ARRA News

Meaningful Use: The Trojan Horse of Healthcare Reform

On July 13, Amerinet will host a FREE webinar, Meaningful Use: The Trojan Horse of Healthcare Reform, from 1:15 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. The instructor will be Bryant Hoyal, PMP.

The program will outline the basic goals of the HITECH Act and the important role this legislation has in healthcare reform. During this session you will explore the bigger impact of the HITECH Act and explain why Meaningful Use is a real change agent when it comes to health reform. Topics include an introduction to the HITECH Act, program basics, strategies for achieving Meaningful Use of an EHR, and the ongoing influence this program will have on the healthcare industry.

This educational series, Meaningful Knowledge for Meaningful Use, is brought to you by Amerinet and Maestro Strategies. Everyone is invited to attend. There is no charge to participate. The series will be held over the next several months. There are no CE contact hours for this program.

For more informaton or to register, click here.

The costly flaws in U.S. digital health-data plan

The aim of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act was simple: Make it so that any patient can walk into any emergency room in the U.S. and have their entire medical history summoned instantly, via computer. Today, the healthcare industry is spending billions to create electronic health records, but the much-vaunted goal of quick access to patient information may never come to pass.

Read the full article from MarketWatch.

 

July 3 is deadline for hospitals to begin MU reporting

Critical-access facilities and eligible hospitals have until July 3 to launch a 90-day schedule for reporting on EHR meaningful use to qualify for incentives in fiscal 2011. Hospitals can verify meaningful use through Nov. 30.

Read more here.

CMS expands website to add details on patient requests for EHR data

The CMS has updated the FAQ page on its electronic health record incentive program website to include data on providing patients with electronic copies of their health data. According to the information, providers must supply health data gleaned from EHRs within three business days of a request from the patient.

Read more here.

HIT panel backs delay in Stage 2 MU implementation

A federal work group's proposal to put off implementation of the second stage of meaningful use through 2014 has been approved by the HIT Policy Committee. The one-year delay would affect early adopters who are eligible for Stage 1, but would give providers and vendors sufficient time to develop and test EHR systems, work group chairman Dr. Paul Tang said.

Read more here.

Work Group Recommends Delay for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use

The Health IT Policy Committee's meaningful use work group is recommending delaying by one year implementation of the next stage of the meaningful use program for health care providers who meet Stage 1 criteria in 2011. According to the panel, retaining the planned Stage 2 timeline could pose "insurmountable" challenges.

Read more here.

Task force to recommend ways to align HIT, delivery system reform

The Bipartisan Policy Center on June 2 launched a public-private collaborative on delivery system reform and health information technology. Led by former Senate Majority Leaders Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Bill Frist (R-TN), the task force will identify ongoing efforts and best practices for encouraging coordinated, patient-centered and accountable care, and make recommendations for aligning health IT efforts to support new care delivery models.

A report released June 2 by the center’s Health IT Initiative offers recommendations for leveraging health IT to address health care system challenges, such as integrating lessons learned from early implementation efforts.

[ via AHA News Now ]

HHS issues proposal to implement HITECH 'accounting of disclosures' mandate

The Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights on May 31 published a proposed rule implementing the HITECH Act mandate to provide patients with an accounting of disclosures of protected health information for treatment, payment and health care operations if the disclosures are though an electronic health record. The proposed rule imposes a significant new obligation that covered entities provide patients with information about who has accessed their electronic PHI in a "designated record set."

Additionally, it substantially revises the existing requirements to provide more detailed information about disclosures of patient information in a "designated record set," whether electronic or hard copy, outside the covered entity. Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted through Aug. 1.

 

ONC Releases Proposed Rule on Permanent Certification Program

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has published a proposed rule for the approved accreditor of certification bodies under the permanent electronic health record certification program. The rule addresses how to handle instances when the accreditor does not properly carry out its duties.

Read more here.

Five New FAQs Posted on Electronic Health Record Meaningful Use

Five New FAQs on meaningful use have been added to the CMS website:

• For the meaningful use objective of “capability to exchange key clinical information” for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, does exchange of electronic information using physical media, such as USB, CD-ROM, or other formats meet the measure of this objective?  Read the answer.
• For the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, how should an eligible professional (EP) who orders medications infrequently calculate the measure for the “computerized provider order entry (CPOE)” objective if the EP sees patients whose medications are maintained in the medication list by the EP but were not ordered or prescribed by the EP?  Read the answer.
• How should patients in swing beds be counted in the denominators of meaningful use measures for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs?  Read the answer.
• How should nursery day patients be counted in the denominators of meaningful use measures for eligible hospitals and CAHs for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs?  Read the answer.
• What lab tests should be included in the denominator of the measure for the “incorporate clinical lab-test results” objective under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs?  Read the answer.

For more information about meaningful use and its requirements, take a look at the Meaningful Use page of the EHR website.

Want more information about the EHR Incentive Programs?  Visit the CMS EHR Incentive Programs website for the latest news and updates on the EHR Incentive Programs; also sign up for the EHR Incentive Programs email update listserv.