EVENTS

FEB

Health IT Policy Panel Work Group on Strategic Plans

Online

FEB

Panel Meeting on Health IT Adoption and Certification

Online

FEB

Cyber Threats and Future of Digital Health Records

Online

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FROM THE FOUNDATION

Store-and-Forward Teledermatology Facts

Dermatologists can serve many more patients by making use of store-and-forward teledermatology systems. This CHCF paper looks at criteria for evaluating these systems, and gives a comparative overview of four available applications.

Clinics Collaborate on EHR Deployment

EHRs can help California's safety-net clinic patients, and collaboration between clinics can significantly smooth the way to successful adoption. This issue brief looks at the lessons learned by eight clinic networks.

Telepsychiatry in the Emergency Room

Telepsychiatry is used in some emergency departments to make the process of evaluating and treating patients with mental health issues more efficient. This paper examines seven ED telepsychiatry programs.

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Friday

Blumenthal Discusses EHR Adoption, 'Meaningful Use'

At a conference last week, National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal predicted widespread use of electronic health records within the next decade. Blumenthal said that the federal government’s proposed "meaningful use" rules for EHRs aim to "stretch" health care providers but not "break" them. Healthcare IT News, Government Health IT.

Dems Praise Budget Proposals To Track Care Quality, Fraud

Last week, House Democrats praised a proposal in President Obama's budget plan that would allocate $110 million to modernize CMS' data collection system and link quality of care to payments. Another proposal would allocate $250 million to combat health care fraud. NextGov .

Report: 45 Federal Employee Health Plans Offer Health IT Tools

A new report released by the Office of Personnel Management lists 45 health plans in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program that offer personal health records and online tools for accessing health care cost and quality information. NextGov, Federal News Radio.

N.H. Lawmakers Set To Consider Bill Affirming Patient Rights to EHRs

This week, New Hampshire legislators are scheduled to hear a bill that would provide patients with greater control over their electronic health records. The measure aims to restore state protections that existed prior to the 2003 federal HIPAA privacy rules. Laconia Citizen.

Ohio Health System Posting ED Wait Times on Web Site, Billboards

Ohio's Akron General Health System recently started to advertise wait times for its EDs on billboards throughout the area. More hospitals across the country are beginning to share wait times through various broadcast media, social Web sites and personal messages. Akron Beacon Journal.

Open-Source Health IT Proponents Weigh In on Proposed 'Meaningful Use' Requirements

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Nancy Anthracite of WorldVistA, Edmund Billings of Medsphere Systems and Kevin Toppenberg, a physician and proponent of open-source health IT spoke with iHealthBeat about the recently released "meaningful use" rules.

Running Time: 5:01

DATA POINTS

Has Your Organization Had a Patient Safety Issue Directly Resulting From an Electronic System?

Thirty-two percent of health IT professionals surveyed said their health care organization has had a patient safety or health care quality issue that directly resulted from having an electronic system, while 10% said their clients have reported patient safety or health care quality issues that were a direct result of having an electronic system.

PERSPECTIVES

Provider-Sponsored PHRs Fail To Drive Patient-Centric Health Care

by Protima Advani

Future stages of "meaningful use" could include personal health record adoption as one of the many requirements for demonstrating patient engagement. However, current hospital-based PHR platforms fail to migrate toward a patient-centric health care system.

COMMENTS (1)

"Two points worth mentioning--many people have interest in or aptitude for PHRs, particularly many of those who are "power users" of health care. Adoption remains stuck in the low single digits (which ought to be telling us something). Second, the o..."

- Kim Slocum

FEATURES

Consumers Not Ready for Do-It-Yourself PHRs, Experts Say

by George Lauer, iHealthbeat Features Editor

Revolution Health's decision to scrap its PHR doesn't necessarily mean the PHR market is dead, but industry experts say it does indicate that consumers aren't ready for -- or much interested in -- a do-it-yourself model.

COMMENTS (5)

"Are we really surprised that yet another health care "outsider" has failed to revolutionize health care IT? Anyone remember Healtheon? Health care is a very different industry whether we like it or not. I would have to agree with Kim regarding th..."

- Steve Wilkins