HHS outlines markers on advancing health IT

HHS Health IT Coordinator David Blumenthal said today his agency is making rapid progress on overhauling health information technology, in particular the $19 billion in incentives aimed at spurring nationwide adoption of electronic medical records.

This summer, said Blumenthal, his office will make public its plans for creating infrastructure support to help healthcare providers expand their use of health IT. In addition, it will unveil its blueprint for facilitating a health information exchange, which is vital to achieving broader healthcare coordination goals.

He made his comments at an event at the Center for American Progress this morning, just as the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee passed its healthcare overhaul along party lines.

Blumenthal said developing recommendations for a statutory definition of "meaningful use" is a top priority for him as well as for a federal advisory panel that meets Thursday.

A notice of proposed rulemaking on the topic should be published within several months to allow time for public comment before the definition takes its final form in early 2010, Blumenthal said. The definition, which will be subject to a rulemaking administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will let providers know how to cash in on Medicare and Medicaid bonuses for adopting health IT beginning in 2011.

Next week, another federal panel will meet to report on what potential standards will be needed to make meaningful use realizable in actual equipment purchasing and manufacturing decisions. HHS hopes to develop health IT certification rules by the end of the year, while experts are examining the current system to find gaps or inefficiencies, Blumenthal said. He did not say whether he wants to replace the existing certification body, which has drawn criticism from some providers whose systems have not been accredited.