Docs to Feds: Go Slow on Meaningful Use

HDM Reports on “Go Slow” Comments to ONC
Joseph Goedert of HealthData Management reported on June 29, 2009, that while 80 physician organizations, including the AMA, support the federal EHR initiative, they submitted comments on “Meaningful Use” that “We are concerned, however, that the committee’s timeline to meet the proposed measures is too aggressive given that we continue to lack the necessary infrastructure, standards and systems.”  The recommendations point out specialties for which no certified EHR products are on market: “e.g., oncologists, dermatologists, opthalmologists, obstetricians.” Recommendations also note major transitions to HIPPA Version 5010 by January 1, 2012, and  ICD-10 codes by Otober 1, 2013.
Here are the recommendations these organizations submitted(pdf).

HIMSS Comments on Meaningful Use: Need to Differentiate Hospital and Physician Practices
HIMSS Board of Directors approved comments on June 26, 2009 which “coalesced around three categories: Implementation Timeline & Structure, Adoption Sequence, and Workforce.” Summary Comments start by saying ”Overarching all of HIMSS’s comments, we express out strong concern that the Committee does not distinguish clearly enough between hospital and physician practices.”
Here are the actual comments (pdf).

Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems submits comments
Here are the comments (pdf).

UPDATE: HIT Policy Committee June 16, 2009 Meeting 
OFFICIAL  Documents/Audio & Slides Added

Interoperability Convergence: Physician, Facility, Hospital Alignment

June 10, 2009 Conference on Interoperability Convergence:
Physician, Facility & Hospital Alignment

Presented by NJHIMSS, ACHENJ, MSNJ, ONENJ
Conference Center at NJHA, Princeton, NJ
“Spring Conference where the importance of working together is the focus. Hospitals, physicians and the entire management team need to find solutions to work together not only in the clinical setting, but also through IT…series of interactive presentations and displays by…vendors/sponsors.”

Keynote speaker, Simon Samaha, MD, is president and chief executive officer of Summit Medical Group, appointed in 2009.  Among other responsibilities at Cooper University Hospital, where he previously served, Samaha was Chief Information Officer.  Samaha earned his MBA at New York University Stern School of Business, his MS in Information Systems at Drexel University, and his MD at Saint Joseph University in Lebanon. Samaha was named in Modern Healthcare’s 2001 list of Up and Comers and is board-certified in internal medicine

Register online via credit card, or make checks payable to NJHIMSS.
http://njhimss.org/downloadlibrary/downloadlibrary.html

HIMSS: The Meeting of the Year in Health IT

HIMSS09: Annual Conference & Exhibition
Chicago–April 4-8, 2009–McCormick Place

This is the meeting of the year, with 25,000 participants and 900 exhibitors.
“HIMSS09 is where physicians, nurses, HIT executives, pharmacists, vendors and healthcare IT professionals from around the world come together for a week that will forever change the face of healthcare IT. They come in search of solutions. They leave with a shared vision.”
http://www.himssconference.org

Interactive Exhibit Hall Floor Plan
http://expocad.himss.org/expocadvr/shows/09himss/start.html

Registered Attendees List
http://www.himssconference.org/attendeeroster.aspx

Exhibitors List: Buyer’s Guide
http://www.himssconference.org/exhibition

Health IT Venture Fair

http://www.himssconference.org/venturefair

Presented by HIMSS and Blank Rome LLP
Venture Fair sponsored by
Availity

Edison Venture Fund
Emerald Stage 2 Ventures
Fidelity Ventures
Gibson Consultants
Healthcare Growth Partners
Lemhi Ventures
Needham & Company, LLC
Portico Systems