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The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) has launched new certification programs for EHRs in behavioral health, both as an optional addition to ambulatory EHR certification and as a stand-alone behavioral health EHR used in other outpatient settings.
The healthcare landscape has changed a lot since Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN), the first statewide health information exchange (HIE) in the U.S., went live in the spring of 2007, says Gina Perez, MPA, the DHIN executive director. Perez, who also serves on the Department of Health and Human Services' Health IT Standards Committee, recently spoke with CMIO about these changes and what’s next for DHIN.
There is no EHR on the market today that does all of the steps required for physicians to successfully meet Stage 1 meaningful use criteria, according to an American Medical Association (AMA) statement released this week.
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is requesting input on approaches to developing a comparative effectiveness research (CER) inventory that captures ongoing CER efforts in the U.S.
Written by Jeff Byers
As everyone gets a closer look at the final rule for meaningful use and EHR certification requirements, CMIO spoke with David Blumenthal, MD, chair of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), and with CMIOs who will be charged with making it happen. In Part One of our two-part series, CMIO’s Jeff Byers spoke with Blumenthal about some of the ramifications of the final rule, and what's expected for Stage 2 and beyond.
“The challenges that organizations face today with regard to clinical analytics are only going to be amplified in the future, as is evident in the later stages of meaningful use criteria,” according to a report from Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Analytics.
The Advancing Patient Safety Coalition has urged FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, to issue a proposed rule to establish a “unique device identification” (UDI) system for medical devices in a letter last week.
Central Penn Management Group (CPMG), a management services organization in Central Pennsylvania, has selected the Allscripts EHR for Physicians Alliance Limited, a 120-provider, independent multispecialty group that CPMG manages.
Much of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 implementation activity will occur at the state level, as will provisions in healthcare reform that build on health IT and health information exchange, according to a report from eHealth Initiative.
Eclipsys’ Sunrise Enterprise 5.5 inpatient, ambulatory and emergency care EHR combination has earned premarket conditional certification for 2011 by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT).
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To facilitate a healthcare delivery system in Kansas, Gov. Mark Parkinson has established the nonprofit, public-private Kansas Health Information Exchange (HIE) to uphold federal requirements for a statewide exchange of health information.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has awarded $96 million in grants to increase diversity in the health professions workforce and encourage nurses to choose careers as nurse educators.
Handheld device sales for healthcare use reached $8.2 billion globally in 2009 and are expected to increase 7 percent for the next five years as physicians and hospitals purchase new IT systems, according to a report from healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information.
Eight in 10 hospital CIOs are reportedly concerned or very concerned they will not be able to demonstrate meaningful use of EHRs within the federally established deadline of 2015, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) filed a proposed rule last week addressing changes to the Medicare Part B physician payment fee schedule for calendar year 2011, including the integration of Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) and the EMR incentive program.
Despite having the most costly health system in the world, the U.S. consistently lags on most dimensions of performance relative to other countries, according to new research from the Commonwealth Fund. Compared with Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the U.K., the U.S. ranks last overall.
Written by Mary Stevens
Our 2010 CMIO Top Trends Survey says: Federal initiatives are driving health IT spending and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. HITECH might succeed—or not. Economic uncertainty has many facilities struggling—but a majority of organizations are increasing their budgets, adopting new technologies, and hiring and training staff.
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“We’re beginning a revolution the way information is collected, managed, used and purposed for patients in the U.S. healthcare system,” said David Blumenthal, MD, chair of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, in opening remarks at an audioconference training session on meaningful use and EHR certification last week.
In Part 1 of our closer look at the final rules for meaningful use and EHR certification standards, CMIO’s Jeff Byers spoke with David Blumenthal, MD, chair of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. In Part 2, CMIOs weigh in with mixed reviews.
The framework for meaningful use is “something that had to be done and has been started intelligently,” John P. Glaser, PhD, vice president and CIO of Partners HealthCare System told CMIO. However, the challenges of becoming meaningful users and optimizing health information exchange will require unprecedented levels of communication within organizations and among healthcare systems, he said.
The contractual obligations in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on modifications to the HIPAA privacy, security and enforcement rules under the HITECH Act for business associates and downstream entities are game changers, according to Amy S. Leopard, JD, from Walter and Haverfield, during a webinar sponsored by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
Standardizing performance measures, with the help of health IT, will make it possible to collect the right data at the right time to support performance measurement, clinical decision support, clinical research and quality improvement, said Janet M. Corrigan, PhD, president and CEO of the National Quality Forum (NQF) during a webinar hosted by the forum on June 17.