National Health IT Week: Sept 10-14, 2012

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Mike Squires

National Health IT Week

September 10-14, 2012 Excerpted from http://www.healthit.gov/healthitweek/ on Sept 8, 2012

The Seventh Annual National Health IT Week is being held September 10-14, 2012. Health IT Week brings together the entire health IT community under one umbrella to raise awareness about the power of health IT to improve the quality, safety, and cost effectiveness of health care.

The events of the week provide a key opportunity for key stakeholders-vendors, provider organizations, payers, pharmaceutical/biotech companies, government agencies, industry and professional associations, research foundations, and consumer groups- to work together to highlight critical issues and advance a shared vision of improving the nation's health and health care through health IT. During Health IT Week, ONC has developed a specific theme upon which to build each day's events. We hope you are able to join us for as many as your schedule allows.

Health IT Events and Initiatives

Monday: Consumer eHealth/Blue Button
2012 Consumer Health IT Summit: Expanding Access to Health Information
Monday, September 10
10:00am – 1:00pm ET (NOTE: Breakout sessions will occur from 1:00 – 3:30PM for attendees who are participating in person)
Hubert H. Humphrey Building
200 Independence Avenue S.W.
Washington, D.C., 20201

The 2012 Consumer Health IT Summit will bring together federal leaders including: Todd Park, U.S. Chief Technology Officer and Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and inspiring leaders from the private and non-profit sectors. ONC's Pledge Program has grown more than ten-fold since last year-the 2012 Consumer Health IT Summit is a chance to learn from and share your experiences with others who are leading the charge to empower consumers to be better partners in their health.

View the latest agenda [PDF - 104 KB]

Event will be Webcast Live at www.hhs.gov/live.
Health IT Blog Carnival

The Health IT Blog Carnival is an open call for healthcare and IT industry bloggers who would like to comment on the impact health IT will have in 2013.
Tuesday: Improving Patient Care Through Meaningful Use
ONC – HRSA Webinar Demo of the New ONC Privacy and Security Training Game and Program Update for Safety Net Providers|
Tuesday, Septeber 11
10:00am – 11:00am ET

This webinar will feature a new training tool from the Office of National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) Privacy and Security Group. ONC will demo an interactive training game for providers and staff on the "do's and don'ts" of privacy and security issues regarding health IT. This training tool can be used to help fulfill a safety net provider's HIPAA privacy training requirements. In addition, ONC will provide a privacy and security update on recent program changes and how they affect safety net providers.

Presenters:
- Laura Rosas, JD, MPH, Policy Analyst, ONC
- William Phelps Policy Analyst, ONC
Register for the webinar
PCPCC Advancing Primary Care through Health IT
Tuesday, September 11
2:00pm – 3:30pm ET

The Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) is holding a webinar featuring speakers from CMS, ONC, and NCQA to discuss various aspects of health information technology and the patient-centered medical home. Please join us for a free and informative webinar from 2:00-3:30pm ET on Tuesday, September 11, entitled "Advancing Primary Care through Health Information Technology".

Presenters:
- Richard Baron, MD, MACP, Group Director, Seamless Care Models, CMS Innovation Center
- Jacob Reider, MD, Acting Chief Medical Officer, ONC
- Mat Kendall, Director of Office Provider Adoption Support, ONC
- Johann Chanin, Director in Product Development, NCQA
Register for the webinar
Wednesday: Privacy and Security
NeHC Privacy and Security Programs|
Wednesday, September 12
11:00am – 12:00pm ET
As part of Health IT Week , National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) will offer a series of programs with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) to highlight their various initiatives, including those related to privacy and security. Joy Pritts, Chief Privacy Officer at ONC will kick off the program and Laura Rosas, Privacy and Security Professional at ONC and Will Phelps, HIT Cyber Security Program Officer with HHS, will provide an interactive demonstration of Cybersecure: Your Medical Practice, a new avatar-based game meant to enhance organizations' understanding of privacy and security.

Faculty:
- Joy Pritts, Chief Privacy Officer, ONC
- Laura E. Rosas, JD, MPH, Privacy and Security Professional, Office of the Chief Privacy Officer, ONC
- Will Phelps, HIT Cyber Security Program Officer, US Department of Health and Human Services
URL: http://www.nationalehealth.org/HITWeek-Security

Fee: No charge
Thursday: Standards, Interoperability, and Health Information Exchange
NeHC Standards & Interoperability Framework
Thursday, September 13
1:00p – 2:30pm ET
Continuing with the HIT Week Program Series, National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) will offer a program with Deputy National Coordinator David Muntz and Director of the Office of Science and Technology, Dr. Doug Fridsma to lead a discussion on the progress of the Standards and Interoperability Framework. Dr. Holly Miller from MedAllies, Inc. and David Tao from Siemens Healthcare will discuss the S&I Framework from the perspective of a provider and a vendor respectively.

Faculty:
- David Muntz, Principal Deputy National Coordinator, ONC
- Dr. Doug Fridsma, Director, Office of Standards and Interoperability, ONC
- Dr. Holly Miller, Chief Medical Officer, MedAllies, Inc.
- David Tao, Senior Key Expert and Interoperability Champion, Siemens Healthcare
URL: http://www.nationalehealth.org/HITWeek-Standards

Fee: No charge
Friday: Quality and Health IT
eHC Quality in Health IT Webinar
Friday, September 14
11:00am – 12:00pm ET
The final webinar of the HIT Week Program Series , National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) will provide a program featuring Dr. Farzad Mostashari, Dr. Carolyn Clancy, and Dr. Patrick Conway to discuss how ONC, AHRQ, and CMS are collaborating to leverage health IT to improve healthcare quality. Speakers will provide a vision for the quality measurement enterprise of the future as well as the necessary steps to transition to health IT-enabled measurement, reporting and feedback that drives improvement in care and outcomes. They will also identify challenges moving forward in realizing this vision, including the need for continued public-private collaboration to continuously evolve and improve the enterprise.

Faculty:
- Dr. Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, ONC
- Dr. Carolyn Clancy, Director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
- Dr. Patrick Conway, Chief Medical Officer, Director, Office of Clinical Quality Standards and Quality , Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
URL: http://www.nationalehealth.org/HITWeek-Quality

Fee: No charge
HRSA Leadership Tips During a Health IT Implementation Webinar

Friday, September 14
2:00pm – 3:30pm ET
This webinar focuses on the importance of leadership in successfully steering an organization through a health IT implementation. It features established leaders who have conducted more than 70 health IT implementations in health centers, rural health clinics, and critical access hospitals. The presenters will also focus on how leadership is important in helping staff, clinicians, patients, a safety net providers' board, and partners adjust to and overcome the barriers that typically accompany a health IT implementation and impede success. Lastly, the presenters will provide leadership examples of unique health IT implementation situations such as meeting meaningful use objectives, changing vendors, and implementing health IT in multiple provider sites. Presenters include:
- Terry Hill, MPA, Executive Director and Joe Wivoda, Chief Information Officer
  National Rural Health Resource Center
- Greg Wolverton, Chief Information Officer
  White River Rural Health Center, Arkansas
- Doug Smith, Executive Director
  Greene County Healthcare, North Carolina
Register for the webinar
HIMSS "Health IT is…" Twitter Chat

Friday, September 14

On Friday, September 14, @HIMSS and @HealthStandards are moderating at #HITsm Twitter chat on National Health IT Week at 12 noon ET. More details including chat questions will be shared on the HL7 Standards blog closer to the day.
Celebrate in Your Hometown

Find out 10 ways to get involved , whether externally in your community and/or by communicating the value of health IT within your own organization.

View a full list of National Health IT activities taking places across the U.S. , or to visit the National Health IT Week website to learn more.

It's also easy for individuals and organizations across the country to participate. Potential partners – including corporate, non-profit and academic institutions – should visit the National Health IT Week website Partners page to learn more about generating awareness of health IT in their communities.

ONC and CMS @HIMSS12 Annual Conference & Exhibition — Las Vegas

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Mike Squires

Federals at HIMSS12 Annual Conference & Exhibition
February 20-24, 2012 · Las Vegas, NV
Accessed and excerpted from HealthIT.gov on Feb 18, 2012

Representatives from ONC, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and other Federal agencies will be at HIMSS to share information about their health IT initiatives. Below are highlights from the HIMSS schedule of events. For a complete list of participating Federal agencies and their educational sessions, visit the Federal section of the HIMSS12 website.

HIMSS Schedule of Events

Time	Location	Event
Monday, February 20, 2012
8:45-9:30 a.m.	Lando 4204	HIE Symposium – Opening Keynote HIE: The Next Generation and Beyond Doug Fridsma, Director, Office of Standards and Interoperability
9:30-10:30 a.m.	Lando 4204	HIE Symposium – Inter Agency Collaboration: A Federal Update John Allison, Health Insurance Specialist Claudia Williams, Director, State HIE Program
10:45-11:45 a.m.	Lando 4204	HIE Symposium – State Collaborations: Current Trends and Future Directions Lee Stevens, Program Manager, State HIE Program
11 a.m.-12 p.m.	San Paolo 3504	Physicians’ IT Symposium – Optimizing Your EHR Value Through Patient Engagement Judy Murphy, RN, Deputy National Coordinator
12:45-1:45 p.m.	Lando 4204	HIE Symposium – SLHIE: Moving from Planning to Implementation Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for Health IT Claudia Williams, Director, State HIE Program
1-2 p.m.	Veronese 2506	Achieving Meaningful Use Symposium – CMS and ONC Present Stage 2 Essential Knowledge Robert Anthony, Policy Analyst, CMS Steven Posnack, Director, Federal Policy Division, ONC
1:30-2:30 p.m.	Veronese 2406	Performance Measurement and CDS Symposium: Leveraging CDS at the Point of Care to Optimize Quality Measure Outcomes Jacob Reider, MD, ONC Senior Policy Advisor
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
9:45-10:45 a.m.	Casanova 503	Health IT Update from HRSA Yael Harris, PhD, MHS, Director, Office of Health IT & Quality
9:45-10:45 a.m.	Lando 4303	Stage 2 Meaningful Use Elizabeth Holland, Director, HIT Initiatives Group Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for Health IT
9:45-10:45 a.m.	Galileo 1001	Direct Project Panel Discussion Moderator: Doug Fridsma, Director, Office of Standards and Interoperability
9:45-10:45 a.m.	TBD	HIE National Landscape, Monitoring States Momentum Moderator: Lee Stevens, Program Manager, State HIE Program
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.	Casanova 503	CDC and Meaningful Use: Strengthening the Link Between Healthcare Providers and Public Health Seth Foldy, MD, MPH, FAAFP, Senior Advisor, Public Health Surveillance & Informatics Program Office
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.	Lando 4303	ONC Consumer Outreach/Pledge Initiative Lygeia Ricciardi, Senior Policy Advisor for Consumer e-Health
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.	San Polo 3503	Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs: Meaningful Use Stage 1 Overview Travis Broome, Policy Analyst Elizabeth Holland, Director, HIT Initiatives Group Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for Health IT Robert Anthony, Policy Analyst
12:15-1:15 p.m.	San Polo 3503	Redefining Health Care: Advancing Patient-Centered Care Through Health IT Carolyn Clancy, MD, Director of AHRQ
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
8:30-9:30 a.m.	San Polo 3503	ONC Certification Programs – Update and Next Steps Doug Fridsma, Director, Office of Standards and Interoperability Steve Posnack, Director, Federal Policy Division Carol Bean, Director, Certification Division
9:45-10:45 a.m.	San Polo 3503	Stage 2 Meaningful Use: An Introduction Travis Broome, Policy Analyst, CMS Elizabeth Holland, Director, HIT Initiatives Group, CMS Steve Posnack, Director, Federal Policy Division, ONC Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
1-2 p.m.	Casanova 503	Update on HIPAA Initiatives David Sayen, Regional Administrator, CMS Elizabeth Reed, Health Insurance Specialist, CMS
2:15-3:45 p.m.	San Polo 3503	ONC Townhall: Advancing Health IT Into the Future Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
Thursday, February 23, 2012
8:30-9:30 a.m.	Palazzo Ballroom	Keynote speaker Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
9:45-10:45 a.m.	San Polo 3503	Privacy and Security – You Can Do It and Here’s How Joy Pritts, Chief Privacy Officer, ONC
9:45-10:45 a.m.	Venetian Showroom	Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs: Stage 2 NPRM Overview Travis Broome, Policy Analyst, CMS Elizabeth Holland, Director, HIT Initiatives Group, CMS Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for Health IT, CMS Robert Anthony, Policy Analyst, CMS
1-2 p.m.	TBD	RECs: Accelerating Meaningful Use Kimberly Lynch, Director of the REC Program
1-2 p.m.	Lido 3106	Stage 2: Exchange of Information and Public Health Objectives Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for Health IT, CMS Robert Anthony, Policy Analyst, CMS Steven Posnack, Director, Federal Policy Division, ONC
1-2 p.m.	Murano 3306	Consumer E-Technology in Action: Four Implementation Examples from Beacon Communities Korey Capozza, Utah Beacon Drew McNicol, Western New York Beacon Alan Snell, MD, Indiana Beacon Barbara Sorondo, Maine Beacon
2:15-3:15 p.m.	Marco Polo 705	IOM Study-Patient Safety Jacob Reider, MD, ONC Senior Policy Advisor
2:15-4:15 p.m.	San Polo 3503	Stage 2: Clinical Quality Measures Travis Broome, Policy Analyst, CMS Steve Posnack, Director, Federal Policy Division, ONC
Friday, February 24, 2012
10:00-11:00 a.m.	San Polo 3503	HIPAA Privacy and Security Regulations Leon Rodriguez, Director of OCR
11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.	Venetian Showroom	Stage 2: Payment Adjustments and Changes from Stage 1 Travis Broome, Policy Analyst, CMS Robert Anthony, Policy Analyst, CMS

Theater Booth Sessions – Exhibit Hall, Booths 14624/14824

CMS and ONC will be presenting on special topics in health IT and meaningful use at the theater booth in the HIMSS exhibit hall.

Time	Presentation Topic
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
1:30-2:15 p.m.	Workforce: The Use of Immersive Learning Environments in Online HIT Technology
3:00-3:30 p.m.	Medicaid Patient Volume
4:00-5:45 p.m.	Beacon Communities: Bringing HITECH to Life – Beacon Project Highlights – IT-Enabled Care Coordination, HIT Infrastructure to Support Pioneer ACOs, and Mobile Technology in Support of Better Diabetes Management
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
9:45-10:30 a.m.	Query Health: Demonstrating How to Send Questions to the Data
11:00-11:30 a.m.	Overview and Timeline for Incentives and Payment Adjustments
12:00-12:45 p.m.	NwHN Exchange Opportunities and the Path Forward
2:45-3:30 p.m.	AHRQ: Model Children’s EHR Format
4:00-4:30 p.m.	FAQs on Stage 1 Meaningful Use
5:00-5:45 p.m.	The popHealth Challenge Demonstration: Patient Engagement Reminders for popHealth Measures
Thursday, February 23, 2012
10:00-10:30 a.m.	How States Are Auditing the Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs
11:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.	Overview of Stage 2 Meaningful Use
3:00-3:45 p.m.	Privacy & Security: Privacy Protection for Substance Abuse Treatment Information
4:00-4:45 p.m.	Workforce: Using the ONC-HIT Teaching Materials

ONC “Talk to the Expert” Sessions – Exhibit Booth #14824

ONC will be hosting “Talk to the Expert” sessions at its exhibit booth. Stop by to learn about:

ONC resources
Certification and Standards/Interoperability
ONC’s Regional Extension Centers, Beacon, and Workforce programs.

Engage with ONC during the Conference Online

During HIMSS, ONC will be engaging people online through its social media properties by:

Hosting discussions on LinkedIn
Tweeting live from the event
Loading all of their handouts from the conference on Scribd

If you are not already a member of our LinkedIn group, or following us on Twitter (@ONC_HealthIT), sign up today to join the discussion!

Don’t forget to check out Scribd to download handouts from HIMSS!

For More Information

HIMSS12 website

ONC’s Wil Yu: ‘Proof of Concept Testing through Innovation Exchanges for Health IT’

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Mike Squires

Published Initially on ONC Heatlh IT Buzz Blog: 'Proof of Concept Testing through Innovation Exchanges for Health IT'
September 2, 2011
Written by Wil Yu, Special Assistant Innovations ONC Office of the Chief Scientist, and republished by e-Healthcare Marketing.

Quick Note: This is one of many blog posts that I will be writing in September that highlights how innovation leadership within the health IT and health care communities is changing the health IT landscape. I’ll cover efforts being championed within the White House, ONC/HHS, and the broader environment, that are helping to usher in a wave of new technologies and services that will lead to better health care, health, and cost savings through continuous quality improvement.

Proof of Concept Testing – Connecting Early Stage Innovators to Stakeholders

One of the more exciting initiatives taking place is a unique effort to unite early stage innovators with the broader ecosystem to shepherd and nurture new technological development.

One of the greatest challenges facing any health care innovator is to develop ideas with the broader environment – working with a myriad of stakeholders in an appropriate manner to obtain the crucial data needed to validate the effectiveness, value, and strategy tied to the innovation. I’m referring to getting to the critical stage known as the proof-of-concept.

New White House Startup America Initiative

Realizing that getting to this stage requires substantial time and resources, I’m pleased to report that the White House Startup America Initiative, in partnership with HHS, is promoting an effort called Innovation Exchanges for Health IT – a model that promotes facilitated forums that assemble a collection of early stage, near-proof-of-concept innovators with forward looking health care organizations. The explicit goal of this program is to identify opportunities for testbeds to support innovative development. This is a first-of-a-kind initiative that helps to cross stakeholder lines in the interest of innovation.

The benefits of these proof-of-concept exchanges are apparent:

Health care organizations that participate can identify potential future developers that they wish to collaborate with from a host of candidates in a single day, substantially lowering their search costs.
Innovators can find potential partners by presenting to a dozen organizations at once – saving precious time and accelerating their development timelines.

While not meant to be a commercial opportunity, participants are free to identify scope and duration of their collaborations.

More Innovation Events Scheduled

The first Innovation Exchange for Health IT took place in Philadelphia earlier this year, under the leadership of BluePrint Health IT. We’ll see at least three more events taking place in Indianapolis (October), San Francisco (September), and in the New England area (October) sponsored by a variety of organizations.

As I’ve noted before, community building is an essential step in the innovation process. These exchanges are an attempt to provide the opportunity to forge the relationships needed to sustain those communities.

Feel free to contact me if you would like to participate in a future exchange.

Wil Yu, Special Assistant, Innovations (wil.yu@hhs.gov)

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To comment directly on the ONC Health IT Buzz Blog, click here.

Note: The first Innovation Exchange for Health IT took place on May 26, 2011 in Philadelphia as the BluePrint Health IT Innovation Summit.

Prior to the Summit, the format was described by John Halamka as 'e-Harmony for IT' in his blog post on Speed Dating for IT.
Following the Summit, John Moore of Chilmark Research, provided a summary of the successful matching in hospitals and health IT innovators.
Both Halamka and Moore serve as members of the BluePrint Health IT Innovation Exchange Summit series Advisory Board.

This blog is produced by Mike Squires, Executive Director, BluePrint Health IT Innovation Exchange Summit, and Vice President, Strategic Development and Public Policy for BluePrint Healthcare IT.

You can learn more about participating in the Mid-West Summit in Indianapolis on October 12 or the West Coast Summit on December 8, 2011, where 10 hospitals and 10 health IT Innovators will be matched, by visiting www.blueprinthit.com/summit or contacting me directly at mike.squires@blueprinthit.com

HHS and ONC: Investing in Innovations (i2) Initiative

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Mike Squires

Investing in Innovations
Accessed from ONC on June 12, 2011
In September 2009, President Obama released his Strategy for American Innovation, calling for agencies to increase their ability to promote and harness innovation by using policy tools such as awards and competitions. The America Competes Act, passed in December 2010, permits any agency head to “carry out a program to award prizes competitively to stimulate innovation.” With this authority, ONC has created the Investing in Innovations (“i2″) program.

Investing in Innovations is a two-year contract with Capital Consulting Corporation and Health 2.0 that will disburse more than $1.9 million in prize money to competition winners in up to 30 challenges. Competition proposals will derive from internal ONC staff and fellow HHS agencies.

ONC believes that competitions have a number of potential benefits. Under the right circumstances, they may allow the government to:

Establish an important goal without having to choose the approach or the team that is most likely to succeed;
Pay only for results;
Increase the number and diversity of the individuals, organizations, and teams that are addressing a particular problem or challenge of national or international significance;
Stimulate private sector investment that is many times greater than the cash value of the award; and
Further a Federal agency’s mission by attracting more interest and attention to a defined program, activity, or issue of concern.

The competitions will focus on innovations that support (1) the goals of HITECH and clearing hurdles related to the achievement of widespread Health IT adoption and meaningful use, (2) ONC’s and HHS’ programs and programmatic goals, and (3) the achievement of a nationwide learning health system that improves quality, safety, and/or efficiency of health care.

For questions relating to the Investing in Innovations program, please email Wil Yu.

Additional Resources

Press Release
- June 8, 2011
  HHS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Introduce New Investing in Innovations (i2) Initiative

HHS and The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology introduce new Investing in Innovations (i2) Initiative
Press Release from Department of Health and Human Services on June 8, 2011

Washington, D.C. — The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced today the Investing in Innovations (i2) Initiative – a bold new program designed to spur innovations in health IT. The program centers on prizes and competitions to accelerate the development of solutions and communities around key challenges in health IT.

This landmark initiative is the first Administration-wide program using prizes and challenges to advance an agency’s mission made possible by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, signed into law by President Obama on Jan. 4, 2011. The Act invests in innovation through research and development and seeks to improve the competitiveness of the United States.

As part of the initiative’s rollout, ONC has awarded nearly $5 million to the Capital Consulting Corporation (CCC) and Health 2.0 LLC, to fund projects supporting innovations in research and encouraging health IT development through open-innovation mechanisms like prizes and challenges.

“The initiative demonstrates ONC’s recognition of the importance of investing in innovations and provides a platform that will attract an expanded community of innovators to the full range of the agency’s programs. It opens the door to new opportunities for open collaboration from a wide range of diverse individuals and organizations that will increase the national rate of innovation and adoption of health IT as we improve health care of all Americans,” said Farzad Mostashari, M.D., Sc.M., national coordinator for health information technology.

The i2 Initiative will consult stakeholders across the health care sector including hospitals, doctors, consumers, payers, states, employers, advocates, and relevant federal agencies to obtain direct input on execution and to build partnerships.

The core of the i2 Initiative is an effort to use prizes and challenges to facilitate innovation and obtain solutions to identified health IT challenges. Recognizing the promise of prizes and challenges, the President has called on agencies to promote innovation by using such innovation tools to address intractable problems. The use of prizes and competitions is widely regarded as a powerful tool to attract innovators from all walks of life to address hard problems with the added benefit of only rewarding best-in-class work. The approach makes possible rapid response to emerging issues that are difficult to address with more traditional funding approaches.

Examples of health IT competition topics developed in consultation with CCC and Health 2.0 LLC, include the following:

Applications that allow an individual to securely and effectively share health information with members of his or her social network;
Applications that generate results for patients, caregivers, and/or clinicians by providing them with access to rigorous and relevant information that can support real needs and immediate decisions;
Applications that allow individuals to connect during natural disasters and other periods of emergency; and
Tools that facilitate exchange of health information while allowing individuals to customize the privacy allowances for their personal health records.

Another component of the i2 Initiative will support analysis of the current health IT environment in an effort to track and model clusters of innovation, while simultaneously identifying connections between disparate innovator communities. The effort will identify technology development trends in a fast-moving sector to inform future advisory and policy-making activities.

Capital Consulting Corporation, Health 2.0 LLC, along with other contributors will help provide detailed and up-to-date analysis of relevant, emerging innovations and associated trends that will help ONC and other HHS agencies better understand these developments, as well as the issues that surround them.

ONC recognizes that policies that do not appropriately anticipate technological change can jeopardize success by potentially limiting competition and setting in stone inferior technologies. Accurate and timely information from this phase of the initiative will enable the Federal government to engage in methodical and strategic health IT policies.

“Through the i2 Initiative, ONC is directly supporting innovation in health IT to accelerate the nation’s progress toward a high-performing, adaptive health care system,” said Wil Yu, the special assistant for innovations within ONC.

For more information please visit ONC’s home page at http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt/community/healthit_hhs_gov__onc/1200.

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HHS and The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology introduce new Investing in Innovations (i2) Initiative
Press Release from US Department of Health and Human Services on June 8, 2011

Examples of health IT competition topics developed in consultation with CCC and Health 2.0 LLC, include the following:

Applications that allow an individual to securely and effectively share health information with members of his or her social network;
Applications that generate results for patients, caregivers, and/or clinicians by providing them with access to rigorous and relevant information that can support real needs and immediate decisions;
Applications that allow individuals to connect during natural disasters and other periods of emergency; and
Tools that facilitate exchange of health information while allowing individuals to customize the privacy allowances for their personal health records.

For more information please visit ONC’s home page at http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt/community/healthit_hhs_gov__onc/1200.

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CMS to Announce 3 new Innovation Programs May 17

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Mike Squires

Pioneer ACO Model, Advanced Payment Program, Advanced Development Learning Session
Washington, DC — April 17, 2011. At a Brookings Institution event hosted by Mark McClellan on ONC’s Beacon Communities today, Joe McCannon, Senior Advisor to the Administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced three programs to be more formally announced later today with more details:

1. Pioneer ACO Model: will tap groups experienced in coordinated care working together loking in first two years for higher level of share savings and higher level of risk. By third year, if successful, the model will move to population-based model.

2. Advanced Payment Program: proposal to provide advance on shared savings with strong oversight.

3. Advanced Development Learning Sessions: four sessions proposed, starting June 20, 2011, with intense curriculums including executive teams to dive into what’s needed. First session on June 20 will focus on preparing for coordinated care opportunities.

More info to come later from CMS Innovation Center http://innovations.cms.gov and from the major news sources covering health IT and CMS. Will catch up later on this at e-Healthcare Marketing.

CONFERENCE CALL MAY 17, 2011: 1:30PM EDT
Emailed May 17, 2011 by CMS.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced three Affordable Care Act initiatives designed to help put doctors, hospitals and other health care providers on the path to becoming Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) and improve health care for Americans with Medicare.

First, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) is requesting applications for a new Pioneer ACO Model, which provides a faster path for mature ACOs that have already begun coordinating care for patients and are ready to move forward.

Second, the Innovation Center is seeking comment on the idea of an Advance Payment Initiative that give certain ACOs participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program access to their shared savings up front, helping them make the infrastructure and staff investments crucial to successfully coordinating and improving care for patients.

Finally, providers interested in learning more about how to coordinate patient care through ACOs can attend free new Accelerated Development Learning Sessions. The Accelerated Development Learning Sessions will teach providers interested in becoming ACOs what steps they can take to improve care delivery and how to develop an action plan for moving toward providing better coordinated care.

Together with the Medicare Shared Savings Program, the initiatives announced today give providers a broad range of options and support that reflect the varying needs of providers in embarking on delivery system reforms. CMS issued a proposed rule to implement the Medicare Shared Savings Program in March 2011 and is continuing to encourage and accept comments from providers and the public that will help strengthen the final rule.

These initiatives are part of a broader effort by the Obama Administration, made possible by the Affordable Care Act, to improve care and lower costs.

For more information about the announcement, click here.

For a fact sheet, click here.

For additional information about all of these initiatives, visit the Innovation Center website.

Reminder -Please join us on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 for a conference call with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Donald Berwick and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Acting Director Dr. Richard Gilfillan to discuss new efforts to improve care for Medicare beneficiaries through Accountable Care Organizations.

WHO: Dr. Donald Berwick, Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Dr. Richard Gilfillan, Acting Director, CMS Innovation Center

Peter Lee, Deputy Director, CMS Innovation Center

WHEN: Tuesday, May 17, 2011, 1:30 PM EDT
DIAL: 1-800-837-1935
PASSCODE: 68658167

Beacon Communities: One Year Review on Blog, Brookings and Webcast

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Mike Squires

Blog: What We Can Learn from the Beacon Communities on Their First Birthday?
Brookings Event: May 17 8:30am to 12:00noon
Webcast From Brookings: Click here Health IT Buzz Blog: What We Can Learn from the Beacon Communities on Their First Birthday?

May 13, 2011 / Originally Posted by Aaron McKethan, Director of Beacon Communities Program, on ONC’s Health IT Buzz blog and reposted by e-Healthcare Marketing

A year has passed since 17 diverse communities nationwide were notified by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) that they would receive Beacon Community awards. These critical resources empowered the Beacon Community Awardees (“the Beacons”) to build and strengthen their local health IT capacity, use health IT in innovative ways to improve the efficiency and quality of care they can provide their patients, and identify and disseminate these innovations and lessons-learned to others.

Over the past year, as we have documented in a recent Health Affairs article and as we will discuss at our upcoming May 17 Brookings Institution “Beacon Birthday” event, the Beacons have focused on clearly defining who their communities are. They have done so using data (such as patterns of where patients seek care), and community engagement activities (including public meetings and direct engagement with hospital leaders, physicians, and consumer organization leaders) to paint a picture of the local “community” on whose behalf the Beacon interventions are being deployed.

This past year has been a busy and productive one for the Beacons. For example, they have established governance structures that give local stakeholders a voice, but also permit the community to make decisions quickly when necessary. They have worked to achieve local consensus on core health and health care improvement objectives, while partnering with local evaluation, health IT, and clinical leaders to identify and establish baselines for relevant measures to track progress on meeting those objectives over time. Beacon leaders have also worked to design and deploy the initial wave of clinical interventions relevant to these objectives, such as changes in processes that hospitals use to discharge patients so they can manage their own health and exchange information with their regular physician. And, they have designed strategies to deploy those interventions in ways that will allow for refinements to be made based on early results. In other words, they have not only put in place innovative strategies for improving care, but also systems that allow them to learn from challenges and obstacles and make the improvements necessary.

Beacon Communities like that in Bangor, ME have used the development of a statewide governance process to ensure that performance improvement goals being pursued through the Bangor Beacon are aligned with overall policy and strategic goals at the state level.

Beacon Communities have also committed considerable time and attention to establishing a focused set of community objectives. The public officials and other health care leaders involved in the Crescent City Beacon Community in New Orleans, LA, for example, have worked hard to identify a core set of community objectives that unite the interests of the entire stakeholder community, including large academic health systems, small health centers, physician practices and, of course, patients. An encouraging aspect of this work is that these objectives are not merely being established to fulfill the requirements of the Beacon grant program, but also to help chart a course for the community over the longer term.

In addition, Beacon Communities have each worked to establish a baseline using performance measurements and data derived from multiple sources, including electronic health records. They have experienced firsthand the challenges of combining data from multiple sources to better understand the “current state” of the community’s performance on key indicators like hospital readmissions, rates of “good” diabetes care, or prevention indicators. The Keystone Beacon Community, for example, has used its baseline data to help track its progress in delivering care management support to patients facing multiple chronic conditions who typically face the highest risk of costly medical complications that can be prevented through careful care coordination and patient support. In fact, even at this early stage in its development, the Keystone Beacon Community has already documented the avoidance of several serious adverse events using its Beacon care managers and health IT systems.

Further, Beacon Communities in Colorado, North Carolina, and Utah have taken the lead in identifying strategies to facilitate providers participating in the program learning from each other about their experiences using technology and data for performance improvement. Just this week, for example, the Colorado Beacon Consortium is holding its second “learning collaborative” that will provide training and an opportunity for participating physicians and their staffs to learn how best to incorporate new technologies in their practices.

The first year of the Beacon Community program laid the ground work for rapid implementation of core interventions moving forward in each community that will support patients and clinicians in achieving better, more efficient outcomes over the next several years. As we now shift gears from program development to large-scale implementation of clinical interventions, we will take a moment to consider what we’ve already learned at this early stage of the Beacon program.

To learn more about just how far the Beacons have come in blazing the trail on innovatively using health IT to improve the health of their patients in ways that can be adopted by others, come join us on May 17 at the Brookings Institution’s Engelberg Center for Health Reform. The National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Dr. Farzad Mostashari, Aneesh Chopra of the White House Office of Science and Technology, Joe McCannon from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Mark McClellan of the Brookings Institution, several Beacon leaders, and I will discuss how health IT may be best used to improve health care quality and reduce costs with a special emphasis on what we can learn from the experience of the Beacon Communities on their first birthday. We will also hear from Beacon leaders about their perspectives about how health IT-driven health care improvements can be sustained by linking health IT investments to payment reforms that increasingly reward improvements in outcomes.

Please also check out a series of blog posts by individual Beacons to be published by Health Affairs over the next week that will provide yet more detail on the truly innovative work Beacons are doing across the country to realize the potential of health IT to improve health and health care. Finally, please join me on May 18 between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. ET at #ONCchat for a live twitter chat moderated by Sherri Reynolds (Beacon Board member and consumer advocate engaged with Beacon development in Washington state) when I will be taking your questions about the topics and themes that emerge from the May 17 Brookings event and shared lessons-learned about the Beacons at the one-year mark.

Brookings Event:
“Health IT in an Era of Accountable Care: Update from the Beacon Communities”
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Hosted by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution

The event will highlight:

Beacon Community Program accomplishments and future plans
Insights on meaningful use of health IT
The expansion of provider payment reforms

U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, Senior Advisor to the CMS Administrator Joseph McCannon, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Dr. Farzad Mostashari, and Director of Beacon Communities Program Aaron McKethan, will offer keynote remarks.

WHEN: Tuesday, May 17, 2011, 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT)

WHERE: Falk Auditorium, The Brookings Institution,
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20036

To join Brookings for this event, please RSVP to Erin Weireter at eweireter@brookings.edu or 202-797-6033.

If you are unable to attend, the event will be available to remote participants via a free Webcast. A video will also be available soon after the event on the Brookings website and ONC YouTube channel.

If you have any questions regarding the Webcast or the event, please contact Amanda Misiti at Amanda.Misiti@hhs.gov.

Brookings Event Agenda
Opening Remarks and Meeting Objectives
Mark McClellan, Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at Brookings

Keynote Address: An Update on the Federal Health IT Strategy
Aneesh Chopra, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Joseph McCannon, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Farzad Mostashari, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Panel I: Priorities for Health System Improvement
Aaron McKethan, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology – Moderator
Marc Bennett, HealthInsight, Inc.
Ted Chan, University of California, San Diego Medical Center
Sherry Reynolds, Beacon Community of the Inland Northwest
Julie Schilz, Colorado Beacon Consortium
Herb Smitherman, Jr., Wayne State University

Panel II: Harnessing IT for Payment Reforms
Mark McClellan – Moderator
Catherine Bruno, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems
Christopher Chute, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
Robert Steffel, HealthBridge
James Walker, Geisinger Health System

Closing Remarks
Mark McClellan
Farzad Mostashari

Free Live Webcast from Brookings. Archived video will also be available soon after the event on the Brookings website and ONC YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/HHSONC .

Beacon Communities

(Accessed on ONC site on May 14, 2011)
Listed below are the 17 Beacon Communities, their awards, and snapshot of their goals. For further information about a specific Beacon Community, click the name of the community. As of May 14, 2011, ONC has added a PDF overview of each Beacon Community in addition to a previously published video for each and the Community’s web site where they exist.

Beacon Community	Award Amount	Goal
Bangor Beacon Community, Brewer, ME	$12,749,740	Improve the health of patients with diabetes, lung disease, heart disease, and asthma by enhancing care management; improving access to, and use of, adult immunization data; preventing unnecessary ED visits and re-admissions to hospitals; and facilitating access to patient records using health information technology.
Beacon Community of the Inland Northwest, Spokane, WA	$15,702,479	Increase care coordination for patients with diabetes in rural areas and expand the existing health information exchange to provide a higher level of connectivity throughout the region.
Colorado Beacon Community, Grand Junction, CO	$11,878,279	Demonstrate how costs can be reduced and patient care improved, through the collection, analysis, and sharing of clinical data, and the redesign of primary care practices and clinics.
Crescent City Beacon Community, New Orleans, LA	$13,525,434	Reduce racial health disparities and improve control of diabetes and smoking cessation rates by linking technically isolated health systems, providers, and hospitals; and empower patients by increasing their access to Personal Health Records.
Delta BLUES Beacon Community, Stoneville, MS	$14,666,156	Improve access to care for diabetic patients through the meaningful use of electronic health records and health information exchange by primary care providers in the Mississippi Delta, and increase the efficiency of health care in the area by reducing excess health care costs for patients with diabetes through the use of electronic health record.
Greater Cincinnati Beacon Community, Cincinnati, OH	$13,775,630	Develop new quality improvement and care coordination initiatives focusing on patients with pediatric asthma, adult diabetes, and encouraging smoking cessation, and provide better clinical information and IT “decision support” tools to physicians, health systems, federally qualified health centers, and critical access hospitals.
Greater Tulsa Health Access Network Beacon Community, Tulsa, OK	$12,043,948	Leverage broad community partnerships with hospitals, providers, payers, and government agencies to expand a community-wide care coordination system, which will increase appropriate referrals for cancer screenings, decrease unnecessary specialist visits and (with telemedicine) increase access to care for patients with diabetes.
Hawaii County Beacon Community, Hilo, HI	$16,091,390	Improve the health of the Hawaii Island residents through implementation of a series of healthcare system improvements and interventions across independent hospitals, physicians and physician groups. Engaging patients in their own healthcare is also a primary focus.
Western New York Beacon Community, Buffalo, NY	$16,092,485	Expand the Western New York network, close gaps in service, and improve health outcomes for patients with diabetes.
Utah Beacon Community, Salt Lake City, UT	$15,790,181	Improve the management and coordination of care for patients with diabetes and other life-threatening conditions, decrease unnecessary costs in the health care system, and improve public health.
Central Indiana Beacon Community, Indianapolis, IN	$16,008,431	Expand the country’s largest Health Information Exchange to new community providers in order to improve cholesterol and blood sugar control for diabetic patients and reduce preventable re-admissions through telemonitoring of high risk chronic disease patients after hospital discharge.
Keystone Beacon Community, Danville, PA	$16,069,110	Establish community-wide care coordination through the expanded availability and use of health information technology for both clinicians and patients in a five-county area to enhance care for patients with pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure.
Rhode Island Beacon Community, Providence, RI	$15,914,787	Improve the management of care through several health information technology initiatives to support Rhode Island’s transition to the Patient Centered Medical Home model, which create systems to measure and report processes and outcomes that drive improved quality, reduce health care costs, and improve health outcomes.
San Diego Beacon Community, San Diego, CA	$15,275,115	Expand electronic health information exchange to enable providers to improve medical care decisions and overall care quality, to empower patients to engage in their own health management, and to reduce unnecessary and redundant testing.
Southeast Michigan Beacon Community, Detroit, MI	$16,224,370	Make long-term, sustainable improvements in the quality and efficiency of diabetes care through leveraging existing and new technologies across health care settings, and providing practical support to help clinicians, nurses, and other health professionals make the best use of electronic health data.
Southeastern Minnesota Beacon Community, Rochester, MN	$12,284,770	Enhance patient care management, reduce costs associated with hospitalization and emergency services for patients with diabetes and childhood asthma, and reduce health disparities for underserved populations and rural communities.
Southern Piedmont Beacon Community, Concord, NC	$15,907,622	Increase use health information technology, including health information exchange among providers and increased patient access to health records to improve coordination of care, encourage patient involvement in their own medical care, and improve health outcomes while controlling cost.

Health Affairs, April 2011
“An Early Status Report On The Beacon Communities’ Plans For Transformation Via Health Information Technology”
Authors: Aaron McKethan, Craig Brammer, Parastou Fatemi, Minyoung Kim, Janhavi Kirtane, Jason Kunzman, Shaline Rao, and Sachin H. Jain.

Aaron McKethan is program director and Craig Brammer is the deputy director of the Beacon Community Program in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Department of Health and Human Services, in Washington, D.C.

“Based on the early experiences of the seventeen diverse Beacon Communities, this paper describes program design features that characterize how these initiatives are organized.”

Link to Health Affairs Abstract

NJ Health Information Technology Commission Meeting: Feb 3, 2011

Posted on February 2, 2011 by Mike Squires

Agenda
February 3, 2011 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Location: Auditorium on the first floor of the Department of Health and Senior Services Building, 369 S. Warren St, Trenton, NJ.

1.Call to Order
2.Committee Reports and/or Review of Committee Scorecards
          a.Privacy and Security Committee (up to 40 minutes) – Committee Chair
                     i.Review of Report/Dashboard
                    ii.Announcement – new Co-Chairs
          b.Committee Membership status
3.Status on State HIT Operational Plan
         a.Recent $11.4 million ONC awards and immediate next steps – (15 minutes) – Colleen Woods
         b.Project Management assistance – Colleen Woods
4.New and Unfinished Business
         a.Dialogue with Constituencies (10 min) – Al Campanella
         b.Promotion of e-Prescribing (5 min) – Colleen Woods
         c.Vision of the Innovation Center (5 min) – Colleen Woods
5.Housekeeping Items
         a.File-Sharing Website (5 min) – Al Campanella
         b.Update on Public NJ HIT Commission Website – Colleen Woods
6.Public Comment Period

Documents from January 2011 NJ HIT Commission Meeting
–Alfred Campanella, Chair NJ HIT Commission: Chair’s Reflections and Direction. January 2011 [pdf 358k]
–Colleen Woods, NJ Statewide HIT Coordinator: Presentation to HIT Commission, January 2011 [ppt 275k]

Blumenthal Letter #24: Our Journey Continues: $80 Million in Add’l Funds to RECs, 8 HIEs, and Community Colleges

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Mike Squires

Our Journey Continues…

Dr. David Blumenthal

A Message from Dr. David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

January 27, 2011 (accessed 1/27/2011 from ONC site)

With the new year, we are turning the page to a next chapter in our journey to adoption and meaningful use of health information technology (HIT). As we begin this chapter, ONC is accelerating progress with new funding for programs vital to our goals.

No doubt the “star player” in 2011 is the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Programs. As of this year, providers can begin qualifying for significant payments through Medicare and Medicaid, as they achieve meaningful use objectives.

But equally important are the “supporting players.” These are the programs created under the HITECH Act to help providers adopt and achieve meaningful use of EHRs through technical assistance, through information exchange, and through development of a new workforce of HIT specialists.

These supporting programs all started last year, and they’ve had a successful launch:

We funded 62 Regional Extension Centers (RECs) across the nation to provide technical assistance, especially for smaller practice primary care providers, rural hospitals and other settings which serve the underserved. We want the RECs to assist at least 100,000 primary care providers. And already, some 38,000 primary care providers have enrolled for REC assistance.
We created a state grant program to support health information exchange (HIE) and facilitate all the potential uses and benefits of secure information sharing. Already, approved HIE implementation plans are in place in 25 states.
We funded 84 community colleges to train HIT specialists that will help to meet the anticipated national shortage of 50,000. The first 3,400 students will graduate by May, 2011 – and with excellent job prospects.

This month we are adding new funding for these important initiatives:

For the RECs, we are providing additional funding of $32 million. This especially reflects our plan to accelerate outreach to health care providers to encourage registration for the CMS Incentive Programs and to provide more support in the field as providers adopt health information technology in their practices. We recognize that the early transition to HIT can be challenging and we want to make sure that our RECs are fully operational to help make this transition as smooth as possible. We are committed to offer substantial ongoing support to achieve meaningful use through the RECs.

For HIE, we are providing $16 million in new Challenge Grants to encourage breakthrough innovations for health information exchange that can be leveraged widely to support nationwide health information exchange and interoperability. The HIE Challenge Grant Program is providing 10 awards of between $1 and $2 million to State HIE Cooperative Agreement Program grantees, to develop innovative and scalable solutions in five key areas: achieving specific health goals, improving care transitions, consumer-mediated information exchange, enhanced querying for patient care, and fostering distributed population-level analytics.

For community colleges, $32 million in second year funding is being provided to continue academic HIT programs training the specialists needed to make rapid adoption and meaningful use possible. We remain on track to ramp up and graduate an estimated 10,500 students a year through our community college programs.

In playing their part for HIT adoption and meaningful use, every awardee in our supporting programs is a star! Awardees and funding amounts for these programs can be found at http://healthit.hhs.gov.

Warmest Regards,
David Blumenthal, MD, MPP
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) encourages you to share this information as we work together to enhance the quality, safety and value of care and the health of all Americans through the use of electronic health records and health information technology.

For more information and to receive regular updates from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, please subscribe to our Health IT News list.
###

See list of newly awarded challenge grants to state HIEs on e-Healthcare Marketing.

eHI Finalizes Jan 19-20 Annual Conference Agenda, Washington, DC.

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Mike Squires

eHealth Initiative Annual Conference,
Turning Policy into Action
Washington, DC

Featuring David Blumenthal and Joy Pritts from ONC, Keynote from Cokie Roberts.

Panels on CMS Innovation, Looking Ahead to Stage 2 Meaningful Use, Outlook for Health Care Policy with New Congress, eHI Awards, Privacy and Health IT, Care Coordination in Real Word, Creating Accountable Care Organizations, Data for Quality Improvement, and Progress and Barriers at State Level: HIT Coordination Panel.

For more information and registration, click here.

AGENDA
DAY ONE: Wednesday, January 19, 2011
9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
eHI Members Only

1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Conference Registration

2:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Welcome and Overview of the Day
–Jennifer Covich Bordenick, Chief Executive Officer, eHealth Initiative
–William F. Jessee, MD, FACMPE, FACPM, President and Chief Executive Officer, Medical Group Management Association, 2011 eHealth Initiative Board Chair

2:15 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
A Discussion with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation
Guest Speakers:
–Moderator: Steve Stack, MD, Member, Secretary, American Medical Association
– Mandy Krauthamer Cohen, MD, MPH, Senior Advisor, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Meaningful Use: A Look Ahead to Stage 2
–Moderator: Larry Yuhasz, Director, Strategy and Business Development, Thomson Reuters
–Mark Bell, Chief Information Officer, North Carolina Hospital Association
–Hank Fanberg, Technology Advocacy, Christus Health
–Charles Jarvis, Vice President of Healthcare Services and Government Relations, NextGen Healthcare
–Harry F. Laws, MD, FAAP, Chief Medical Information Officer, Community Health Network, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Indiana School of Medicine

4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
The New Congress in 2011: Outlook for Health Care Policy
–Introduction: Leigh Burchell, Allscripts, and 2011 eHI Policy Steering Committee Vice Chair
–Democrat Perspective: David Thomas, Principal, Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti Inc.
–Republican Perspective: Alex Vogel, Partner, Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti Inc.

4:45 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Awards Ceremony & Welcome
–Presented by: William F. Jessee, MD, FACMPE, FACPM, President and Chief Executive Officer, Medical Group Management Association, 2011 eHealth Initiative Board Chair

DAY TWO: Thursday, January 20, 2011

7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Registration & Breakfast

8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Conference Overview Welcome Back

9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Privacy and Health IT: A Conversation with the Chief Privacy Officer
–Introduction: Gerry Hinkley, Co-Chair, Health Care Industry Team, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
–Joy Pritts, Chief Privacy Officer, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, US Department of Health and Human Services

9:30 a.m.- 10:30 a.m.
Care Coordination in the Real World
–Moderated by: Bruce Henderson, National Leader, EHR/HIE Practice, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Guest Speakers:
–Robert Fortini, Chief Clinical Officer, Bon Secours Medical Group from Bon Secours Health System
–Dr. Bruce Hamory, MD, Executive Vice President, Managing Partner, Geisinger Consulting Services, Geisinger Health System
–Charles Kennedy, MD, Vice President for Health Information Technology, WellPoint

10:30 a.m – 10:45 a.m.|
Networking Break

10:45 a.m.- 11:45 a.m.
Creating Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)
–Moderated by: John Edelblut, Senior Executive, Accenture
–Andrew Ziskind, Partner and Senior Executive, Accenture
–Dick Salmon, MD, PhD, National Medical Director for Quality, CIGNA HealthCare
–Mike Flammini, Head of Strategy, Aetna
–James Walton, DO, MBA, Vice President of Health Equity and Chief Equity Officer, Baylor Health Care System

11:45 a.m.- 12:45 p.m.
Lunch and Networking

12:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.|
Data for Quality Improvement
–Moderator: Daniel Carmody, CPA, ChFC, Operations Director, Information Strategy and Solutions, CIGNA HealthCare
–Janet Corrigan, President and CEO, National Quality Forum
–Scott Cullen, MD, Lead for Clinical Analytics, Accenture
–Tracey Moorhead, President & CEO, Care Continuum Alliance
–Gurvaneet Randhawa, MD, MPH, Senior Advisor on Clinical Genomics & Personalized Medicine, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

2:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Networking Break

2:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
HIT Coordination Panel: Progress and Barriers at State Level
–Moderator: Rebecca Little, Senior Vice President, Medicity
–Doug Dietzman, Executive Director, Michigan Health Connect
–Gina Bianco Perez, Executive Director, Delaware Health Information Network
–John K. Evans, MHA, FACHE, President, S2A Consulting
–Liza Fox-Wylie, Policy Director, Colorado Regional Health Information Organization
–Tom Liddell, Executive Director, Michiana Health Information Network
–Vikas Khosla, President and CEO, BluePrint Healthcare IT, NJ HIN Privacy and Security Committee Subject Matter Expert

3:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Keynote Address:
–Introduction by Diane Jones, Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, eHealth Initiative
–David Blumenthal, MD, MPH, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, US Department of Health and Human Services

4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m
Keynote Address:
–Introduction by Jennifer Covich, Chief Executive Officer, eHealth Initiative
–Cokie Roberts Cokie Roberts, ABC Congressional Correspondent and Senior News Analyst for National Public Radio

5:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m
Closing Remarks
Jennifer Covich Bordenick, Chief Executive Officer, eHealth Initiative

For more information and registration, click here.

ONC Presents “Spotlight on Health IT in the News”

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Mike Squires

Spotlight on Health IT in the News
Excerpted this new feature from Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health IT site, first published on 1/5/2010 and updated on 1/6/2010.

Blumenthal Looks Back at 2010, Offers Peek Into Plans for 2011
Q&A with David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
iHealthBeat, January 3, 2011

Dr. Blumenthal discusses the challenges ONC faced in 2010, plans for 2011, and the importance of health information technology (health IT) to the implementation of federal health reform law.
Electronic Health Records: Potential to Transform Medical Education
By Sachin H. Jain, M.D., M.B.A., Special Assistant to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and Bryant A. Adibe, B.S., Executive Director, Young Achievers Foundation
The American Journal of Managed Care, December 22, 2010

Dr. Jain and Bryant Adibe examine the ways in which EHR adoption can lead to improved patient-centered approaches to physician training.
Healthcare Information Technology Interventions to Improve Cardiovascular and Diabetes Medication Adherence
By Sachin H. Jain, M.D., M.B.A., Special Assistant to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, et al.
The American Journal of Managed Care, December 22, 2010

This literature review discusses health IT interventions designed to improve medication adherence in cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Alternative Measures of Electronic Health Record Adoption Among Hospitals
By Melinda J. Beeuwkes Buntin, Ph.D., Director, Office of Economic Analysis and Modeling, and Charles P. Friedman, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, ONC
The American Journal of Managed Care, December 22, 2010

This study examines the type of EHR functions that hospitals have adopted.
Using Electronic Prescribing Transaction Data to Estimate Electronic Health Record Adoption
By Farzad Mostashari, M.D., Sc.M., Deputy National Coordinator for Programs and Policy; Melinda J. Beeuwkes Buntin, Ph.D., Director, Office of Economic Analysis and Modeling; and Emily Ruth Maxson, Duke University School of Medicine
The American Journal of Managed Care, December 22, 2010

This study investigates whether electronic prescribing transaction data can be used to accurately and efficiently track national and regional electronic health record adoption.
Health Information Technology Is Leading Multisector Health System Transformation
By David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and Sachin H. Jain, M.D., M.B.A., Special Assistant to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
The American Journal of Managed Care, December 17, 2010

Dr. Blumenthal and Dr. Jain discuss the impact of the HITECH Act on health information technology (health IT) adoption and provide an overview of the content found in the journal’s special issue on health IT.
Uniting the Tribes of Health System Improvement
By Aaron McKethan, Ph.D., Program Director, and Craig Brammer, Deputy Director, Beacon Community Program
The American Journal of Managed Care, December 17, 2010

Dr. McKethan and Craig Brammer discuss how multiple interventions and simultaneously implemented tools are required to transform the U.S. health care system.
Regional Quality Initiatives: Expanding the Partnership
Blog post by David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; Carolyn Clancy, M.D., Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); and Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
Health Affairs Blog, December 9, 2010

This joint ONC, AHRQ, and RWJF blog post discusses how dozens of diverse regions of the country are benefiting from an unprecedented commitment of resources and technical expertise to help local leaders improve the quality of health care provided in their region.
Perspective: Dr. David Blumenthal on Health Information Technology
Q&A with David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
MDNews.com, November 19, 2010

Dr. Blumenthal discusses provider involvement in implementation of health IT as part of a videotaped interview during the Medical Group Management Association 2010 conference, held October 24-27.

10. Fed Health Tech Chief Talks about E-Medical Records
Q&A with David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
The Texas Tribune, October 21, 2010

Dr. Blumenthal discusses the benefits of electronic health records and protections for patient privacy.

11. Beacons for Better Health
By Aaron McKethan, Ph.D., Program Director, and Craig Brammer, Deputy Director, Beacon Community Program
Health Affairs Blog, September 23, 2010

Dr. McKethan and Mr. Brammer discuss how Beacon Communities will showcase ways that health information technology is being used to support providers in delivering improved patient care.

12. This Doctor’s Task: Get Hospitals to Go Digital
Q&A with David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
Federal Times.com, September 13, 2010

Dr. Blumenthal elaborates on ONC’s efforts to encourage the electronic transformation of health care delivery on the national and local levels.

13. The Push for Electronic Medical Records (listen to audio file)
Interview with David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
Vermont Public Radio, September 9, 2010

Dr. Blumenthal speaks to Vermont Public Radio about the Vermont Information Technology Leaders Summit and how the state’s hospitals and providers can increase their electronic health records adoption.

14. Beaconology for Beginners: A Chat with ONC’s Aaron McKethan
Aaron McKethan, Ph.D., Program Director, Beacon Community Program
CMIO Blog, September 7, 2010

Dr. McKethan chats with CMIO about producing community-level clinical performance measures as modeled by the Beacon Community Program.

15. Strengthening the Gulf’s Health-Care Infrastructure for Generations to Come
By Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Huffington Post, August 27, 2010

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius discusses rebuilding the health-care infrastructure to meet the Gulf communities’ long-term medical needs, including efforts by Beacon Communities to help providers move from paper files into the digital age.

16. The New Momentum Behind Electronic Health Records
By Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
KHN Blog, Kaiser Health News, August 26, 2010

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius details the benefits of health IT adoption for the entire health care system.

17. Health Information Technology Program Receives $2.7 Million in Federal Funding, Graduates First Class of Students This Summer
University of Texas at Austin Website, August 26, 2010

University of Texas at Austin graduates the nation’s first class of students from its federally funded health IT workforce development program.

18. Adoption and Meaningful Use of EHRs – The Journey Begins
By David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; and Don Berwick, M.D., Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Health Affairs Blog, August 5, 2010

Dr. Blumenthal and Dr. Berwick explain the need for federal leadership in helping providers nationwide to adopt and utilize health IT for better quality of care.

19. Perspective: The “Meaningful Use” Regulation for Electronic Health Records
By David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, and Marilyn Tavenner, R.N., M.H.A., Principal Deputy Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
New England Journal of Medicine, July 13, 2010

Dr. Blumenthal and Marilyn Tavenner summarize the core objectives of the CMS “Meaningful Use” regulation and how it ties payments to the achievement of advances in health care processes and outcomes.

20. Perspective: Finding My Way to Electronic Health Records
By Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Regina M. Benjamin, M.D., M.B.A.
New England Journal of Medicine, July 13, 2010

Surgeon General Regina Benjamin shares her personal story about understanding the value of electric health records in preserving patient records when disaster strikes.

21. Health Information Technology: Laying the Infrastructure for National Health Reform [PDF - 146 KB]
By David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; Sachin H. Jain, M.D. M.B.A., Special Assistant to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; and Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin, Ph.D., Senior Economic Advisor, ONC
Health Affairs, June 2010

Drs. Blumenthal, Jain, and Buntin discuss the key ways in which health IT is critical to the implementation of national health reform.

22. Perspective: Launching HITECH
By David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P., National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
New England Journal of Medicine, February 4, 2010

Dr. Blumenthal outlines the HITECH Act as the groundwork for an advanced electronic health information system.

e-Healthcare Marketing

Health Information Exchange, Electronic Health Records and Personal Health Records

Category Archives: Innovation

National Health IT Week: Sept 10-14, 2012

National Health IT Week

Health IT Events and Initiatives

ONC and CMS @HIMSS12 Annual Conference & Exhibition — Las Vegas

HIMSS Schedule of Events

Theater Booth Sessions – Exhibit Hall, Booths 14624/14824

ONC “Talk to the Expert” Sessions – Exhibit Booth #14824

Engage with ONC during the Conference Online

For More Information

ONC’s Wil Yu: ‘Proof of Concept Testing through Innovation Exchanges for Health IT’

HHS and ONC: Investing in Innovations (i2) Initiative

CMS to Announce 3 new Innovation Programs May 17

Beacon Communities: One Year Review on Blog, Brookings and Webcast

Blog: What We Can Learn from the Beacon Communities on Their First Birthday?
Brookings Event: May 17 8:30am to 12:00noon
Webcast From Brookings: Click here Health IT Buzz Blog: What We Can Learn from the Beacon Communities on Their First Birthday?

Beacon Communities

Beacon Community

Award Amount

Goal

NJ Health Information Technology Commission Meeting: Feb 3, 2011

Blumenthal Letter #24: Our Journey Continues: $80 Million in Add’l Funds to RECs, 8 HIEs, and Community Colleges

eHI Finalizes Jan 19-20 Annual Conference Agenda, Washington, DC.

ONC Presents “Spotlight on Health IT in the News”

Health IT Events and Initiatives

HIMSS Schedule of Events

Theater Booth Sessions – Exhibit Hall, Booths 14624/14824

ONC “Talk to the Expert” Sessions – Exhibit Booth #14824

Engage with ONC during the Conference Online

For More Information

Blog: What We Can Learn from the Beacon Communities on Their First Birthday? Brookings Event: May 17 8:30am to 12:00noon Webcast From Brookings: Click here Health IT Buzz Blog: What We Can Learn from the Beacon Communities on Their First Birthday?

Beacon Community

Award Amount

Goal

Blog: What We Can Learn from the Beacon Communities on Their First Birthday?
Brookings Event: May 17 8:30am to 12:00noon
Webcast From Brookings: Click here Health IT Buzz Blog: What We Can Learn from the Beacon Communities on Their First Birthday?