As the deadline for submitting public comment for the meaningful use criteria draws near, it seems as if there has been an uptick in concern and criticism being voiced regarding the federal government’s legislative efforts to drive healthcare IT adoption. Read »

The Consumer Partnership for e-Health released consumer and employer responses to criticism about various aspects of the meaningful use criteria for EHR adoption. At first blush, it was surprising to see general support for the criteria. Then again, this nonpartisan group comprising consumer, patient, and labor organizations whose mission is to improve healthcare quality and achieving a patient-centered healthcare system through IT and knowledge sharing, represents some pretty knowledgeable parties. In other words, their responses aren't from the general public who are given sound bytes on healthcare reform and transformation. Read »

A survey recently released by research firm SK&A, a Cegedim Company, shows an increase in physician adoption of EHRs, confirming earlier findings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. Read »

The meaningful use workgroup, which reports to HHS' Health IT Policy Committee, recommended a reduction in the number of measures providers would need to meet in order to qualify for federal incentive funds under CMS. From the overall feedback CMS has received since the meaningful use criteria was released at the end of December 2009, it's the right thing to do. Read »

Imagine it's 2020. You had a test done the day before, a test that was ordered because your physician was alerted via your EHR to a gap in care. The following morning, both you and your physician receive the results via e-mail, you via your PHR and she via her EHR system. Read »

It was reported on Jan. 26 that the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel, better known as HITSP, will close shop when its contract expires Jan. 31, but John Halamka, MD, said a contract extension will keep HITSP operational until ONC awards work for the next evolution of standards development. Read »

For the most part, the American Academy of Family Physicians, an advocate for health IT, supports the meaningful use criteria that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released at the end of last year. They have an issue, however, with the reporting requirements of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Read »

The Dept. of Health and Human Services published its Interim Final Rule, "Health Information Technology: Initial Set of Standards, Implementation Specifications and Certification Criteria for Electronic Health Record Technology," which includes certification criteria for EHRs, in the Federal Register Jan. 13. Now that the standards rules for certification have been updated to align with the meaningful use criteria, when will the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) create a process to recognize certification bodies, which is required by law? Read »

I read with interest Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols' opinion piece, "EHR is health care reform we call all agree on." For the same reasons he gave, as a consumer I want a physician outside my doctor's group to know my medical history when he or she is treating me for the first time. I want him or her to know that I'm allergic to sulpha drugs, and know some other critical pieces of my medical information that would inform the treatment plan. Read »

I spoke with David J. Brailer, MD, former federal healthcare IT czar for the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC), last Friday about ARRA, meaningful use criteria and the challenges the industry faces in 2010 and beyond. Read the article in Healthcare IT News. Read »