Sunday, April 18, 2010

Health Informatics News

Health Informatics News

HL7 Supports Voluntary Certification

Posted: 16 Apr 2010 08:25 AM PDT

Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Health Level Seven International (HL7) has released comments supporting forward movement on the development of programs for the voluntary certification of health information technology. The company says the proposed rule marks an important step forward in the nation’s efforts to improve healthcare by putting highly functional EHR at the fingertips of medical professionals and consumers alike. However, HL7 has submitted comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, which propose modifications to the Proposed Rule. HL7 strongly recommends that other HIT be certified, including Personal Health Record (PHR) systems. Moreover, HL7 recommends that interoperability of EHR systems across the continuum of care be certified.  To support that effort, the current profiles for the Emergency Department, Long Term and Post Acute Care, Behavioral Health, and Child Health can be used. To see the full document detailing HL7 International’s comments, please click here . 

Congress clarifies ‘hospital-based’ definition for EHR incentives

Posted: 16 Apr 2010 08:17 AM PDT

After lobbying from many healthcare associations, both houses of Congress have now passed a bill that amends the definition of “hospital-based” eligible professionals for the purpose of EHR incentive payments under the HITECH Act. HR 4851, the Continuing Extension Act of 2010, extends unemployment benefits and pushes back temporarily cuts in Medicare reimbursements for physicians. But it also changes the language about hospital-based eligible professionals from those working in an “in-patient or out-patient” setting to an “in-patient or emergency room” setting. That would allow hospital-based physicians practicing in outpatient settings to be eligible for ARRA incentive funding. Many in the healthcare field were worried that the original definition in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposal would exclude a large percentage of physicians from receiving incentives. The bill was signed into law Thursday by President Obama.

Data from CHCF Study Show PHRs Can Improve Health

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 07:22 AM PDT

Patients who access health information through personal health records (PHRs) report that they know more about their health, ask more questions, and take better care of themselves than when data is accessed only by paper records, according to a study released by the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF, Oakland). According to the survey, one in 14 Americans has used a PHR, which is double the number of users from a year earlier, and one in three respondents say they used the PHR to take a specific action to improve their health. Research shows that the benefits of PHR use are most valued in patients with multiple chronic conditions, less education, and lower incomes — populations that have been difficult for providers to engage. Privacy, however, is still somewhat of a barrier. Many of those surveyed expressed concern that their health information could be used by employers, health insurance plans, or others, and one third said they would consider hiding some information from their provider because of that fear. Still, two-thirds of those surveyed said privacy concerns should not stand in the way of learning how technology can help improve health care. The survey of 1,849 people was conducted by Lake Research Partners between December 18, 2009 and January 15, 2010. To view the full survey findings, visit www.chcf.org .

California eHealth Collaborative Names New CEO

Posted: 15 Apr 2010 06:58 AM PDT

Katherine R. Tavitian has been named chief executive officer of the San Francisco-based California eHealth Collaborative (CAeHC). Tavitian has served as CEO of the National Coalition for Health Integration (NCHI) since 2009, where she was Board Member of the start-up, non-profit health IT organization. Prior to her work at NCHI, Tavitian was senior vice president for Healthcare Business Development at Walgreen Co., where she led new healthcare businesses that aimed to improve patient engagement, care coordination and access to care. Tavitian succeeds Michele Kang, who has served as Interim CEO since 2009. The California eHealth Collaborative is a nonprofit collaborative of stakeholders whose mission is to provide an open and inclusive approach for eHealth activities in California that will drive the development of secure access to clinically-relevant information at the point of care.

Calif. Hospital Rolls Out Surveillance Solution

Posted: 14 Apr 2010 08:01 AM PDT

St. Joseph Health System – Humboldt County (SJHS-HC), a member of St. Joseph Health System based in Orange, Calif., implemented the SafetySurveillor solution from Premier healthcare alliance (Charlotte, N.C.) to track potential influenza cases. According to Premier, St. Joseph deployed the tool after California health officials released new requirements regarding influenza reporting. With SafetySurveillor, real-time alerts are set up at St. Joseph Hospital (Eureka, Calif.) and Redwood Memorial Hospital (Fortuna, Calif.) to enable more rapid reporting of positive flu cases in both children and adults, it says. In addition, the emergency department can access SafetySurveillor online. Founded in 1920, SJHS-HC is part of St. Joseph Health System, an integrated healthcare delivery organization that provides a broad range of medical services across Northern California, Southern California and West Texas/Eastern New Mexico.  

Catholic Health Initiatives Taps RCM Solution

Posted: 14 Apr 2010 07:59 AM PDT

Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), a 72-hospital system headquartered in Denver, is rolling out Atlanta-based RelayHealth ’s RevRunner to improve its revenue cycle services. The tool will be used to identify healthcare benefits and verify patient eligibility, particularly in CHI’s small, critical-access hospitals, says the company. CHI is a faith-based, nonprofit health system operating in 18 states. In addition to its hospitals, the system includes 40 long-term care, assisted- and residential-living facilities and two community health-services organizations. With annual revenues of $8.6 billion, CHI ranks as the nation's second-largest Catholic health care system.  
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