Did You Miss Our Live Webinar? The Great Debate

On July 14, 2009, HCPLive.com blogger and author of the MDNG column “The HIT Realist,” Alberto Borges, MD, participated in a live debate with Joseph Kvedar, MD, director of the Center for Connected Health.

As experts in the area of health IT (HIT) adoption and use, Drs. Borges and Kvedar discussed how physicians can find answers to their questions about the HITECH Act, the meaning of “meaningful use,” and the connection between reimbursement and the adoption and use of health IT.

Specifically, the participants addressed the following:

• The meaning of “connected health” and how it relates to the application of communications technologies to improve patient care

• The good, the bad, and the ugly of the HITECH Act

• A recent lawsuit filed against three officials in the Obama administration, claiming that the ARRA HIT provisions unconstitutionally violate the HIPAA privacy rule, Privacy Act, and Federal Common Law

• The draft recommendations for “meaningful use” from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

• The connection between HIT adoption and quality improvements, decreased errors, and decreased costs in healthcare

• The latest certification approaches from the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT)

• The role played by CCHIT

• The lack of PHR adoption

• Interoperability of electronic records

Visit http://tinyurl.com/lweuj5 to download an audio recording of the entire event!

What’s the Center for Connected Health?

A division of Partners Health- Care in Boston, MA, the Center for Connected Health “develops innovative and effective solutions for delivering quality patient care outside of the traditional medical setting. The Center engages in pioneering research in a wide range of connected health-related areas and works to advance the field through its convening and publishing activities.”

Programs, focusing on cardiac care, dermatology, diabetes, e-visits, medication adherence, remote consultations, and more, “use a combination of remote-monitoring, online communications and intelligence, and technology applications to improve patient adherence, engagement and clinical outcomes. Participants in our programs are patients and providers at Partners-affiliated practices and hospitals throughout New England. Our programs are also being offered by large self-insured employers who wish to help employees better manage their health, to contain healthcare spending and to improve productivity and satisfaction.”

Learn more at www.connected-health.org

CHECK OUT ARCHIVES OF DR. BORGES’ “THE HIT REALIST” COLUMN AND BLOG

Congress Passed the Stimulus Bill; What Should You Do Now?

Physicians who see Medicare patients are practicing in very difficult times. The Obama administration wants to continue to not only cover the elderly who pay for an insignificant portion of their healthcare but to also add on an extra 40 million people who currently are uninsured. President Obama wants to pay for this primarily through taxing the rich and Medicare cutbacks.

www.hcplive.com/mdnglive/The_HIT_Realist/GE_healthymagination

The Kibbe/Leavitt Rumble in the High-tech Jungle!

Since CCHIT first came onto the scene back in 2006, we’ve read numerous partisan rants about the issues of HIT/CCHIT/ HIMSS, with an occasional major clash among those of us mere mortals with a strong interest in the matter. Not often do we hear of a heated personal exchange involving two of the best-known experts in the field.

www.hcplive.com/mdnglive/The_HIT_Realist/Kibbe_Leavitt

A Pragmatic View of the GE Healthymagination Initiative

On 5/7/2009 General Electric (GE) announced that it was launching a $6 billion healthcare initiative called Healthymagination, $3 billion of which will be spent over the next six years for research and development of HIT and other tools that could “lower costs and boost quality.” GE officials pledged to increase the speed and productivity of HIT by “improving the use and capacity of certified electronic health record (c-EHR) systems and related technology.”

www.hcplive.com/mdnglive/The_HIT_Realist/GE_healthymagination