Subscribe if you want to be notified of new blog posts. You will receive an email confirming your subscription.
HIE
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 […]
A Compendium of Resources on the Federal HIT Meaningful Use NPRM and Standards IFR
* = highly recommended
Â
Descriptive Summaries and Documents
Â
 *Dissecting the Meaningful Use Proposed Rule PowerPoint
eHealth Initiative Policy Webinar; January 8, 2010
Â
*What You Need to Know About the Meaningful Use Proposed Rule, Standards and Implementation Specification, and Interim Final Rule Certification Criteria PowerPoint
Medicare Extends PHR Pilot — Big Mistake!
Medicare announced today that it is extending its Personal Health Record (PHR) pilot project for residents of Utah and Arizona.
This is a waste of time and taxpayer dollars. Those of you who read my blog know that I’m a big fan of PHRs, but you have to know when you’re backing the wrong approach.
What’s wrong with this pilot project? A lot:
The Real Secret Sauce of Medicare’s Participation in Regional Collaboratives — Network Effects
Last week I asked whether Medicare’s Biggest Change in 40 Years is on the horizon. That post described and discussed implications of Medicare’s new direction for the medical home — the shelving of Medicare Medical Home Demonstration (MMHD) and the refocusing on the recently announced Multi-Payer Advanced Primary Care Initiative (MAPCI).
In that post I touched briefly on the potential for MAPCI to create effective networks at multiple levels — contracting networks, health IT networks, social and collaborative care networks. I’d like to expand […]
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 […]
Medicare’s Biggest Change in 40 Years on the Horizon?
Earlier this week CMS issued a typically cryptic Announcement indicating that they were shelving the Medicare Medical Home Demonstration (MMHD) and instead would focus on the recently announced Multi-Payer Advanced Primary Care Initiative (MAPCI). My blog post from Tuesday provides details and asks the question “What does all this mean?”
Today’s blog post will tackle:
Medicare’s biggest change in 40 years?
The rise of MAPCI
The fall of MMHD
Implications/discussion
Medicare’s Biggest Change in 40 Years?
CMS Shelves Medicare Medical Home Demonstration
I just received an email from CMSÂ announcing the latest official word on the Medicare Medical Home Demonstration (MMHD):
10/26/2009 – In Washington, the efforts to reform health care and health insurance include proposed legislative language that would have an impact on the Medicare Medical Home Demonstration as described in section 204 of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 and amended by section 133 of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. Specifically, section 1302 of […]
The Big Idea in Understanding “Accountable Care Organizations”
Here’s the big idea: accountable care organizations (ACOs) are about creating accountability.
ACOs of various types are being proposed in national health reform legislation. For all you ever wanted to know about ACOs, read How to Create Accountable Care Organizations from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.   I spent an hour and a half poring over the details of this excellent report written by Harold Miller.
My mistaken impression has been to focus on the organizational form of ACOs, rather than their objectives. Organizational form is relevant […]
Medicare Health Support (MHS) Claims Another Victim: LifeMasters Files for Chapter 11
Updated 6:10 pm, September 14, 2009
One bad deal can ruin your day.
Today, LifeMasters filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to its press release:
“The Chapter 11 filing is the most efficient path for the company to restructure liabilities that are a result of Demonstration Projects previously performed under contracts with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), ” said George D. Pillari, President of LifeMasters. Mr. Pillari, named President of LifeMasters today, is a Managing Director of Alvarez & Marsal […]
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 […]