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.
Physician EMR Stimulus
“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.
ARRA’s Competitive State HIT Grants and the Small Physician Practice
Many small physician practices may be relying on health information technology (HIT) loans from their state to adopt electronic health records (EHRs) in their practices. Before a physician can seek such a loan, the state must have such loans available. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides grants to states to make such EHR loans available to health care providers. However, states must competitively bid for the ARRA HIT grant money to be made available for such loans.
wyatthitechlaw.com 