Article Summary: The Meaningful Use Workgroup of the Office of National Coordinator’s HIT Policy Committee presented its initial draft of “meaningful use” at the Committee’s June 16, 2009 HIT Policy Committee meeting. As the National Coordinator and Chair of the HIT Policy Committee, David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., reminded the meeting’s participants: “This is an initial draft, which has a long way to go.” Health reform clearly is a cornerstone of the Meaningful Use criteria. The Committee established five key Meaningful Use goals with criteria that will be stengthened every two years based on that year’s specific objective.
HITECH Act
Health Information Technology and Economic Clinical Health Act of 2009 was passed as part of the American Recovery and Revitalization Act of 2009 (ARRA) that President Obama signed on February 17, 2009.
The HHS Implementation Plan for the HITECH Act
The HHS HITECH Act Technology Implementation Plan. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has a broad role in the implementation of multiple health and welfare plans addressed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). In order to manage and coordinate its many obligations under ARRA, HHS established the Office of Recovery Act Coordination. This office is responsible for ensuring that ARRA programs are designed to best meet ARRA objectives and reporting due dates, to establish and track performance outcomes, mitigate the risks of fraud and abuse, and to keep the public informed through the Web and other means of communication. The Office of Recovery Act Coordination released a 291-page implementation plan to address each aspect of HHS responsibilities under the ARRA, including a distinct Act within ARRA focused on health information technology, privacy and security. This Act is titled, “Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act” (HITECH Act).
First draft of “meaningful use” to be released on June 16, 2009!
[See more Recent Post dated June 17, 2009, for the HITECH Law Blog’s discussion of the June 16, 2009 HIT Policy Committee Meeting on Meaningful Use!]
HIT Standards Commitee Work Groups to Focus on Data Exchanges that Constitute Meaningful Use
Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH Act), the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are vested with authority to further define “meaningful use” as it relates to qualifying to receive stimulus funds for the adoption and implementation of electronic health records (EHRs). ONC’s Health Information Technology (HIT) Standards Committee is vested with authority under HITECH to propose a national HIT standard for EHRs that takes into consideration “meaningful use” and interoperability. In order to meet the HITECH Act’s December 31, 2009 deadline for coming up with this standard, however, the HIT Standards Committee must begin its work before “meaningful use” is further defined. Accordingly, during its first meeting on May 15, 2009, the HIT Standards Committee identified three primary data exchanges that would be integral to “meaningful use.” These data exchanges are: 1) Clinical Operations; 2) Quality; and 3) Security. The HIT Standards Committee formed a work group for each of these types of data exchanges.
Clinical operations HIT data exchanges would include e-prescribing and medication management, lab ordering and results, and a clinical summary exchange. The clinical summary exchange would be critical to enabling physicians and practitioners unfamiliar with a patient’s history to retrieve the most important facts quickly. For example, a clinical summary might include the patient’s problem list, medications, allergies, and text based reports such as operating notes, diagnostic testing reports, and discharge summaries.
Quality HIT data exchanges might include information about patient outcomes and treatment plans, patient health behaviors, and physician and practitioner medical decision making.
Secure HIT data exchanges would necessary require considerations of transport, messaging, authentication, authorization, and auditing.
The first meeting date for each work group is as follows: Clinical Operation — June 9, 2009, 10 am to 12 Noon EDT; Quality work group — June 10, 2009, 11 am to 1 pm EDT; Security work group — June 17, 2009, 11:15 am to 1:15 pm EDT.
John D. Halamka, M.D., Vice Chair of the HIT Standards Committee, provided a summary of the April 15, 2009 HIT Standards Committee meeting on his blog entry for May 15, 2009. Mr. Halamka also summarized the first meeting of the HIT Policy Committee on May 12, 2009, on his blog here.
National Committee on Health & Vital Statistics Issues Report on “Meaningful Use” Hearing
On May 18, 2009, the National Committee on Health & Vital Statistics (NCHVS) issued a 32-page report on the public hearing that the NCHVS held on April 28-29, 2009, to solicit testimony to help define and clarify the the term “meaningful use” under the ARRA. The report digests the testimony and organizes it into five categories of questions for the Office of National Coordinator (ONC) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The categories are: 1) Vision of Health and Health Care Transformed; 2) Meaningful Use Capacity; 3) Path to Meaningful Use; 4) Certification and Meaningful Use: EHR Product Certification; and 5) Measuring Meaningful Use. Appendix B of the Reports lists the 100+ participants who provided oral and written testimony for the hearing. To read the report click here.
wyatthitechlaw.com 