Health care has a problem. Well, of course, it has many problems, but one of them is that the various parties involved in the health care system can't agree on who we are. Twenty years ago HIPAA called for creation of unique patient identifiers to accomplish this task, but within two years Congress put this on hold until further notice, and we're still waiting. Everyone used to use social security numbers for this purpose, until we finally figured out the folly of that (especially since that number was never intended to be used as a national identification number). The private sector continues to clamor for federal action, while CHIME launched a National Patient ID Challenge in order to come up with solutions. News flash; we already have a unique, non-government-issued identifier: it's called a cell phone number...
College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME)
See the following -
Heavyweights Lead Charge For More Time On EHR Meaningful Use
A host of heavyweight healthcare organizations is calling for HHS to back off of the requirement to meet meaningful-use criteria for all of 2015 for the federally funded electronic health-record incentive payment program, insisting that the future of the program is at stake...
- Login to post comments
HHS Proposes Path To Improve Health Technology And Transform Care
ONC issues draft nationwide health IT Interoperability Roadmap; Implementation resources also released as first deliverable...
- Login to post comments
HIMSS Suggests Stage 2 Extension
With an array of industry groups anxiously calling for a delay of meaningful use Stage 2, HIMSS has made the case for a more nuanced approach, asking federal officials to launch Stage 2 on schedule but extend year one of the attestation period. Read More »
- Login to post comments
Hospital CIOs: ONC Leadership Exodus Raises Questions About Federal HIT Priorities
Hospital CIOs expressed concern that the sudden announced departures of National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo and Deputy National Coordinator Jacob Reider potentially leave federal health IT efforts in limbo...
- Login to post comments
How Cyber Hardening Can Protect Patient Privacy And Treatment
The abundance of internet-connected devices that collect and share patient data has greatly increased the “attack surface” (where an attacker inserts or extracts data) and number of possible vulnerabilities within a system. Now that medical devices can connect to home-based routers, public Wi-Fi or cellular networks to relay data to hospitals, specialists, and care providers. In addition, the software in those devices lacks cybersecurity and can be updated and reprogrammed remotely. Thus, sensitive patient information is even more prone to data breaches, and the safety of the devices can be compromised. Recent supply chain compromises, and the migration of health applications and platforms to the cloud, also add to the threat equation. This article looks at why the medical community is so vulnerable and suggests how it can better protect life-saving equipment and sensitive data from unprecedented cyberattacks.
- Login to post comments
Is EHR data blocking really as bad as ONC claims?
Consensus that EHR vendors and profit-hungry hospitals are intentionally making it hard for patients and others to access date is based on evidence – much of it put forth by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT – that is largely anecdotal. Center for Medical Interoperability vice president Kerry McDermott says data blocking is a systemic issue because information sharing is a new practice in healthcare...
- Login to post comments
IT Blamed In Athens GA Cerner EHR Debacle
Who's to blame when EHR implementations go south? There's often enough fault to go around. But when the fallout is bad enough, sometimes self-interested parties are all too ready to point fingers. In late May, we covered the story of a $31 million Cerner rollout at Athens Regional Health System in Georgia that didn't go as planned.
- Login to post comments
Meaningful Use Problems Go Beyond Just Software, Say “Stage 2 Flexibility” Critics
The final rule for meaningful use Stage 2 flexibility, released late on Friday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), is not as popular as the government probably would have liked...
- Login to post comments
MGMA Calls For A Delay Of MU Penalties
Citing concern about vendor readiness and that "significant investments" in EHR technology could go for naught, MGMA leadership is calling on HHS for an indefinite moratorium on meaningful use penalties for physicians who have completed Stage 1 meaningful use requirements. Read More »
- Login to post comments
MGMA Urges Hold On Meaningful Use Penalties
Citing concern about vendor readiness and that "significant investments" in EHR technology could go for naught, MGMA leadership is calling on HHS for an indefinite moratorium on meaningful use penalties for physicians who have completed Stage 1 meaningful use requirements. Read More »
- Login to post comments
National Health IT Week: Celebrating HIT As An Essential Tool
Just as a carpenter finishes his work by making sure that his hammers, chisels and saws are clean, sharp and ready for the next project, so should we take pride in and look after our health IT tools and systems. In essence, that’s what we’re doing at this moment, as the health IT community convenes in Washington, DC, for National Health IT Week. Read More »
- Login to post comments
No Thanks, I Already Have a Number
- Login to post comments
Patient Groups Call For Direct To Help Accelerate Data Exchange
The Direct standard, which enables participants to send authenticated and encrypted health data directly to trusted recipients online, could help to accelerate health information exchange efforts, according to a pair of consumer coalitions. Read More »
- Login to post comments
Poor MU Showing Renews Calls For Change
A fresh batch of disheartening Stage 2 attestation numbers has prompted several industry groups to once again implore the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to shorten the meaningful use reporting period in 2015...
- Login to post comments
Practices Buried Under MU 'Avalanche'
'2015 will be an extremely challenging year for medical practices on the IT and compliance side'...
- Login to post comments