Meaningful Use
The HIT Policy Committee's Quality Measures Workgroup is taking recommendations from the public until Dec. 23 on clinical quality measures for Stage 2 and Stage 3 meaningful use.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is establishing several "communities of practice" to help its Beacon program establish clinical decision support technologies, care transitions programs, and pharmacy solutions and tools in healthcare improvement projects.
The White House has called for a "universal exchange language" to enable healthcare providers to share health information in real time, in order to modernize and coordinate diagnosis and treatment while incorporating privacy and security of personal data.
A Department of Health and Human Services advisory panel wants feedback from the public about concepts it has developed for clinical quality measures for meaningful use in 2013 and 2015.
The American Hospital Association is urging the Office of the National Coordinator to relax its rules on meaningful use so EHRs do not have to be certified against all 24 criteria, arguing that the requirement is inconsistent since hospitals are required to report on 19 measures.
In West Texas, where unemployment is at 2 percent, the popular chain Chili's had to close some of its restaurants because there were not enough employees to fill the jobs. Imagine what it's like for a healthcare system in that part of the country to recruit IT staff, says Gary L. Barnes, CIO of Medical Center Health System in Odessa, Tex.
The regional extension centers (RECs) were a main focus for healthcare IT stakeholders this year.
The proposed meaningful use criteria up for public comment reflected “thoughtful policy,” David Brailer, MD, told Healthcare IT News shortly after the government made the rule public on Dec. 30, 2009.
Radiologists are eligible for meaningful use government incentives, and Belgium-based Agfa HealthCare announced Monday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America that it would help its customers achieve meaningful use with its IMPAX RIS technology.
Identity management in healthcare was a hot topic at the Smart Card Alliance 9th Annual Smart Cards in Government Conference held last week in Washington. Controlling access to healthcare records, particularly when it comes to consent, was an issue recognized by experts as requiring more innovation.