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CCHIT Solicits Suggestions on Areas To Expand Certification
In December the Certification Commission for Healthcare IT (CCHIT) will begin taking submissions from the healthcare industry for expanding the scope of its certification programs.
Beginning next month, a comments form will be available on CCHIT's Web site. Users can provide information on the benefits of expanding certification into a new area, the readiness for certification in that area and how much effort would be required to develop certification in that area.
From Dec. 1 through 31, interested parties can download a form on CCHIT’s web site, cchit.org/expansion, to provide information on the benefits of expanding certification into a new area, the readiness of that area for certification, and an estimate of the effort required to develop certification in the area. A Town Call to instruct interested organizations on how to submit these environmental scan forms will be conducted at 4 p.m. Eastern time on Dec. 1. To participate, call 1 (866) 612-6319, password code 611877. A presentation for the Town Call, and the ability to submit written questions before and during the call, will be available at ehrdecisions.com on that date.
Currently, CCHIT certifies:
1) Inpatient and ambulatory electronic health record systems;
2) Emergency department EHRs; and
3) Health information exchanges.
4) CCHIT also has created a new group that will establish certification criteria for stand-alone electronic prescribing systems (Health Data Management, 11/20).
Deanne
in Industry Information and News, CCHIT, health IT, electronic health record
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Economic Conditions Cause Decline in Mental Health Therapy Visits
It is good news that the recent financial "rescue" legislation included new mandates for the equal coverage of mental health services. However, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, the deepening economic crisis is causing more people to cut back on mental health therapy.
Deanne
in Industry Information and News, mental health, economy, recession
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October Health Observances
October marks National Celiac Disease Awareness Month and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Both organizations seek to build awareness, share information, and provide access to screening services.
Blue Cross of Tennessee Launches Physician Quality and Cost Database
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) announced the availability of an online tool that provides cost and quality information on nearly 4,000 Tennessee physicians to nearly 2 million of its plan members. Members of the state's largest health insurer can now see information such as what other physicians billed for procedures within a certain specialty. They also can see a doctor's record on whether he performed screenings that include things such as mammograms or a test for cervical cancer.
Women’s Health Partnership Provides Help With Navigating the Healthcare System
The not-for-profit National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC) and Health Advocate(TM) (HA) recently announced an alliance to help women better take care of their health and the health of their families. NWHRC provides women in-depth information on a wide variety of disease, prevention and wellness issues. Health Advocate helps patients navigate the complex healthcare service and insurance environment. Together, these organizations provide a comprehensive offering of prevention and management assistance to consumers.
Big Pharma Emissaries Talk Over Ad Options With Hill
Pharmaceutical companies are negotiating to maintain their right to advertise medicines directly to consumers as lawmakers intensify their efforts for reform. The primary objective for the industry is to avoid any more embarrassing Congressional hearings similar to the one held in May.
Merger Brings Electronic Prescription Networks Together
The country's two largest electronic-prescription networks Tuesday announced a merger, creating a single, secure network for the exchange of digital health information.
In a cashless transaction, which closed late Monday, RxHub LLC, a joint-venture of pharmacy-benefit managers, CVS Caremark Corp., Express Scripts, Inc. and Medco Health Solutions, Inc., will combine its operations with SureScripts, a private company founded by the National Community Pharmacists Association and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. The merger isn't subject to antitrust review because the fair market value of the combined entity isn't high enough, according to the companies.
By using the new unified routing network, authorized physicians will be able to access drug coverage and medication histories on more than 200 million patients -- providing patients consent first -- and send prescriptions electronically to the pharmacy of their choice, including retail and mail-order pharmacies, before they leave the doctor's office.
Deanne
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Latest Kaiser Poll Illustrates the Continuing Effects of Slow Economy, and Implications for Election, Healthcare Industry
The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008 poll finds that the recent economic downturn continues to create serious financial problems for most Americans. When asked about the impact of recent economic changes, nearly six in 10 adults (59 percent) report having a "serious problem" with one of seven major financial issues, including one in four who cite paying for health care as a serious problem.
Not surprisingly, with gas prices topping $4 per gallon nationally, people are most likely to cite paying for gas as a serious problem (43 percent), followed by getting a well-paying job or a raise (27 percent) and paying for health care costs (25 percent). Other problems rank lower: paying for food (19 percent), dealing with credit card or other personal debt (16 percent), losing money in the stock market (15 percent) and paying their rent or mortgage (14 percent).
Bad Habits in Electronic Documentation - Shortcuts in Electronic Records Pose Risk
The act of “copy and paste” or pulling forward the information from past hospital visits can save time but result in misrepresenting a patient’s stay and fraudulent submission for reimbursement, according to an article in the June issue of the Journal of AHIMA…
Blue Cross Plans Web Access to Records - Google Health Will Allow Patients To Look Up Information
This fall, members of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts will be able to go online to look up their healthcare claims and some medical records, which the insurer says will help patients manage their medical care and have more productive discussions with doctors...
From AHIMA - Defining the Personal Health Information Management Role
The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) posted an insightful article on their website regarding the evolving role of the PHR for health information management (HIM) professionals and the many users of PHRs (clinicians, patients, etc.). According to the article, the emergence of the PHR challenges HIM professionals to develop new roles in personal health information management (PHIM). New areas of responsibility for these professionals include the following:
- Privacy, security and data integrity.
- Who has "data stewardship" of the records?
- Where does a PHR fit in with a legal health record?
- What entities can mine data from a PHR?
- Who is voice of advocacy for patients and what is their role?
A link to the document on AHIMA's website appears at: http://library.ahima.org/xpedio/groups/public/documents/ahima/bok1_038473.hcsp?dDocName=bok1_038473
(In the meantime, I just need to find time to convert my extensive, paper-based PHR into some sort of electronic format...maybe between 1 and 3 in the morning?)
Deanne
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Perspectives from Washington, D.C. on Health Care Costs and Policy Solutions
Over the last few weeks many health industry and economic experts have provided public comments on some of the potential policy, technology and financial solutions to the many challenges facing the care delivery system. This article provides an overview from three sources: Scott Serota, President and CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA); Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman; and, Dr. David Chin, leader of the Health Research Institute at PriceWaterhouseCoopers...
Reports From the Recent AHIP Conference
Here are two journalistic outlet's reports on the annual conference presented by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). This year's event featured an unprecedented, live demonstration (outside the convention center) by angry citizens protesting the "greedy" insurance companies. Our attendee reports that the demonstrators were "mean" and called him a "Republican"...but that is just not true, I happen to know for a fact that he is a registered "Independent"!
Click here to read Matthew Holt's insightful Weblog piece: http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2008/06/to-the-editor-y.html#more
Click here to read Modern Healthcare's piece:
International Health IT – Australia’s HealthSmart Project Two Years Behind Schedule
Victoria’s $320 million HealthSmart project, which uses Cerner’s Millennium clinical system, has yet to get any of the software up and running at its many sites. In fact, Auditor General Des Pearson said the program is at least two years behind schedule and more than half of the budget had been spent with only 24 percent of the planned installations complete…
Electronic Health Records vs. Personal Health Records – Federal and State Government Policies and Projects Announced This Week
The California Department of Insurance is expected to issue a report urging Californians to use personal health records (PHRs) and announced the creation of a working group to help patients transfer their PHRs when they change insurers…