Health IT

A government study published on Wednesday indicates that the daunting task of implementing electronic health information systems across the country may not be a lost cause, Nationaljournal.com reported.

The review of 154 other studies about health information technology, or health IT, found that 92 percent were positive overall, researchers with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology found.

The read more of this article, visit Nationaljournal.com.

Got high blood pressure? There's an app for that.

There's one for diabetes too. Another app that will watch your weight -- and report it to your doctor, Nextgov.com reported.

Smart phones, cell phones and home computers are just waiting to launch the next big revolution in health care, said Robert Jarring, senior director for government affairs at the wireless communications innovator Qualcomm Inc.

Wireless mobile devices can become an ever-present link between patient and doctor. A blood pressure cuff that connects to your cell phone can transmit blood pressure and heart rate data to your doctor's office daily if necessary. In the same way, a glucometer can transfer blood sugar level readings to a cell phone, which then calls it in to the doctor. Wireless scales work the same way.

The equipment already is available through medical supply dealers, Jarring said. "But not a lot of people know it exists."

Qualcomm and the National Institutes of Health hope to begin changing that this summer. The company and the agency are planning a weeklong summer institute on mobile health starting June 20 in San Diego. To read more, click here.

David Blumenthal announced Thursday that he is stepping down from his post as national coordinator for health information technology.

Blumenthal, appointed by President Obama in March 2009, said he plans to return to Harvard University. During his tenure, Blumenthal oversaw the deployment of funding included in the 2009 economic stimulus package to give doctors and hospitals incentives to switch to electronic records.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius praised Blumenthal for helping to encourage the adoption of new technology.

"David will leave his post having built a strong foundation, created real momentum for [health IT] adoption, charted a course for the meaningful use of [electronic health records] and launched a new phase of cooperative and supportive work with the healthcare community, states, and cities across the nation," she said in a statement.

Federal officials say four-fifths of the nation's hospitals and 41 percent of private practice doctors are planning to take advantage of government incentives to switch to using electronic health records as the funding becomes available for the first time.

David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, touted the numbers Thursday as he urged organizations to achieve "meaningful use" of certified electronic health records. To meet the federal government's meaningful use standard health providers must meet certain benchmarks such as electronic prescribing and entry of basic data about patients.

Under the 2009 economic stimulus package, eligible hospitals may now receive millions of dollars to help implement new IT programs while individual practitioners may receive thousands of dollars in support.

"For years we have known that electronic health records would improve care for patients and bring about greater cost effectiveness in our health sector, yet adoption rates by health care providers remained low," Blumenthal said. "In 2009, Congress and the president authorized major new federal support for EHR adoption and use, and in combination with medical professional and hospital leadership. I believe we are seeing the tide turn toward widespread and accelerating adoption and use of health IT."

The American Hospital Association conducted the survey on hospitals, while the Center for Disease Control's National Center for Health Statistics conducted the survey of office-based physicians.

A group that advocates innovation in health care has released a poll showing broad support among Americans for increased government funding for research and development into new medical technologies.

The Council for American Medical Innovation sponsored the poll that found that 58 percent of respondents say the federal government should spend more money on medial innovation. Failure to spend more on medical technology and research will hamstring the country's future development and economic growth, said 72 percent of respondents.

And nearly 80 percent of respondents said they favor research and development tax credits; "government reforms to bring new innovations to market faster and at lower costs;" developing public-private partnerships between government and research institutions; and creating incentives to promote exports of medical technology and other innovation.

In a statement released Wednesday, the council urged federal officials to increase investments in medical technology and health care innovation.

"Never before in our history has there been a greater opportunity to create jobs, grow our economy and deliver the treatments, cures and breakthroughs necessary to combating the world's most pressing medical challenges," council co-chairman Dick Gephardt, a former U.S. representative from Missouri who served as House Democratic leader in the 1990s, said in a statement.

The 2009 economic stimulus package included billions of dollars to help spur health information technology and the adoption of electronic medical records.

The poll surveyed about 1,000 adults by telephone from Jan. 6-10. It has a margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percent.

Registration began Monday for health care professionals and hospitals to participate in the Health and Human Services Department's Medicare and Medicaid electronic-health records incentive programs.

Doctors who adopt, implement, upgrade or demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records will be eligible for Medicaid payments of up to $63,750 over six years, and Medicare bonuses of as much as $44,000 over five years. For hospitals, the incentives start at a $2 million base payment for both Medicaid and Medicare. The money comes from the 2009 economic stimulus package.

For Medicare, doctors must begin the transition by 2012 to receive the maximum benefit; those who provide services in an area with a shortage of health care professionals will qualify for additional payments. Medicare eligible professionals who do not demonstrate meaningful use by 2015 will be penalized starting at 1 percent of reimbursements and increasing each year to a maximum of 5 percent.

Continued on Nextgov.com

A new poll released Wednesday found most of those surveyed say doctors, health technology systems, health insurance companies, hospitals and labs should not be allowed to share or sell patients' health information without their consent.

The online interactive survey of 2,000 adults was conducted by Zogby International for the health privacy watchdog group Patients Privacy Rights.

The poll found 97 percent of those surveyed said doctors, health technology systems, hospitals and labs should not be allowed to sell or share their personal health information without consent, while 98 percent want the same standard applied to insurance companies.

During a conference call with reporters, physician Deborah Peel, the group's founder and chairwoman, said insurance companies are increasingly selling aggregated data about their customers. While the companies say they do not reveal the identities of their customers, Peel argued that "it's too easy to re-identify" those customers.

Other findings from the poll found 91 percent support giving patients control over who can access their electronic health records; 87 percent say patients should decide who can see or use their health information; and 78 percent said they would be more likely to use a website that gave users a say in who can see or use the health information they provide to the site.

Peel noted that websites that provide medical information often gather and sell information provided by their users. She called on Congress to pass legislation that would require consent from patients before using their medical information. A handful of measures were introduced in Congress this year that would require patient consent before medical information or other highly sensitive information such as financial data could be shared or used by others. "The bottom line is that we have to solve this problem at some point with a law" from Congress, Peel said.

The survey, conducted Aug. 24-26, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.

A new study released Thursday found that up to 50 percent of healthcare providers have either adopted electronic health records or are partially using them.

The study released by CompTIA found that 34 percent of healthcare providers now use a "comprehensive" electronic health records system and 16 percent said they are using a partial system. About 29 percent said they are evaluating their options while 20 percent have not looked at the issue. The study, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points, was conducted in two parts and surveyed 370 U.S. information technology firms, about 40 percent of which do business in the healthcare sector, and 300 U.S. healthcare providers.

Of those who have adopted electronic health records, 59 percent said they were "completely" or "mostly satisfied," and 36 percent said they were partly satisfied and partly dissatisfied, with dentists reporting higher rates of satisfaction, 70 percent compared with 57 percent for medical doctors. Reliability was cited as the biggest complaint by providers.

"Healthcare providers have clear objectives for their IT investments - reducing costs, saving time, improving productivity and most importantly, improving patient care," CompTIA Vice President of Research Tim Herbert said in a statement. "Anything that may disrupt patient care is a serious issue, so product reliability is especially critical."

In an interview, Alice Borrelli, Intel's director of global health and workforce policy, credited the billions included in last year's economic stimulus package for health information technology with helping to drive up electronic health record adoption rates.

"I don't think it would have happened" without the stimulus funding, she said, noting that in 2006, only 11 percent of healthcare providers had adopted electronic health records. "This is a program critical to really making a difference in health care. It saves lives," she added.

The stimulus included funding to help healthcare providers adopt health IT, providing $44,000 for each doctor to help defray the costs of switching to electronic health records.

While Borrelli gave high marks to the Obama administration's health IT efforts, she said she would like to see funding extended to so-called "hand-off" providers, such as physical therapists and others who step in to care for patients after they leave the hospital or a doctor's office. She said Congress would have to change the eligibility requirements and allocate additional funding for such providers.

The federal government's point man on health IT this week urged vendors not to create a new "digital divide" by overlooking health care providers in minority communities, Nextgov.com reported.

"Electronic health records possess the ability to help improve both the quality and efficiency of medical care accessible by minorities," David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health information technology, wrote in a letter to the vendor community in his Coordinator's Corner blog. Yet providers serving uninsured black and Hispanic or Latino populations are less likely to have adopted electronic health records, he noted.

Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by chronic illness, Blumenthal wrote, citing data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Those illnesses, he said, contribute to "intolerably high" mortality and morbidity rates.

"It is absolutely necessary that the leading EHR vendors work together, continuing to provide EHR adoption opportunities for physicians and other healthcare providers working within underserved communities of color," Blumenthal said. He urged Regional Extension Centers and EHR vendors to coordinate with the government to "focus substantial efforts on these priority populations." To read more, click here.

Standards that define what constitutes an official electronic health record aren't strict enough to justify the billions of dollars in incentives the government plans to pay physicians and hospitals to install the systems, Republican lawmakers said Tuesday.

At a House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee hearing, officials from the Health and Human Services Department defended the recently released "meaningful use" standards, requirements and expectations that health providers must meet when applying for funding to pay for the adoption of the e-records, Nextgov.com reported.

The regulations were designed to accommodate diverse communities looking to move away from paper-based records systems, they said.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology announced in June a temporary certification program for electronic health records programs, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued on July 13 a final rule setting standards for health care providers that want incentive payments for adopting EHR systems.

Some lawmakers expressed concern that the final rule watered down the meaningful use requirements. The regulations represent a missed opportunity to improve patient care and reduce waste because the standards are lower than expected, said Health Subcommittee ranking member Wally Herger, R-Calif. He said he expected a better return on the $36 billion investment in incentive payments to providers.

For example, lawmakers said health care providers aren't required to electronically record lab test results, nor are they asked to exchange data. They also questioned whether physicians would create electronic records only for simple cases to meet minimum use standards and ignore e-records for more vulnerable patients.

According to David Blumenthal, national coordinator for health IT, HHS will place higher demands on providers in the future. The recent standards are the first in a series of rules and apply only to incentives payments before 2013. Two additional stages for rolling out electronic records will be released, and will have stricter requirements, he said. To read more, click here.