualify for electronic health record (EHR) adoption stimulus funds available under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act). When I saw the survey that HIMSS released today regarding the use of social networking tools to communicate with patients, it reminded me of the “meaningful use” standard that centers on “engaging patients and families.” The stated goal of this standard is to “Provide patients and families with timely access to data, knowledge, and tools to make informed decisions and to manage their health.” Although it’s doubtful today that social networking tools would be accepted as meeting this goal for purposes of the EHR stimulus funds, it did get me to thinking about the use of technology to literally communicate with patients and, in particular, the studies that have been done in regard to using technology, such as e-mail and texting, to communicate with patients.
HHS launches new Health IT blog
On Monday, November 23, 2009, Dr. David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under the Department of Health & Human Services, announced the launch of the Health IT Buzz blog. The blog is envisioned as a way to reach out to the healthcare IT community and public at large in order to create an open dialogue about the wishes and concerns of the many constituencies that the Office of National Coordinator serves. The blog will address the wide range of topics impacting the “secure and seamless exchange of electronic health information” across the United States and will include discussions about the “meaningful use” rulemaking and incentives for adopting electronic health records. We’ve added the Health IT Buzz to our blogroll.
“HITECH for Physicians” Presentation at MedX12 in Louisville, Kentucky
I will be giving a presentation on “HITECH for Physicians” on Wednesday, October 14, 2009, from 7:30 am to 9:00 am. The presentation will take place at MedX12 offices, Ormsby III, 10200 Forest Green Blvd. (just off of North Hurstbourne Lane) in Louisville, Kentucky. The presentation will focus on those aspects of the HITECH Act that provide stimulus payments to physicians to adopt and make a “meaningful use” of “certified” electronic health records. The HITECH Act employs a “carrot and stick” approach to the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) by giving stimulus payments for the adoption of EHRs and by reducing Medicare reimbursements to those who do not adopt EHRs by 2015.
This presentation will cover the HITECH Act’s basics tenets (interim final rules are not due out until year-end) and recent developments towards development of “meaningful use” and “certification” standards by the HHS Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. In addition, I will be highlighting compliance strategies for physician practices related to the HITECH Act’s new Data Breach Notification Rule and “Business Associate” obligations.
The presentation is being offered at no charge. A continental breakfast will be available. This presentation is open to anyone interested in the topic. Please RSVP by Friday, October 9, 2009. Contact Kim Farmer, at (502) 339-7175 ext. 240 or kfarmer@medx12.com.
HHS HIT Policy Committee discusses privacy & security standards for “meaningful use” of Electronic Health Records
On Friday, September 18, 2009, from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm, the HHS HIT Policy Committee discussed the standards under development for the 2013 and 2015 “meaningful use” criteria related to privacy and security. The Committee’s webpage gave the following overview of the purpose of the meeting:
Protecting health data through comprehensive privacy policies and security functions are foundational requirements for appropriate management and exchange of individuals’ health data. It constitutes one of the five categories of criteria in the meaningful use criteria matrix. The HIT Policy Committee is holding an initial informational public hearing on September 18, 2009, as input to further deliberations regarding recommendations for 2013 and 2015 meaningful use criteria. Initially, the Committee is seeking testimony in four broad categories: 1) individual choice/control, data segmentation; 2) use, disclosure, secondary use, data stewardship; 3) aggregate data use, de-identification/re-identification, models for data storage; and 4) transparency, accountability, audit.
The Agenda and other materials supplied for this meeting are available on the HIT Policy Committee webpage (scroll down to Meetings and September 18, 2009). For information on how to access future meetings, go here. For more information about the HIT Policy Committee, a list of its members, and to access previous meeting transcripts and documents, visit the HIT Policy Committee webpage.
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