Category Archives: HIE

HHS to industry: Help assess health IT networks

Posted on by
Reply

October 1, 2009 CMS Deadline to Submit Ideas on HIEs and National Exchange
Alice Lipowicz reported in FederalComputerWeek on August 21, 2009, “The Health and Human Services Department wants industry help to identify the current scope of health information exchanges and how best to foster a nationwide exchange for quality and outcome reporting.”

CMS Request for Information (RFI) posted August 20, 2009:
National Gap Analysis and Readiness Assessment for the Health Information Technology Infrastructure to Enable the Electronic Exchange of Quality Measures as part of EHR Meaningful Use
Link to RFI on FedBizOpps.gov
Excerpts from RFI Synposis :
“In preparation for the implementation of the healthcare segment of ARRA, HHS wishes to conduct a national scan of the electronic infrastructure available among all entities sharing a role in the reporting of measures, including quality measures, to potentially support meaningful EHR use in the near term and the broader exchange of health information expected with health care reform. These entities include federal agencies,…, State Medicaid agencies, other State agencies (e.g. public health departments), Health Information Exchanges/Health Information Networks, and healthcare providers.”

Nine multi-part questions cover:
1. Options to create framework for national health information infastructure, including synthesis of existing products,as well as interoperability standards, Security and privacy standards, capacity planning, existing federal and state resource investments, and draft outline of national strategy.
Requirements/ideas to develop timeline and deliverables plans for
2. National expert consensus
3. Quality reporting operations
4. CHIPRA and pediatric EHRs
5. Information flow for meaningful use date from Medicare and Medicaid providers
6. Operations between Health and quality exchanges
7. Health plan perspective for electronic exchange of quality measure
8. Alignment of measurement and data  and data transfers among  Medicare fee-for-services, Medicaid Advantage, Medicaid, and other payers
9. Description of problems, barriers with validation, manual chart collection and abstraction and strategies to ameliorate.

Key Dates for ONC Grant Submissions: Regional Centers and State HIEs; Items Due Sept 8, 11

Posted on by
Reply
Key Dates and Submission Information for
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(Excerpts only, for complete official documents and information,
go to: Overview: ONC Grants Programs Details)
FAQs on Regional Centers  Extension Program
FAQs on State Health Information Exchange Program

Health Information Technology Extension Program:
Regional Centers
Tune in to  August 27, 2009 Webcast from ONC on this program.
“The application review and funding process will be separated into three application cycles, the dates of which are outlined in the table below.  Applicants will be required to submit a preliminary application that will undergo an objective review; successful preliminary applicants will be requested to submit a full application for merit review.  Successful full applications will result in award of four-year cooperative agreements.  Initial award decisions for Regional Centers are anticipated to be made in the first quarter of FY2010.  Additional awards are expected to be made as a result of two subsequent application cycles to be completed in FY2010.” 

Initial Cycle

Approx Funding

Preliminary Application

Preliminary Approval

Full Applications

Awardee Selection
1 $189 mm Sep. 8, 2009 Sep. 29, 2009 Nov. 3, 2009 Dec. 11, 2009
2 $225 mm Dec. 22, 2009 Jan. 19, 2010 March 2, 2010 Apr. 27, 2010
3 $184 mm Jun. 1, 2010 Jun. 22, 2010 August 3, 2010 Sept. 28, 2010

State Grants to Promote Health Information Technology Planning and Implementation Projects
Executive Summary
“The State Cooperative Agreements to Promote Health Information Technology: Planning and Implementation Projects are to advance appropriate and secure health information exchange (HIE) across the health care system. Awards will be made in the form of cooperative agreements to states or qualified State Designated Entities (SDEs). The purpose of this program is to continuously improve and expand HIE services over time to reach all health care providers in an effort to improve the quality and efficiency of health care. Cooperative agreement recipients will evolve and advance the necessary governance, policies, technical services, business operations and financing mechanisms for HIE over a four year performance period. This program will build off of existing efforts to advance regional and state level HIE while moving towards nationwide interoperability.”

“Total funding for this initiative is $564,000,000. States (including territories) or their non-profit SDEs may apply, as designated by the state. No more than one award will be made per state. States may choose in enter into multi-state arrangements.”

Item to Submit Date[1] Section Reference
Letter of Intent September 11, 2009, by 5:00pm EST Section IV.B.1 – Application and Submission Information
Application October 16, 2009 by 5:00pm EST Section IV – Application and Submission Information
Award Announcements December 15, 2009 IV.A – Award Administration Information
Anticipated Project Start Date Beginning January 15, 2010 IV.A – Award Administration Information

[1] The announcements and start dates are approximate. (This footnote is associated with State Grant chart only.)

Reports on Grant Submission Programs
–John Halamka,  vice chair of the HIT Standards Committee, reported August 21, 2009, on funding for HIEs and RHITECS, pointing out HIEs will each receive support from $4 million to $40 milion, and Regional Health IT Extension Centers (RHITECs)  will each receive from $1 million to $30 million.  
–John Moore of Chilmark Research provides some “quick facts” and figures on the two grant programs on August 21, 2009.
–HIMSS does its wrapup of the week in HealthIT on August 21, 2009, including the new federal grant announcements.

HITECH Priority Grants Program Rollout Announced by ONC

Posted on by
Reply

Second Blumenthal Letter: Grants Program Rollout
News on Next Steps Toward Nationwide Health Information Exchange
August 20, 2009
A Message from Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology:

Today’s announcement from the White House regarding the rollout of the first two in a series of HITECH priority grant programs represents a critical step forward in laying the groundwork for meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs). These programs will offer valuable help to health care providers in the selection and incorporation of EHRs into clinical practice, and for States and their designates to assure that statewide information exchange is developed with an eye toward nationwide connectivity across the health care system.   See full letter.

Blumenthal’s letter goes on to describe
1. Health Information Technology Extension program funding “dozens” of centers across the country to give technical assistance to physicians and hospitals, along with a national Health Information Technology Research Center (HITRC) to coordinate best practices among the regional centers, and
2. State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement program to encourage and guide health information exchange among States and Qualified State Designated Entities (SDEs) and on a national level.

See Overview: ONC Releases Grants Program Details

DETAILS
1. Health Information Technology Regional Extension
Tune in to  August 27, 2009 Webcast from ONC on this program.
http://healthit.hhs.gov/extensionprogram
–Funding Opportunity Announcement: Health Information Technology Extension Program: Regional Centers  Cooperative Agreement Program
                    Attachment 1
–Facts-At-A-Glance [PDF]

2. State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program
–Funding Opportunity Announcement: State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program
–Facts-At-A-Glance  [PDF]

Additional Articles on Blumenthal’s Action-Packed 24+ Hours on August 19-20, 2009
Healthcare IT News’s Bernie Monegain reports on August 21, 2009 on HIT “from dawn to dusk.”
Washington Post’s Robert O’Harrow, Jr. report on  August 21, 2009 headlined “U.S. to Dole out $1.2 Billion for Health Records Technology” describes the announced grants as the “first wave of funding under a health-care reform plan to create vast records-sharing networks aimed at cutting costs and improving care in the coming decade.” In addition to quoting Vice President Joe Biden’s announcement, O’Harrow interviewed H. Stephen Lieber, the president and chief executive of HIMSS, and Carol Diamond, managing director of health at the nonprofit Markle Foundation.
Government HealthIT’s Mary Mosquera reported additional details from a teleconference Blumenthal held with media on August 20, 2009, “The regional centers will support at least 100,000 mostly small, and primary care practices through participating non-profit organizations, HHS said in its description of the grants.”

Biden, Sebelius, Blumenthal announce funding for EMR extension centers, HIE

Posted on by
Reply

Funding announced for EMR extension centers, healthcare information exhanges
Neil Versel of FierceEMR reports on August 20, 2009, “Vice President Joe Biden, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and national health IT coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal are in Chicago today to announce $1.2 billion in federal grants to promote EMR use and interoperability” out of the $2.0 billion allocated to ONC from the HITECH Stimulus funds. That’s $589 million funding allocated for grants supporting Health IT extension centers (built on Agriculture model) to assist physicians and hospitals to put EHRs in place, and $564 million to support HIEs and the national exhange network.

U.S. Grants $1.2 Billion For Electronic Health Records
Debra Sherman, reporting for Reuters and appearing in New York Times on August 20, 2009, wrote “National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal said these funds will likely be granted in three cycles over the course of 2010.” “‘This is just the first wave of resources invested in health technology aimed at transforming our paper-driven system to an electronic system over the next several years,’ said (Secretary HHS Kathleen) Sebelius, who was in Chicago to unveil the grants with (Vice President Joe) Biden.”

70 Health Technology Regional Extension Centers to be Funded
How to apply for funds to be announced August 20, 2009
Bernie Monegain, Editor of Healthcare IT News, reported on August 20, 2009, “The grants include $598 million to establish 70 health information technology regional extension centers to help hospitals and clinicians and $564 million to help states improve information sharing – expected to be made available to states for developing and supporting health information exchanges (HIEs).”  Monegain also reported that details will be announced August 20, 2009 ”how to apply for the money.”

HIT Standards Committee meets August 20, 2009

Posted on by
Reply

HIT Standards Committee meets: Washington, DC, Aug. 20, 2009
This post updated on August 24, 2009 to carry reports on the meeting.
Scheduled update on HIT Policy Committee and its Workgroups; Reports on Standards Committee’s Clinical Quality, Clinical Operations, Privacy & Security Workgroups. Recommendations from three Workgroups, with some modifications suggested at the meeting, were approved as recommendations to ONC, and a new subcommittee on adoption/implementation issues was approved.
Official Agenda and Reports.
–John Halamka, vice chair of HIT Standards Committee, reported highlights on August 20, 2009, on his blog Life as a Healthcare CIO.
–Diana Manos of HealthcareIT News’s report on August 20, 2009 is headlined “SNOMED CT will be required by 2015 for bonuses under economic recovery law.”
–Joseph Goedert’s report on August 21, 2009, in HealthData Management was headlined “HIE Data Standards Get Initial Approval,” and listed the primary content exchange standards and primary vocabulary standards.

‘Meaningful use” becomes more meaningful; Certification more delineated

Posted on by
Reply

Third time’s the charm: Committee accepts ‘meaningful use’ criteria; further defines certification process
Joseph Conn, HITS Staff writer for Modern Healthcare, reports on August 14, 2009 that HIT Policy Committee meeting in Washington, DC. accepted the recommendations of the Meaningful Use Workgroup. The Committee also accepted the five recommendations of the Certification and Adoption Workgroup, including the immediate role of CCHIT and the role of certifying entities including CCHIT after an interim period. The certification process will be focus on the accepted definitions of “meaningful use.” ‘Meaningful use’ recommendations will be finalized by the Office of National Coordinator, and will be forwarded to CMS for official rule making around the end of the year.

Fed panel’s meaningful use, certification guidance spark criticism
Diana Manos, senior editor, Healthcare IT News, reported on the HIT Policy Committee August 14, 2009 meeting, highlighting the criticism of different stakeholders. My own take, having followed previous HIT Policy Committee meetings and attending much of this one, is that great progress appears to being made in a constructive, coordinated and transparent manner, and that the working groups and committee respond to feedback in each iteration of reports and recommendations.

HealthData Management outlines Certification Recommendations and CMS Take on ‘Meaningful Use’
Joseph Goedert, of HealthData Management, reported on the August 14, 2009, HIT Policy Committee, with one story detailing the Certification recommendations, and another shedding some light on CMS thinking.

On the scene from Washington, DC, comments on CCHIT
The Certification and Adoption Workgroup co-chairs Paul Egerman and Mark Probst pointed out several times during their presentation the excellent cooperation and responsiveness of Mark Leavitt, CCHIT chair, and CCHIT, particularly in mapping out “meaningful use” criteria to CCHIT certification criteria and noting gaps. Attending much of the HIT Policy Committee meeting in Washington, DC on August 14, 2009, I can report this first hand.

Workgroup Co-Chair Says HIT Certification Process Is ‘Going Well’
Marianne McGee, Senior Writer, InformationWeek, reported August 18, 2009, on IW Healthcare Blogs on meeting and followup email interview with Certification & Adoption Workgroup co-chair Mark Probst, who is CIO, Intermountain Healthcare, Utah. Current recommendations of workgroup and larger committee should serve as reliable guide to vendors, physicians, and hospitals on “meaningful use” and certification, though final requirements will need formal approval from HHS and CMS, according to Probst. McGee does additional August 18, 2009 reporting on CCHIT and the recommendations from August 14, 2009 HIT Policy Committee meeting: HIT Certification Committee Still in Play.

HIT Policy Committee August 14, 2009 Meeting Documents
Agenda (pdf)
–Review of Meaningful Use Definition & Future Plans (ppt)
               Matrix Handout (pdf)
–Certification/Adoption Workgroup Recommendations – Specifics (ppt)
–Information Exchange Workgroup – The Scope of Federal Activity (ppt)
            See http://www.e-healthcaremarketing.com/archives/768 HIT Standards Committee – Update on Progress
–Clinical Operations Workgroup (ppt)
–Clinical Quality Workgroup (ppt)
            Matrix Handout (pdf)
–Privacy & Security Workgroup (ppt)

HIE Workgroup Makes Recommendations

Posted on by
Reply

HIT Policy Committee’s HIE Workgroup Makes Recommendations–August 14, 2009
The HIE Workgroup recommendations on August 14, 2009, (ppt) acknowledge the obstacles facing HIE and  build on the requirements necessary for exchange to “meet meaningful use and should include interoperability, privacy and security.” The workgroup suggested the types of federal action that should be taken, including the certification of HIE components, while “not recommending a separate certification pathway for HIOS” (health information organizations). The workgroup is chaired by Deven McGraw, Center for Democracy and Technology, and Micky Tripathi, Massachussetts eHealth Collaborative. The presentation was part of the HIT Policy Committee meeting held in Washington, DC, on August 14, 2009.
Presentation slide set (ppt)

Regional HIEs just as meaningful to healthcare IT

Posted on by
Reply

Recent NJ Hospital CIO makes case for additional funding of Statewide HIEs
In Modern Healthcare’s print edition and posted online August 13, 2009, Wendy Frieling, MD, MMM, until recently CIO and vp/information technology of Newton (N.J.) Memorial Hospital and currently regional account executive of PHNS, makes the case for additional funding for statewide Healthcare Information Exchanges. To provide “meaningful use” to the multiple sources of patient information, Frieling writes “The logical solution is the creation of statewide health information exchange networks and the guarantee of their financial sustainability,” recommending that the HIT Policy Committee give this high priority.

Social Security to Fund $24 Million in Contracts for Electronic Medical Records

Posted on by
Reply

Social Security to Fund $24 Million in Contract for EMRs
Proposals due September 18, 2009
Questions about RFP due August 26, 2009
Detailed project description: http://www.fbo.gov.
Solicitation Number: SSA_RFP_10_1001
Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced  on Friday, August 7, 2009 “the availability of $24 million in contracts to provide the agency with electronic medical records to improve the efficiency of its disability programs…Social Security is looking for health care providers, provider networks, and health information exchanges to participate in its Medical Evidence Gathering and Analysis through Health Information Technology (IT) program.”

As Social Security Administration describes the program “MEGAHIT automates the process of requesting and receiving electronic health records from health care providers. In August 2008, we successfully partnered with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston to provide a patient-authorized electronic health record release and accept an electronic health record response. In February 2009, we partnered with MedVirginia on the first production use of the NHIN to request and receive electronic health records. These highly successful initiatives, improved the speed and consistency of our disability decisions at our pilot offices. MEGAHIT generates administrative cost savings and may produce a significant reduction in costs of uncompensated care for our provider partners.”

Archived Federal Webinar on
“Social Security and Health IT: Get the Benefits you Deserve”
Introduction by Jim Borland, Special Advisor for Health IT, Office of the Commissioner, Social Security Administration
(Originally webcast on August 11, 2009) 
Above link to Webinar and background materials including
AmMedNews article (June 24, 2009) by Pamela Lewis Dolan: “Social Security says test proves benefits of health data exchange.”

Maryland launches HIE with $10M in startup funding; Mass. HIE starts

Posted on by
Reply

Maryland launches HIE, adding to new HIEs on East Coast
Eric Wicklund of Healthcare IT News reported on August 6, 2009, “State officials announced Wednesday the unanimous approval of up to $10 million in startup funding to support the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP), a not-for-profit membership corporation advised by a wide range of the state’s healthcare stakeholders.” Other HIE initiatives launched in last month included THICC (Transforming Healthcare in Connecticut Communities), NYCLIX (New York Clinical Information Exchange), and HealthInfoNew in Maine.
CRISP Web Site: http://www.crisphealth.org
CRISP August 5, 2009 Press Release (pdf)
CRISP Report (February 2009) Download Page
A Plan for Citizen-Centric Statewide Health Information Exchange in Maryland– complete or sections:
http://www.crisphealth.org/REPORT/tabid/75/Default.aspx
CRISP Complete Report (pdf)
Background on report from lead project manager — Audacious Inquiry
Context on CRISP Development from Audacious Inquiry

Massachusetts data exchange begins
Patty Enrado, of Healthcare IT News, reported on August 3, 2009, “HealthAlliance Hospital and Fallon Clinic are the first two healthcare organizations to go live with SAFEHealth (Secure Architecture For Exchanging Health Information), a regional health information exchange based in Worcester, Mass.”