HIMSS Pulse on Public Policy

December 2009 SUBSCRIBE

>> Congressional News

Senate Plans Vote on Healthcare Reform Legislation
With Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) announcing his support for H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, the Senate is now expected to pass healthcare reform on Christmas Eve. The Manager's Amendment, a package of amendments to H.R. 3590, includes several items related to health IT, such as:  directing the Secretary of HHS to establish an overall strategic framework for the public reporting of quality measures (integrating health IT in the efforts); calling for the establishment of a crosswalk between ICD-9 and ICD-10 (updating the crosswalk as appropriate to reflect new revisions of the International Classification of Diseases) and the posting of the crosswalk on the CMS Web site; and requiring the Secretary of HHS to award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities to establish national centers of excellence for depression to engage in activities related to the treatment of depressive disorders. Among many things, each Center shall use EHRs and telehealth technology to better coordinate and manage, and improve access to care.

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Rep. Kennedy Introduces PHR Legislation
Earlier this month, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) has introduced H.R. 4216, the Personal Health Record Act of 2009, a bill to accelerate the use of personal health records (PHRs) by individuals and their providers in order to further engage individuals in their medical care, reduce healthcare costs, and avoid medical errors.  The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. David Reichert (R-WA), and Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-LA), and has been referred to the House Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means Committees. 

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>> In the News

Get Ready for Meaningful Use and Certification Criteria and Standards Regulations
When the Meaningful Use and Certification Criteria and Standards Regulations are released by CMS and ONC, be sure to check out breaking news, along with HIMSS analyses and resources, on the HIMSS meaningful use Web page.  Upon release of the regulations, HIMSS will launch a series of educational webinars – complimentary for HIMSS members.

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Public Policy & Regulatory Educational Opportunities at HIMSS10
New general education topic categories, such as Economic Stimulus, Globalization and Regulatory Compliance, as well as Pre-Conference Education around various ARRA topics have been added to an already dynamic line-up at HIMSS10. From achieving meaningful use to usability to certification to HITECH, there are education sessions to answer senior IT executives’, clinicians’ and health IT professionals’ pressing questions and challenges.  In addition, there will be panel discussions and forums featuring top government policymakers providing important updates on the latest health IT initiatives and policies within the federal, public and private sectors.

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NHIN Workgroup Holds First Meeting
The first meeting of the HIT Policy Committee’s NHIN Workgroup focused on the first of six fundamental components of the NHIN that have been identified by ONC — directories and certificates.  Subsequent meetings will focus on other components including vocabulary standards, document/message standards, delivery protocols, authentication, and security and trust relationship.  The next meeting on January 7, 2010 will focus on authentication processes.

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HIMSS Presents at NCVHS Standards Subcommittee
Joe Miller, Chairperson of the HIMSS Financial Systems Steering Committee, represented HIMSS as a panelist at a meeting of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) Subcommittee on Standards, which focused on “Industry Preparations for the Updated HIPAA Standards and Code Sets.” He presented the results of the HIMSS Provider Survey on 5010 and ICD-10 Progress and also presented on common themes from the week, including the need for: (1) external outreach; (2) education via the Web and companion guides; (3), the importance of gauging industry readiness and the need for readiness assessments; (4) the need to raise awareness among small providers; (5) the need for everyone to be committed to the mandated 2013 compliance date—and the need to stay on schedule; and (6) that business practices are going to be effected by the transition.  HIMSS Board Member Miriam Paramore, FHIMSS, presented testimony on Emdeon’s priorities for the implementation process. To learn more about HIMSS activities on 5010 and ICD-10, visit this HIMSS Web page.

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ONC Announces Reorganization
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released a Federal Register announcement detailing their new organizational structure. ONC will consist of the Immediate Office of the National Coordinator; the Office of Economic Modeling and Analysis; the Office of the Chief Scientist; the Office of the Deputy National Coordinator for Programs & Policy; the Office of the Deputy National Coordinator for Operations; and the Office of the Chief Privacy Officer. HIMSS expects announcements on the new directors of these offices shortly.

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HIT Policy Committee Meets
The HIT Policy Committee held its December meeting in Washington, DC. In his opening remarks, Dr. David Blumenthal of the ONC took the opportunity to begin focusing on the policy imperatives that will help ONC advance adoption of health IT and encourage exchange of health information in an electronic format.  Click here for HIMSS’ notes of the meeting.

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Obama Announces Grants to Community Healthcare Organizations
President Obama announced that the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will administer nearly $600 million in awards to support construction and healthcare IT projects in Community Health Centers around the country. "Community health centers are a model for comprehensive primary care in the community,” said Dr. Fred Rachman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer for the Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services, and Chair of the HIMSS Community Health Center Task Force.  “These awards will continue the promotion of the ‘medical home’ along with the adoption and use of health information technology to improve the health status of our communities.  These awards to community health centers truly will support the creation of local jobs with, for and by our communities to  promote accessible, continuous, and coordinated family-centered care with the support of health information technologies."  HIMSS recognizes excellence in health information technology for community health centers with its annual Davies Award. 

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Seven States Awarded Stimulus Funds to Prepare for EHR Incentive Payments
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has awarded more than $17 million in matching funds to seven states and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  The funds awarded to California, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, New York, and Texas will be used by the states to help plan the systems needed to manage incentive payments to Medicaid providers who demonstrate meaningful use of electronic health records.  Those payments are expected to begin in 2011.

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ONC Launches Beacon Community Programs
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that HHS and ONC will release $235 million in funding for the Beacon Community Program. ONC will award cooperative agreements to 15 healthcare communities that have EHR adoption rates well higher than the national average. Those communities would be required to define, track, and report on progress toward concrete, measurable health and efficiency goals and the meaningful use criteria goals that will be set by CMS, while closely collaborating with the State HIE Cooperative and Regional Extension Center to share lessons learned. Applications are due on February 1, 2010.

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ONC Addresses HIT Workforce Development
On December 2, ONC also announced two workforce development initiatives. The first, called the Community College Consortia to Educate Health Information Technology Professionals, is a $70 million program designed to provide grant funding to community colleges that would create an intensive 6-month-long certification for health IT professionals in six fields:  Practice workflow and information management redesign specialists; clinician/practitioner consultants; implementation support specialists; implementation managers; technical/software support staff; and trainers. The goal of the program is to create 10,500 new health IT professionals to face the workforce shortages for health IT that currently exist and will be exacerbated by the adoption and meaningful use of EHRs as result of ARRA. The application deadline is January 22, 2010.
The second ONC workforce initiative is the Curriculum Development Centers Program. ONC will provide $10 million to five grant winners to develop centers that will create and support curriculum for the Community College Consortia to Educate Health IT Professionals grant recipients. The application deadline is January 14, 2010.

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ONC Announces SHARP Grants
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has announced that it will offer $60,000,000 in Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Project (SHARP) awards to support four cooperative agreements (one-time funding for a four-year project period).  The purpose of the program “is to fund research focused on achieving breakthrough advances that are needed to address well-documented problems that have impeded the adoption of health IT.  The research will also accelerate progress towards achieving nationwide meaningful use of health information technology in support of a high-performing, learning health care system.”

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AHRQ Releases Funds for Comparative Effectiveness Research
The Agency for Healthcare Research Quality (AHRQ) has announced $44 million in available grant funding for five research projects that will deliver data to the ARRA funded Prospective Outcome Systems Using Patient-specific Electronic data to Compare Tests and Therapies (PROSPECT) initiative. The PROSPECT initiative has a goal to advance the quality, depth and scale of the electronic data collection infrastructure as a basis for comparative effectiveness research. AHRQ also released an additional $4 million in ARRA funding to contract a private or public non-profit to convene an Electronic Data Methods (EDM) Forum. The forum will be designed to convene PROSPECT researchers to identify challenges to conducting comparative effectiveness research utilizing electronic health data. The deadline for applications for both grants is January 20, 2010.

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HIMSS Federal Health Community Hears from Veterans Administration CTO
Dr. Peter L. Levin, Senior Advisor to the Secretary, and Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs, keynoted the HIMSS Federal Health Community December meeting. The presentation, "Executive Outlook on VA and Federal Leadership for the Way Ahead in the Health IT Mission," provided members of the Federal Health Community an inside look at the VA's plans for sustaining the successes of VISTA (the VA's electronic medical record) while identifying five areas of focus to continue to improve VISTA. Dr. Levin stated that future incarnations of VISTA must be extendable, sealable, have the ability to be modified, flexible, Web accessible, and that the product must have the trust and confidence of both end users and Wounded Warriors who are VA beneficiaries. For more information on the HIMSS Federal Health Community, please contact Jonathan French.

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NIST and AHRQ Update HIMSS Members on Collaborative Usability Initiative
The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) teamed up to update HIMSS Government Relations Roundtable members on a new collaborative usability initiative going on at NIST and AHRQ. The initiative, lead by Svetlana Lowery and Matt Quinn, is focused on an initial goal of developing industry compliance with healthcare IT usability research. Long term, NIST and AHRQ will push for development of voluntary usability guidance for industry, with possible mandatory compliance with usability standards in the distant future.

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Learn More about the Federal Meal Plan at HIMSS10
The Federal Meal Plan at HIMSS10 is a meal package designed exclusively for federal employees that affords the opportunity to participate in networking meals at HIMSS10 while maintaining adherence to federal ethics guidelines for food and drink per diem. The package allows federal employees to make one singular purchase that provides access to on-site networking breakfast, lunches, and dinners at HIMSS10 Annual Conference. 

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>> State News

Pennsylvania Reveals HIE Plan
The Governor’s Office of Health Reform has issued a draft strategic plan for the Pennsylvania Health Information Exchange (PHIX).  The proposed strategic plan outlines the state’s strategy to increase health information sharing among healthcare providers, and support providers’ efforts to attain meaningful use of EHRs in order to qualify for federal incentive funds.

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Wisconsin Creates New eHealth Board
Governor Jim Doyle has signed an executive order creating the Wisconsin Relay of Electronic Data (WIRED) for Health Board to develop a structure for a statewide health information exchange by June 1, 2010.  The 14-member board will consist of representatives of a commercial payer, a patient or consumer organization, hospitals, physicians, the business community, pharmacies, laboratories, higher education, quality/health organizations, public health, Medicaid and the State Chief Information Officer.  Wisconsin is receiving $9.44 million in ARRA funds to support its efforts to create a state HIE. 

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Project HITCh Newsletter Covers State HIT & HIE Activities
The National Association of State Legislatures (NCSL) has released the December 2009 issue of its Project HITCh e-newsletter, which covers HIT & HIE activities in the states.  Project HITCh is NCSL’s Health Information Technology Champions (HITCh) project, initiated in 2006 to create a base for continuing policy analyses by developing a core of legislative expertise related to health IT policy across states and at NCSL.

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NCSL Forecasts Top Legislative Issues for 2010
The National Conference of State Legislators has just released its annual top 10 issues for the coming year.  The Top 10 Issues of 2010 examines the pressing and important topics on state legislative agendas. This list is an overview of some of the top issues expected to cross state lines and be dominant themes next year in state legislative sessions.  Fiscal issues dominate the list, which also includes “managing health costs and coverage” and “expanding broadband access.”

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In Their Own Words

“Health care providers across the nation lag far behind almost every other kind of business in using electronic data to better manage what they do.  The creation of a health information exchange will mark a huge step in transforming Pennsylvania’s health care industry from one using paper records to one using electronic data which, ultimately, reduces the costs of health care.  Having a statewide health information exchange brings us closer to realizing a 21st Century medical system, [which] allows the focus to return to the patient and not on the paperwork.”

- Ann S. Torregrossa, Director
Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of Health Care Reform

HIMSS Government Relations Tools Keep You In the Know
The HIMSS  Public Policy Center provides HIMSS members with a number of tools to keep up with health IT, stimulus funding, and healthcare reform activities on Capitol Hill and at the White House, including updates on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, HIMSS Fact Sheets, the Legislative Action Center, and the complimentary monthly e-newsletter, HIMSS Pulse on Public Policy, for timely insight into HIT policy in Washington and around the nation and how it might affect you. If you have plans to be in Washington, DC, the HIMSS Government Relations staff would be happy to help you arrange meetings with your elected officials; please visit the HIMSS Government Relations Toolkit. If you would like to become more involved with HIMSS public policy activities, contact the HIMSS Government Relations team.

By the Numbers

HIMSS Security Survey Says Health Orgs Not Ready for Security Challenges
With ARRA underway, healthcare organizations face new challenges to maintain privacy and security of patient health data. However, data gathered from healthcare IT and security professionals indicate that many organizations may not be ready to meet some of the HITECH components of the ARRA legislation and other security challenges, according to the results of the 2009 HIMSS Security Survey, sponsored by Symantec Corp.

HIMSS Analytics Survey: Healthcare "Business Associates" Unprepared for Data Breach
In a national survey of hospitals and business associates to check the state of healthcare vulnerability to data breach, HIMSS Analytics found that approximately one-third of business associates surveyed were not aware that they need to adhere to federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy and security requirements, compared to 87 percent of health providers. 

EHRs May Improve Quality in Hospitals That Care for the Poor
The findings of a national survey “suggest that adopting EHRs should be a major policy goal of health reform measures targeting hospitals that serve large populations of poor patients.”  The study, “Evidence Of An Emerging Digital Divide Among Hospitals That Care For The Poor,” showed that hospitals that provide care for large numbers of poor patients had minimal use of EHRs and also lagged in quality; however, those with EHRs appear to have eliminated the quality gap. 

On HealthReform.Gov
A Success Story in American Health Care: Using Health Information Technology to Improve Patient Care in a Community Health Center in Washington, examines how the Columbia Basin Health Association in Othello, WA—a HIMSS Davies Award winner—uses health information technology to improve health care quality and patient safety as well as promote care coordination and continuity.

Tools & Resources

Member Only Benefit: Congressional Research Service Reports
CRS Report for Congress: A Comparative Analysis of Private Health Insurance Provisions of H.R. 3962 and S.Amdt. 2786 to H.R. 3590 (December 2009)

CRS Report for Congress: Health Care Reform and Small Business (November 2009)

CRS Report for Congress: Medicare Program Changes in H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act (November 2009)

To access other CRS Reports, visit HIMSS PULSE in the HIMSS Member Center (scroll down).

HIMSS Introduces New RSS Feeds
Making it even easier to stay current with easily accessible and updated information, HIMSS introduces two new RSS feeds - Ambulatory Information Systems and Clinical Informatics.  Other available feeds include HIMSS News, Healthcare Reform Updates, Physician Community Podcasts, and Government Health IT.  These feeds offer another way to get HIMSS content; subscribe to get the latest news, announcements and multimedia - delivered directly to your favorite feed reader and updated regularly. The HIMSS Web site offers step-by-step instructions on how to sign up.

Member Only Benefit: HIMSS Grants Advantage 
HIMSS Grants Advantage subscription service provides information on identifying funding initiatives and the steps needed to apply and succeed in the entire grants life cycle, including identification, submission, award receipt, reporting and closure. Grants Advantage can help you find funding resources in categories that include health IT; facility planning and construction; health services planning; specialized health research; education; and veterans’ health.  Learn more about the benefits of subscribing to HIMSS Grants Advantage.

Make Good Decisions for EMR Strategies with Guidelines from HIMSS Analytics
As the nation continues its journey toward adoption of the electronic medical record, hospitals must understand and meet the funding requirements established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  A new HIMSS Analytics white paper, The State of US Hospitals Relative to Achieving Meaningful Use Measurements, offers an overview of market gaps that must be addressed to achieve ARRA compliance.

Tool Measures Your Organization’s EMR Adoption Progress
Find out your EMR Adoption Model^SM score and optimize ARRA funding. By knowing your score you will have a valuable tool to measure yourself against your peers’ progress in adopting EMR and other healthcare technologies. This number will help you more effectively plan and execute your EMR strategies—and chart your path for achieving "meaningful use" dollars as part of ARRA funding. To find out your EMRAM score, all you need to do is participate in the HIMSS Analytics annual study. To get started, contact Patti Harris at 312-638-9460. Or visit the HIMSS Analytics Web site for more information.

HIMSS JobMine®
Whether you're actively looking for a new position or simply waiting to be approached with a great opportunity, HIMSS JobMine® helps you stay focused on the healthcare industry. And if you’re looking for high quality candidates, HIMSS JobMine® gives you direct access to the best in the industry.

Calendar of Events

Jan 15, 2010
The ARRA Era—Chicago

March 1-3, 2010
HIMSS Interoperability Showcase

March 1-4, 2010
HIMSS10

Northern California HIMSS Chapter - Meaningful Use
Join the Northern California HIMSS Chapter on January 28, 2010 for an update on Meaningful Use - A State and National Goal.

HIMSS State Chapters Plan 2010 Advocacy Days
The Virginia HIMSS Chapter is planning its annual State Advocacy Day for February 4, 2010.  The Maryland Chapter has scheduled its State Advocacy Day for February 17, 2010.  To schedule an Advocacy Day in your state, contact Tom Keefe, HIMSS Senior Director of State Government Relations.

Save the Date for HIMSS 9th Annual Policy Summit!
With the continuing emphasis on the role of information technology in healthcare transformation and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, it’s more important than ever to become better educated on health IT policy and engage with your elected officials. The HIMSS 9th Annual Policy Summit will be held June 16-17, 2010, in Washington, DC.

 

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