Friday, February 10, 2012

Panel To Unveil 'Meaningful Use' Report

June 15, 2009

doctorfiles.jpgHigh-tech and healthcare stakeholders monitoring the implementation of economic stimulus package provisions intended to spur a nationwide network of electronic health records will have their first look Tuesday at what might constitute "meaningful use" of health IT products. A subgroup of the Health and Human Services Department's health IT policy committee will unveil a report on the topic and the full panel will deliberate. The paper will also be released for a formal public comment period and recommendations will ultimately be sent to David Blumenthal, the Obama administration's health IT coordinator. Final HHS guidance will let healthcare providers know how they can qualify for incentives included in the $19 billion section of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

In related news, President Obama spoke on Monday about the importance of moving away from a paper-based healthcare system. He told the annual meeting of the American Medical Association it does not make sense that patients in the 21st century are "still filling out forms with pens on papers that have to be stored away somewhere." "As Newt Gingrich has rightly pointed out -- and I don't quote Newt Gingrich that often -- we do a better job tracking a FedEx package in this country than we do tracking patients' health records," Obama said. He went on to say that patients should not have to tell every new doctor about their medical history nor should they have to endure repeats of costly tests. "All that information should be stored securely in a private medical record," he said.

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Juliana Gruenwald

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Juliana Gruenwald has been covering tech and telecom issues for more than a decade for National Journal, Interactive Week, BNA and Congressional Quarterly. This is her second stint with National Journal. She was recruited by NJ in 1998 to help launch its first tech policy publication, Technology Daily. She left in 2000 to cover international tech and telecom issues for Ziff Davis Media's Interactive Week magazine. She started her career at United Press International as the wire service's first Helen Thomas Intern. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. A Minneapolis native, she misses the lakes but not the cold.


Josh Smith

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Josh Smith covers technology policy as a staff reporter for National Journal. He previously interned at National Journal Daily, a Senate press office, and the Deseret News in Salt Lake City where he covered the state legislature, courts, and crime. In 2009 he graduated with honors from Southern Utah University after managing an award-winning student newspaper as editor-in-chief. Josh has received state, regional and national awards for his political and policy reporting, including first place in CapitolBeat’s 2009 Best of Statehouse Reporting college competition. A native of drop-dead-gorgeous Utah, Josh lives in Virginia with his wife, Amber.