Federal News
July 31, 2008
HHS Takes New Steps to Accelerate Adoption of Electronic Prescribing
Medicare Payments for Successful Electronic Prescribers,
Reporting Quality Data are Important Steps Toward a Value-Driven Health Care System
Medicare is starting a new program to encourage physicians to adopt e-prescribing systems. Incentive payments will be available beginning in 2009 for physicians who meet the requirements of the program. The initiative is part of the Administration’s broader efforts to accelerate the adoption of health IT and the establishment of a health care system based on value.
Beginning in 2009, and during the next four years, Medicare will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals who are successful electronic prescribers. Eligible professionals will receive a 2 percent incentive payment in 2009 and 2010; a 1 percent incentive payment in 2011 and 2012; and a one half percent incentive payment in 2013.
Beginning in 2012, eligible professionals who are not successful electronic prescribers will receive a reduction in payment. Eligible professionals may be exempted from the reduction in payment, on a case-by-case basis if it is determined that compliance with requirement for being a successful prescriber would result in significant hardship.
To read more, see the entire HHS Fact Sheet at http://www.hhs.gov/news/facts/eprescribing.html.
July 24, 2008
Lawmakers, Hospital Group Push for More Changes to EHR Bill
Some lawmakers and stakeholders say a modified version of a health IT bill (HR 6357) passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday does not go far enough to alleviate concerns, CongressDaily reports (Noyes, CongressDaily, 7/23).
The bill, called the Protecting Records, Optimizing Treatment and Easing Communication Through Healthcare Technology Act, would provide more than $560 million in grants and loans to help health care providers adopt electronic health records and other health IT systems. The legislation also is intended to strengthen federal patient security and privacy laws (DoBias, Modern Healthcare, 7/23)...
To read the entire article go to http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2008/7/24/Lawmakers-Hospital-Group-Push-for-More-Changes-to-EHR-Bill.aspx?topicID=54
July 11, 2008
House Leaders Debate Privacy Provisions of Bill To Boost EHRs
Privacy is a central point in negotiations for a bill (HR 6357) that would create a national electronic health record system, according to House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas), CongressDaily reports.
Speaking at a privacy conference on Thursday, Barton said committee leaders hope to vote on the bill before the August recess. Barton introduced the bill with committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.).
Barton said that while discussions in the committee are focused on privacy protections, "the problem is determining what privacy is" in the legislative sense. Barton said that he and Dingell have been "going round and round" with House Health Subcommittee Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and ranking member Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) to determine what language to include.
Senate Bill
A similar bill (S 1693), introduced in 2007 by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and ranking member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), also could progress soon, according to Democratic and Republican aides.
However, a Kennedy spokesperson said a few outstanding concerns with the bill need to be addressed.
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and other GOP lawmakers object to the $137 million authorization level.
In addition, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) has said the bill should include provisions that require individuals who use or maintain the EHR system to alert authorities about patient data leaks and fine those who mishandle the data. Snowe also wants to increase the number of consumer representatives on the 18-member American Health Information Community advisory board from one to three.
The Bush administration has voiced opposition to changing the board's composition (Noyes, CongressDaily, 7/11).
Source: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2008/7/11/House-Leaders-Debate-Privacy-Provisions-of-Bill-To-Boost-EHRs.aspx?topicID=54#
June 26,2008
House Subcommittee OKs Measure Aiming To Boost EHR Adoption
On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health by voice vote approved a bill (HR 6357) that aims to encourage nationwide adoption of an electronic health record system, but it could face obstacles in winning passage in the larger committee, Government Health IT reports (Ferris, Government Health IT, 6/25).
The bill would authorize $575 million annually through fiscal year 2013 to provide grants and loans for health care providers to purchase health ITsystems. The measure also would codify the office of the National Coordinator for Health IT at HHS, and it would establish a process for developing technical standards for health IT.
In addition, the bill would require health care providers and other authorities to inform patients within 60 days if the security of their personal health data has been breached (Gruenwald, CongressDaily, 6/26).
Federal health offices and divisions would be required to begin using EHRs as soon as the standards have been established (Wayne, CQ Today, 6/25).
Privacy Concerns
According to CongressDaily, patient privacy protections "were the subject of the most heated debate" during the subcommittee meeting, "with some Democrats arguing that the bill does not provide enough protection" and "some GOP critics contending that it would go too far and discourage use of health IT."
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) called for a provision that would allow patients and state attorneys to sue those who improperly use or distribute patient health data (CongressDaily, 6/26).
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said that while he supported the legislation, it also could deter physicians, hospitals, pharmacies and other medical facilities and professionals from using EHRs because it lacks provisions for legal liability protections that would create opportunities for lawsuits (CQ Today, 6/25).
Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) said the bill's provisions should be flexible to facilitate advancements in technology because "the large private companies that are working on this are likely to come up with solutions that we never thought possible." Burgess said there should be a uniform definition of privacy (CongressDaily, 6/25).
Subcommittee Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said he hopes the House Energy and Commerce Committee approves the $575 million measure before the congressional recess in August, and committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.), who introduced the bill along with committee ranking member Joe Barton (R-Texas), said he hopes for final approval in the fall (CongressDaily, 6/25).
Source: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2008/6/26/House-Subcommittee-OKs-Measure-Aiming-To-Boost-EHR-Adoption.aspx?topicID=54
June 3, 2008
Coodinated Federal Health IT Strategic Plan Released
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has just released a four-year plan for advancing HIT. The plan identifies two areas of emphasis: patient-focused healthcare and population health.
A copy of the complete plan as well as a plan synopsis can be found at www.hhs.gov/healthit or click on
HHS HIT Strategic Plan (.pdf 679KB)
HHS HIT Strategic Plan Summary (.pdf 501KB)
Source: ONC - National Coordinator for Health IT News
May 28, 2008
House proposes bill to help small physician practices pay for health IT
Members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce proposed a bill to help doctors pay for healthcare IT and improve patient privacy protection.
Source: Healthcare IT News
|
