In May 2010, Minnesota became one of the first states in the nation to design and implement an oversight program for the exchange of electronic clinical health record information between healthcare providers, facilities and other entities like pharmacies and labs.
Health Information Technology
Health IT: Harmonizing Provider Directory Standards
Two weeks ago, I wrote about a strawman for embracing internet-based standards to support the provider directory services needed by health information exchanges.
Access Scientific scoops up $10 million | Funding Roundup
Access Scientific Inc., makers of the Picc Wand and Power Wand IV catheters, closed a $10 million equity financing round.
Investment was led by CAC, a private equity firm, and followed by Access Scientific’s previous investors.
The company’s IV catheters are designed reduce patient discomfort by allowing blood tests to be drawn and fluids and medications to be delivered through a single device, which can last the duration of an entire hospital stay.
The Accounting of Disclosures NPRM
On May 31, HHS Published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on the HIPAA Privacy Rule Accounting of Disclosures Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH).
Mobile flu tracking? There’s an app for that
By Tom Ulrich
Before you know it, flu season – that miserable time of sneezing, snuffling, coughing, and generally feeling blah – will be upon us again. And as with anything, the best way to deal with the flu is to be prepared for it.
But when, exactly, is the right time to start stocking up on tissues and looking for vaccination clinics? You could go with the conventional wisdom: Get the annual flu vaccine in the fall and spend the next five months avoiding anyone with bleary eyes and a runny nose.
Erectile dysfunction: CRT ups male sexual health
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Cardiac resynchronization therapy increases the libido and enhances sexual performance in men with chronic heart failure, according to a study published in the journal Clinical Cardiology.
Chronic heart failure is a common condition characterized by fatigue and exercise intolerance, and patients often experience decreased libido and erectile dysfunction. CRT, which is a type of pacemaker that paces the right and left ventricle, is used to treat patients with heart failure.
Internet medicine: Can we be in two (or more) places at once?
An FAQ on Exchanging Key Clinical Information
Yesterday, CMS posted an important FAQ clarifying the Meaningful Use requirement to exchange key clinical information.
Since the Standards and Certification final rule does not include any transport standards and no EHR has been tested or certified to comply with any particular transport capability, it was unclear how the CCDs/CCRs produced by certified EHRs should be exchanged as required to attest for meaningful use.
[sead]The CMS FAQ suggests that the exchange must be accomplished over an electronic network and not using fixed media:
The Status of e-Prescribing in the U.S.
On May 12, Surescripts released the National Progress Report on e-Prescribing and Interoperable Healthcare.
For the past 3 years, Massachusetts has led the country in e-prescribing due to the combined efforts of our payers and our healthcare information exchange. I follow the evolution of e-prescribing with great interest.
[sead]Key findings in the Surescripts report include:
MIT, GE and Analog Devices partner on electronic medical device center
Health care reform: Excluded groups fight for part of the $27 million HIT pot
MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Health care providers frozen out of federal funds allocated for digital conversion of medical records are fighting to improve their position within President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.
New money for health information technology was budgeted by the Health Information Technology for Economic & Clinical Health Act to the tune of $50 billion. The measure allots funds to Medicare and Medicaid to distribute to providers who use electronic medical records to improve their practices.