Posts Tagged ‘HIT’

A recent RAND Corporation study provides another incentive for physicians to implement electronic health care records (EHRs) — in addition to that really good one that mandates EHR meaningful use by 2014. According to the study, dedicated EHR use improves quality of care for patients and facilitates quality reporting for physicians. This, in turn, ensures eligible professionals (EPs) receive the full Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) incentive. An Ingenix survey, however, says many physicians remain skeptical that the benefits would outweigh the cost of implementing an EHR system. Read more »

In reviewing the criteria required for Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) credentialing, the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) uncovered multiple areas for concern. Many of the CCHIT requirements conflict with federal mandates for correct coding or with what AAPC promotes as appropriate coding principals.  Read more »

The group responsible for dubbing the terms “electronic health record” (EHR) and “personal health record” (PHR) says it has done all it set out to do. The National Alliance for Health Information Technology (NAHIT) will disband on Sept. 30.

“In a few short years, NAHIT has accomplished its mission: HIT has moved front and center in efforts to reinvent and reinvigorate the U.S. health system,” Jane Horowitz, NAHIT chief operating officer, said in an Aug. 17 press release.

Since its inception in 2002, NAHIT carved out several important milestones. In addition to creating key health information technology (HIT) terms for the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health IT, the NAHIT helped shape Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations on the use of bar codes for identifying medication. It also co-founded the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) and helped develop the definition of interoperability currently being used in proposed legislation on the meaningful use of EHRs.

But times are changing. “Going forward, the action is shifting from NAHIT’s focus on educating, advocating and building common ground to planning, implementing and using HIT to improving care, safety and efficiency,” says Horowitz. 

“Other organizations are better positioned to help providers with implementation,” says Horowitz. “In particular, the American Hospital Association (AHA) has close ties with hospital chief executive officers while the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is the leading industry association for chief information officers.”

The American Medical Association (AMA) paints a picture slightly less rosy. According to AMNews (Dolan, Aug. 31), the alliance has had financial problems and has undergone organizational changes leading to Horowitz being the last remaining employee.

Not all of the NAHIT’s endeavors were successful, AMNews reports. Security concerns stalled NAHIT efforts to create a unique identifier patient (UPI) system — something the AMA has actively advocated against.

The Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee reviewed at an Aug. 14 meeting in Washington, D.C. its latest recommendations for how physicians and hospital providers will be able to earn incentives for adoption and meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology. Read more »

The Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee met June 16 to begin the process of defining “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHRs).

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David Blumenthal, MD, Health and Human Services (HHS) national coordinator for health information technology (HIT), announced, May 8, the membership of the HIT Policy Committee established under the stimulus bill. The committee held its first meeting May 11 to begin planning a national HIT strategy.

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Health care stakeholders presented a plan to President Barack Obama and his administration May 11 that they say will reduce the growth rate of health care spending by 1.5 percent annually, or $250 for each American family of four each year.

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The House and Senate passed the final version of the stimulus bill (H.R. 1) Feb. 13. President Obama signed the $787 billion economic stimulus bill Tuesday. Several provisions in the bill provide additional funding for health care across a wide range of programs and initiatives. We have summarized these items for your information.

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Several AAPC members are featured in the Dec. 1 article “30 Under 30″ in the industry journal Advance for Health Information Professionals.

The magazine chose the health information management professionals because they are “primed, prepped, and certified to take on the challenges of EHR and HIT.”

AAPC certified coders featured include Alaina M. Boncher, CPC^®, from Green Bay, Wis.; Jenny Amador, CPC, of Tampa, Fla.; Jessica Rawl, CPC^®, Columbia, S.C.; Rachael Milley, CPC^®, Stuart, Fla; and Rachel Senn Wilson, CPC^®, Columbia, S.C.

Find out more about these up-and-comers on www.advanceweb.com/him.