The American Hospital Association (AHA) submitted to ONC its recommendations for changes to the Interim Final Rule on Monday, March 15. All the comments are in. Since the IFRs were released, we've been mucking around in the details (along with the devil, so to speak). As we wait for ONC to sift through the recommendations and figure out which to incorporate, we as an industry need to ask ourselves: What's the end goal? I believe the consensus is that we want health IT to enable providers to deliver high-quality care, reduce medical errors and lower the cost of care through efficient processes. Read »

In the last two years, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has received 260 reports of health IT malfunctions, some of which resulted in 44 reported injuries and six deaths. These numbers are prompting FDA officials to call for a federal framework and oversight to ensure patient safety. Read »

Amidst a still-faltering economy, the bright spot has been healthcare IT, thanks to ARRA and its HITECH Act. Just as there is a lot of hope and energy invested in moving the healthcare industry into the 21st century, there are equal parts of anxiety and pessimism that billions of dollars will be spent without transforming the industry in the form of increased quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery, and reduction of medical errors and cost. Read »

As the deadline for submitting public comment for the meaningful use criteria draws near, it seems as if there has been an uptick in concern and criticism being voiced regarding the federal government’s legislative efforts to drive healthcare IT adoption. Read »

The Consumer Partnership for e-Health released consumer and employer responses to criticism about various aspects of the meaningful use criteria for EHR adoption. At first blush, it was surprising to see general support for the criteria. Then again, this nonpartisan group comprising consumer, patient, and labor organizations whose mission is to improve healthcare quality and achieving a patient-centered healthcare system through IT and knowledge sharing, represents some pretty knowledgeable parties. In other words, their responses aren't from the general public who are given sound bytes on healthcare reform and transformation. Read »

A survey recently released by research firm SK&A, a Cegedim Company, shows an increase in physician adoption of EHRs, confirming earlier findings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. Read »

The meaningful use workgroup, which reports to HHS' Health IT Policy Committee, recommended a reduction in the number of measures providers would need to meet in order to qualify for federal incentive funds under CMS. From the overall feedback CMS has received since the meaningful use criteria was released at the end of December 2009, it's the right thing to do. Read »

Imagine it's 2020. You had a test done the day before, a test that was ordered because your physician was alerted via your EHR to a gap in care. The following morning, both you and your physician receive the results via e-mail, you via your PHR and she via her EHR system. Read »

It was reported on Jan. 26 that the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel, better known as HITSP, will close shop when its contract expires Jan. 31, but John Halamka, MD, said a contract extension will keep HITSP operational until ONC awards work for the next evolution of standards development. Read »

For the most part, the American Academy of Family Physicians, an advocate for health IT, supports the meaningful use criteria that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released at the end of last year. They have an issue, however, with the reporting requirements of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Read »