 In Their Own Words | By the Numbers | HIMSS Making History | Congressional News January 12, 2006 In Their Own Words“There are many more potential breakthroughs in health information than we can take on right now. The ones we picked will create benefits for people fairly quickly, and when they are completed, we will choose more to create a wave of innovation that lasts year after year. For instance, once we get the medication history up and running, we could add lab and radiology data. The drugs are first priority, since medication errors and drug allergy errors have caused so many health problems.” Source: Statement by David Brailer, MD, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, in an article from United Press International, December 22, 2005. By the NumbersComputer Technology Saving Insurers Millions $228 million: The amount saved and recovered by BlueCross BlueShield Association through the use of information technology in 2004. The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association estimates that at least 3% of the country’s $1.7 trillion annual healthcare outlay is lost to fraud. Source: The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association.HIMSS Making HistoryHIMSS Members Meet with Key White House and OMB Staff On December 20, ten HIMSS members met at the White House in a collaboration meeting with Lance Leggitt, Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and Karen Evans, Administrator of E-Government and Information Technology Office, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to discuss HIT issues. "It was somewhat surreal to think that HIMSS first launched its advocacy initiative just a little over five years ago and here we are today meeting in the White House with the President's key HIT policy advisors on our members' advocacy agenda," said Dave Roberts, HIMSS Vice President, Government Relations. The group’s discussion focused on the value of standards, interoperability and IHE to transforming healthcare and the importance of consistent full funding for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. There was also discussion on the importance of pay for performance and working with the American Health Information Community (AHIC). A special thanks to HIMSS Advocacy & Public Policy Steering Committee Vice Chair Ned McCulloch for arranging this key meeting. Other attendees included Mary Griskewicz, Committee Chair; Hugh Zettel, EHRVA Advocacy Liaison; Janet Stanek, Committee member; Dan Blum, Chair, HIMSS Chapter Advocacy Liaison Roundtable; Maggie Lohnes, Committee member; David St. Clair, CEO, MEDecision and Member, HIMSS Board of Directors; Howard Burde, Blank Rome; and Carla Smith, HIMSS Executive Vice President. Congressional NewsReauthorization of 27 Major Health Bills Expected in the Second Session of 109th Congress Congress will consider the reauthorization of some 27 major healthcare bills in the Second Session of the 109th Congress, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering Establishment Act; the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; Minority Health & Health Disparities Research and Education; the Public Health Improvement Act; the Children’s Health Act; the Poison Control Center Enhancement and Awareness Act; the Health Professional Education Partnership Act; the Women’s Health Research and Prevention Amendments Act; and the National Bone Marrow Registry. As the U.S. Congress adjourned on December 18, Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) introduced H.R. 4642, the Wired for Health Care Quality Act. The legislation is identical to S. 1418, which passed the U.S. Senate on November 18, 2005 and is supported by HIMSS’ Board of Directors. H.R. 4642 was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and has no co-sponsors to date. The legislation directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to recommend uniform technology standards for the federal government to adopt and establishes grants to hospitals and other providers for technology use and to educational centers to train healthcare professionals to use technology. “HIMSS members and our collaborative partners are energized about the interest in transforming healthcare using information technology and management systems,” said Dave Roberts. "The President and the Congress are pushing key initiatives to improve healthcare and save lives. HIMSS members recently met at the White House with key aides and are working with multiple national and state level stakeholders to ensure that some of these initiatives become reality." Other legislation that must be reauthorized in 2006 are Birth Defects Prevention, Food and Drug Administration Modernization, Prevent Health Amendments, National Institutes of Health Revitalization, ADAMHA Reorganization, Transplant Amendments, Public Health Service Act, Titles X and XX, Project Bioshield, Health Care Safety Net Amendments, Rare Diseases Orphan Product Development, Rare Diseases Act of 2002, Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response, Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Health Professions Education Partnership Act, Child Care Development Block Grant (tied with TANF), Health Professions Educational Assistance Act (Title VII of PHSA), and the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act.
The FY06 Budget passed by the Senate last month in a 51-50 vote froze the anticipated 4.4% Medicare reimbursement cuts to physicians that had been slated to take effect in January 2006. The budget bill, which also cuts Medicare and Medicaid benefits for the first time in eight years, proved controversial. In the Senate, Vice President Richard Cheney cast the tie-breaking vote. While the cuts for Medicare and Medicaid are unpopular, Justin T. Barnes, vice president of marketing and government affairs for Greenway Medical Technologies and a member of HIMSS EHR Vendors Association, told Healthcare IT News, “The freeze on physician reimbursement cuts bodes well for healthcare IT.” The House of Representatives must repass the Senate version of this legislation when it returns the end of January and make this freeze retroactive to January 1, 2006.
Prior to adjourning for the holidays, the U.S. Congress passed the FY06 (October 1, 2005 - September 30, 2006) HHS appropriations bill to fund the department's programs including the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), which received $61,700,000. The funds will be used as follows: $42,800,000 for expenses necessary for ONC, including grants, contracts and cooperative agreements for the development and advancement of an interoperable national HIT infrastructure; and $18,900,000 will be available from section 241 of the Public Health Service Act to carry out HIT network development. The conference agreement does not include general provision language proposed by the Senate or similar language proposed by the House prohibiting the use of funds provided in the Act to implement any strategic plan that does not require a patient whose information is maintained by HHS to be given notice if it is lost, stolen or used for another purpose. However, the conferees underscored the importance of consumer confidence in the privacy and security of their personal health information as a fundamental principle in all actions taken to carry out the HHS HIT strategic plan. HHS has funded a “Privacy and Security Solutions for Interoperable Health Information Exchange” contract to study and address variations in state law and business practices related to privacy and security that may pose challenges to interoperable health information exchange. Funds are included for ONC to continue its work to evaluate and initiate solutions, including those that will maintain the security and privacy protections for personal health information, as part of HHS’ activities in carrying out its HIT strategic plan. The conferees requested a report within 90 days describing how HHS plans to implement this section. In the NewsNew Health IT Office Created in the Health Resources and Services Administration HHS Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has officially created an Office of Health IT, which will determine how the agency’s programs will support HHS’ HIT goals. HRSA is focusing on using HIT in the agency’s programs for the nation’s poor, uninsured and special needs populations. The office will have three major components: a Division of Health IT Policy; an Office for the Advancement of Telehealth; and a Division of Health IT State and Community Assistance. Cheryl Austein-Casnoff assumed her role as director of the office in early December 2005. HIMSS staff met with Ms. Austein-Casnoff in November to discuss HIMSS, the Public Health Davies Award, and the Society’s HIT initiatives. A member of the HRSA staff is expected to attend HIMSS 2006 in San Diego.
In a December 20 letter to the HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt, NCVHS Chairman Simon Cohn, MD, MPH, (an advisory member of the HIMSS Board of Directors) recommended that the department allow physicians to use the newer Script Standard Implementation Guide Version 8.1, instead of Script 5.0. Cohn wrote, “Script 8.1 contains slightly more functionality than Script 5.0 but does not incorporate significant changes from Script 5.0.” The final e-prescribing standards were issued in October and published in the November 7 Federal Register as a prelude to the January 1 start of the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit.
State NewsKen Yale Appointed to Maryland State Task Force to Study Electronic Health Records Ken Yale, DDS, JD, a member of HIMSS Advocacy and Public Policy Steering Committee, has been appointed by Governor Robert Erhlich to serve on the State Task Force to Study Electronic Health Records.
On January 5, Kentucky State Senator Dan Kelly (R) introduced SB 58 which amends KRS 11.550 to increase membership of the state’s Telehealth Board by including the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in the Office for Health and Family Services. The Board will consist of ten members including the CIO (or a designee) of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and five members appointed at large by the governor. The purpose of the board is to develop a telehealth network to coordinate with training centers in no more than 25 rural sites. The legislation also calls for the establishment of standards and protocols for the training centers.
Indiana Senate Bill 210 requires a healthcare facility to file with an agency selected by the Department of Health patient safety incident reports concerning certain acts that cause or could have caused harm to a patient. Introduced by State Senator Gary P. Dillon, MD (R), the bill also allows other persons to file patient safety incident reports and makes the reports and certain other information confidential.
Patient Safety legislation (SB2294) introduced on January 5 by State Senator Bob M. Dearing (D) would require the development of a patient safety program for hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers and mental hospitals. Other provisions include annual reporting to the state health officer on certain errors and occurrences; whistleblower protections for certain employees; the identification and tracking of hospital acquired infections; and penalties (termination of licensure and/or fines) for violation of the act. Questions and AnswersQ: What is Jefferson’s Manual?A: In Congress, basic rules of parliamentary procedure adopted by both chambers. Calendar of EventsAmerican Health Information Community Meeting Tuesday, January 17, 2006 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Third meeting to advise the Secretary of HHS and recommend specific actions to achieve a common interoperability framework for HIT. Note: A webcast of the third Community meeting will be available on the NIH Web site at: http://www.videocast.nih.gov/. If you have special needs for the meeting please contact Amanda Smith at Amanda.Smith@hhs.gov. or (202) 690-7385.
February 12 – 16, 2006 Visit www.himss.org/ASP/conference_calendar.asp to view other activities in the healthcare information technology arena.
The HIMSS’ Physicians Adopting Computer Technology (PACT) Conference is a one-day event, launched in 2004, that features a distinguished group of award-winning, nationally recognized presenters who bring home the realities of the electronic health record (EHR). Exhibitors can take advantage of this exclusive opportunity to showcase their product to this targeted audience. During the conference, physician attendees hear from colleagues who have succeeded in EHR implementation and who are eager to share their real-world implementation experience in their own practices. Each PACT conference is designed to attract physicians in small (1-4 physicians) and large (10+ physicians) practices, as well as technology professionals, office managers and administrators who are responsible for EHR decision-making. The 2006 PACT conferences will be held on the following dates: March 11 – Denver, Colo.; March 18 – New York, N.Y.; March 25 – San Francisco, Calif.; April 22 – Dearborn, Mich.; May 6 – Kingsport, Tenn.; and June 24 – Boston, Mass. Share Your EHR Solution with Physicians - Exhibit at PACT. Visit our web site, www.himss.org/pact. Exhibitors should also contact Kelly Laidler via email, klaidler@himss.org, or at (312) 915-9285.
The HIMSS Pulse on Public Policy is your source for timely, comprehensive coverage and analysis of the Washington scene. We hope you enjoy the HIMSS Pulse on Public Policy. If your HIMSS colleagues want to permanently subscribe to each and every complimentary edition of HIMSS Pulse, have them click here to register. HIMSS Goverment Relations Team |