Today I’m at George Washington University’s "The Role and Future of HIT in an Era of Health Care Transformation Symposium" serving as moderator of a panel discussing the barriers and enablers to health information exchange, including the impact of PCAST Work.
Life as a Health Care CIO
The August HIT Standards Committee meeting
The August meeting of the HIT Standards Committee (the 28th meeting of this FACA) was a milestone in parsimony. As you’ll see, we approved a set of vocabulary recommendations and public health standards that represent harmony as well the fewest number of standards possible for the intended purpose.
Health care is different
I’m often asked why healthcare has been slow to automate its processes compared to other industries such as the airlines, shipping/logistics, or the financial services industry.
Many clinicians say that healthcare is different.
I’m going to be a bit controversial in this post and agree that healthcare has unique challenges that make it more difficult to automate than other industries.
Here’s an inventory of the issues
The health insurance exchange NPRM
Last week, Health and Human Services issued an important notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) about Health Insurance Exchanges.
What are Health Insurance Exchanges?
They are state-based competitive marketplaces where individuals and small businesses are able to purchase affordable private health insurance. As Secretary Sebellius noted
The July HIT standards committee meeting
Health IT: The Demand for a Free Service is Infinite
As CIOs we have significant responsibility but limited authority. We’re accountable for stability, reliability, and security but cannot always control all the variables.
Here’s an example of random events coming together to create a problem, which is now well on its way to resolution. However, there are many lessons learned that I’d like to share with you.
CMS Clarifies Electronic Transmission
One of the more confusing items about Meaningful Stage 1 is what constitutes a test of electronic record exchange. The HIT Standards Committee did not specify transport standards, so there are no certification criteria to test the ability of an EHR to send data from place to place.
It was unclear what kinds of transport constitute a valid test of data exchange – Bluetooth between iPhones? e-Fax? USB Drives?
Electronic medical records: Making patient engagement useful
Stage 2 of Meaningful Use is likely to include numerous patient engagement features.
BIDMC has been offering Personal Health Records since 1999 and we’ve learned that patient information must be organized appropriately and wrapped in patient education materials so that the data is transformed into knowledge, and is actionable.
Supporting electronic health records for non-owned doctors
Implementing electronic health records requires transformation of a medical practice. It’s more about workflow and change management than technology. In Massachusetts, competitive pressures, pay for performance contracts, and increasing demands from specialists to be connected to primary care givers are motivating clinicians to install electronic health records. The challenge is how to pay for them and how to provide the services necessary to ensure successful implementation.
Electronic medical records: Assessing U.S. national health care IT efforts
As I travel the world speaking about the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, I’m often asked to present objective evidence that it is making a difference.
Here’s the progress thus far:
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.