Healthy Patients Through Health Technology
The final rule on meaningful use can be found online here
The final rule on standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for EHR technology can be found online here
This past Thursday ITIF hosted an event entitled “Leading Innovations in Healthcare Technology.” Rob Atkinson of ITIF and Robert Epstein of Medco engaged the room in a discussion centered on the history and current policy of pharmaceutical research and healthcare IT in the United States. The two discussed the advent of personalized medical treatment and the possibility of targeted gene therapy for different types of cancer.
Posted On: July 29, 2010The House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee held a hearing on Tuesday, July 27, 2010, in 2322 Rayburn House Office Building entitled “Implementation of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act.”
Several major insurance companies have pilot programs for a self-monitoring system for patients managing congestive heart failure. Patients are able to take simple readings such as weight, blood pressure and other key metrics, which can then be transmitted to a case manager or care provider. Health care providers can catch any warning signs before patients are forced to go to the ER with anything from shortness of breath to a health attack.
Writing to the Baltimore Sun, David Horrocks of the Chesapeake Regional Information System for Our Patients and Dr. Murray Kalish, an anesthesiologist and the president of MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society, detailed the recent “meaningful use” rules from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and how they can work for the State of Maryland.
Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services attending a hearing by the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee to discuss the new “meaningful use” standards, requirements and expectations that health providers must meet when applying for funding to pay for the adoption of the e-records.
One of the largest obstacles involved in converting patient information to an electronic format is the incompatible IT platforms and software used by health care systems and providers. However, a new service created by Verizon will soon make this information available using cloud computing.
Yesterday, the FCC held its July Open Commission meeting. The purpose was to discuss various Notices of Proposed Rulemaking, including a NPRM on the Universal Service Rural Health Care Fund.
George Krebs, live blogging for the FCC’s BlogBand website, noted:…