Big Health IT Rules Coming

This post was written by Aliya Sternstein.

Expect many major announcements this week from the administration and its advisers about eligibility rules for obtaining health IT funding.

On Tuesday, the Health and Human Services Department will unveil long-awaited final regulations on what is required of doctors and hospitals to receive a share of roughly $20 billion in bonus Medicare payments for using electronic health records. Medical professionals will have to install and utilize e-health records in a way that meets the rule's definition of meaningful use to be eligible for up to $44,000 in incentive payments. HHS on Dec. 30, 2009 proposed a definition that stated meaningful use meant complying with specific procedures for enhancing the coordination of care, engaging patients and families and ensuring privacy.

Also on Tuesday, HHS will issue final regulations that will determine what is required of health IT vendors to get a share of the e-health record market, including the business of meaningful users. The requirements will be detailed in a rule on standards and certification. An initial rule on this, also unveiled on Dec. 30, set forth specifications for exchanging content in compatible formats, standard vocabularies, uniform transmission protocols and privacy controls.

On Friday, a presidential advisory board, whose members include Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer at health IT vendor Microsoft, will update the public on a health IT study. The report is intended to deliver recommendations on the future of health information IT and the impact it will have on improving patient health outcomes, cost-cutting and increasing the availability of public health data. The PCAST meeting will be webcast live .