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CCR

Comments to ONC: PCAST HIT Report Becomes a Political Piñata

The PCAST Report on Health IT has become a political piñata. 

Early Feedback on PCAST 

Like many of my colleagues, I was taken aback by the release of the Report in early December 2010 — I didn’t know quite what to make of it. Response in the first week of release was: 

Limited. The first commentaries were primarily by technical and/or clinical bloggers. The mainstream HIT world had remarkably little initial reaction to the Report. 
Respectful of the imprimatur of “The President’s” Report and noting some of the big names associated with the […]

Is HITECH Working? #3: ONC got it right on the 3 major policy interpretations: Meaningful Use, Certification, Standards

We concluded our last post in this series with a blunt prediction that “key physicians will sit on the sidelines” and that clinician non-adoption of EHR technology is a potential “deal-breaker for the success of HITECH”.

While this might sound like a criticism of the way HITECH has been implemented, it’s not intended that way — it’s a commentary on 1) the complexity and scope of change that will be required to make HITECH successful, and 2) the level of protective entrenchment existing American […]

Is HITECH Working? #2: Key physicians will sit on the sidelines (at least for now).

(click on any of the above graphics to be linked to the orginal source)

by Vince Kuraitis JD, MBA and David C. Kibbe MD, MBA

In the previous post in this series on “Is HITECH Working?”, we straightforwardly noted that hospitals are playing in the HITECH game. The issue of whether physicians will play is MUCH thornier.

As the headlines above succinctly convey — we conclude that for now there is too much fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) to expect significantly increased EHR technology adoption by […]

A Compendium of Perspectives on the HITECH Certification NPRM

Just the Facts 

Certification Programs NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking)

Health IT, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services; March 2, 2010

Certification NPRM

Facts-At-A-Glance

FAQ

 

Bookmarked version of Certification NPRM (much easier to navigate)

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services; March 2, 2010

Chilmark Needs to Chill Out on CCR/CCD Findings

John Moore of Chilmark Research and I agree on things 90+ percent of the time. He even thanked me personally for our collegial relationship in a Thanksgiving Day essay on his blog.

However…I can’t help but comment on John’s misleading story “CCD Standard Gaining Traction, CCR Fading” in The Health Care Blog. He writes:

In a number of interviews with leading HIE [Health Information Exchange] vendors, it is becoming clear that the clinical standard, Continuity of Care Document (CCD) will be the dominant standard in […]

John Halamka’s Stunning 180: “Dogs and Cats Should Live in Harmony”

The King of the Cats has just acknowledged that indeed cats and dogs should co-exist peacefully.

Dr. John Halamka — Vice Chair of the HIT Standards Committee of the ONC and one of the most vocal and influential figures in health IT — writes a blog post this morning entitled “The Genius of AND”. Halamka reasonably summarizes the essence of the debate about standards and interoperability as being between “the healthcare informatics crowd” (cats) and the “Internet crowd” (dogs):

He notes that the debate […]

The Third Rail in HITECH Implementation: “Please Don’t Make Us All Speak Latin”

By Vince Kuraitis and Steven Waldren MD, MS.  Dr Waldren is Director of the Center for Health Information Technology at the American Academy of Family Practice (AAFP).

Two issues have rightfully surfaced front and center in the public’s understanding of HITECH Act implementation:

” definition of “Meaningful Use” of EHRs, and
” definition of “certification” process for EHRs

…and we applaud the progress of the workgroups and the HIT Policy Committee in addressing these issues constructively.

However…a THIRD issue lurks – “Data harmonization at the […]

CMS Releases 2nd Report on Medicare Health Support

by Vince Kuraitis and Thomas Wilson, PhD, DrPH

CMS has just released the 2nd Report to Congress evaluating the Medicare Health Support (MHS) program. MHS is Medicare’s most visible and significant demo focusing on chronic disease management.

We’ve been poring over the report and will provide more detailed analysis and implications later this week. This 2nd Report to Congress covers 18 months of data on this 3 year project. It provides far more details and substantiation than RTI’s first report, which only covered 6 […]

Leavitt’s Framework Shoehorns the HIPAA Privacy Rule onto Your Personal Health Information

by Vince Kuraitis and David C. Kibbe MD, MBA

Have you ever heard anyone tell a happy story of how easy it is to get a copy of their paper medical records?

Departing Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt is laying the groundwork for this same story to apply to access to YOUR electronic personal health information.

Here’s an overview to what evolved into a long posting:

Analysis: The Leavitt Framework Uses the HIPAA Privacy Rule as a Baseline for Electronic Access to Personal Health Information
Implication: Extending […]

Complimentary Webinar on Comparative Effectiveness Sponsored by Population Health Impact Institute (PHII)

The message is clear from Washington – “Comparative Effectiveness” has been proposed as the foundation for coverage decisions in Medicare.  As the feds lead – this will more than likely "trickle down" to the commercial sector.

The Population Health Impact Institute (PHII) has convened national experts to develop a practical, comparative-based system to help purchasers and payers evaluate the methods and results used in all kinds of population health management programs – including medical, case and disease management, benefit design, value-based […]