Contributed by Patty Enrado Critics of the federal stimulus grants for EHR adoption say the federal government is throwing money at health IT and won’t be getting anything in return for it. Whether you believe money should be going into an EHR adoption initiative, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is making [...]
The firm that has won a $26 million public relations contract from the Department of Health and Human Services for a campaign on healthcare information technology, and related privacy and security issues, stirred up controversy with some of its previous government PR efforts. New York-based Ketchum Inc., winner of the new contract, received its share [...]
Office of the Governor JRTC, 100 W. Randolph, Suite 16-100 Chicago, Illinois 60601 Pat Quinn Governor September 11, 2009 David Blumenthal, MD, MPP National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Department of Health and Human Services 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, DC 20201 E-mail Dear Dr. Blumenthal: The State of Illinois intends to submit an application [...]
So, Brian Ahler at healthsystemcio.com reports having a brief chat with Dr. David Blumenthal last week that covered:
* Transparency at the ONC
* HITREC and communities of shared learning
* Personal Health Records and possible certification
* Rural practices and Critical Access Hospitals
Dr. David Blumenthal, national coordinator for health information technology, addressed an overflowing crowd of HIMSS attendees during the keynote address at HIMSS. Less than 24 hours after Dr. Blumenthal led an ONC Townhall meeting at the conference, to discuss the ONC’s release of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding certifying bodies.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis today announced a total of nearly $1 billion in Recovery Act awards to help health care providers advance the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology (IT) and train workers for the health care jobs of the future. The awards will help make health IT available to over 100,000 hospitals and primary care physicians by 2014 and train thousands of people for careers in health care and information technology. This Recovery Act investment will help grow the emerging health IT industry which is expected to support tens of thousands of jobs ranging from nurses and pharmacy techs to IT technicians and trainers.
The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology has established Health Information Technology (HIT) Regional Extension Centers to support adoption of HIT. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, ONC awarded grants for the establishment and operation of Regional Extension Centers to provide HIT technical assistance to health care [...]
The HITECH Act authorizes a Health Information Technology Extension Program. The extension program consists of Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers (RECs) and a national Health Information Technology Research Center (HITRC). The RECs will offer technical assistance, guidance, and information to support and accelerate health care providers’ efforts to become meaningful users of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). The HITRC will be responsible for gathering relevant information on effective practices and help the RECs collaborate with one another and with relevant stakeholders to identify and share best practices in EHR adoption, effective use, and provider support. HITECHActHelp has compiled a list of grant recipients.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorizes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide reimbursement incentives for eligible professionals and hospitals who are successful in becoming “meaningful users” of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology. These incentive payments begin in 2011 and gradually decrease. Starting in 2015, providers are expected [...]
HHS issued regulations requiring health care providers, health plans, and other entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to notify individuals when their health information is breached. These “breach notification” regulations implement provisions of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, passed as part of American Recovery [...]
