Digital Government

HHS budget highlights IT initiatives

The Health and Human Services Department's proposed $81 billion discretionary budget for fiscal 2011 includes a few nuggets of increased IT spending.

Digital Government

VA freezes IT budget for 2011

The Veterans Affairs Department is looking at a flat level of $3.3 billion for information technology in fiscal 2011, but managed some increases for benefits automation and telemedicine.

People

SSA to share data with 15 more health information exchanges

The Social Security Administration awarded $17.4 million to 15 health information exchanges that will begin sharing their patient medical data with agency.

Digital Government

Wait another year for patient safety data, GAO says

Information required under the Patient Safety Act likely won't be available until February 2011, according to a new report.

Modernization

Budget request highlights push for efficiency

The White House's $79 billion IT budget includes plans for centralizing IT services, consolidating data centers and more cloud computing.

Cybersecurity

Obama wants nearly $80B for IT projects

The administration has proposed only a small increase for IT spending in fiscal 2011.

Digital Government

Federal contracts for health IT might be less than you think

The federal government is spending about $900 million this year on direct contracts for health IT, according to FedSources expert Ray Bjorklund.

People

Congress must revamp campaign finance online reporting, watchdog says

The recent Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited corporate contributions to campaigns is creating a need for a robust, comprehensive online campaign finance reporting system, says the Sunlight Foundation.

People

DOD and VA achieve interoperability on health records, GAO says

The Defense and Veteran Affairs departments have finally met their goal of making their digital health record systems compatible, says a new GAO report.

People

SSA health exchange generates extra $2M for users, study finds

A health data exchange between MedVirginia and the Social Security Administration is generating extra revenue, a new report says.

Modernization

NIH Pillbox prototype is easy to digest

The National Institutes of Health's online prototype pill verification system, Pillbox, owes its success to user-centered development, its project manager said.

Digital Government

Health data standard could be key to better informed patients

The new rules for achieving "meaningful use" of electronic health records could be advanced through adoption of a technical standard for delivering health information to patients, according to a new white paper.

People

States improve transparency of Recovery Act spending

State governments in Kentucky, Illinois, Minnesota and Utah made the most dramatic progress in reporting publicly their federal economic stimulus spending online in the last six months, according to a new report.

Digital Government

'Meaningful use' could be facilitated by PHRs, says ONC official

Joshua Seidman, a new official at the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, talked about an issue that means a lot to vendors of personal health record systems.

Digital Government

HHS preparing to award $50M for Health IT Research Center

HHS is preparing to launch its Health IT Research Center devoted to meaningful use of electronic health records under the economic stimulus law.

Digital Government

E-prescribing tools raise reliability concerns

Some e-prescribing systems rely too much on patients to remember details about their medications and are vulnerable to delays when pharmacy networks crash, according to members of an HHS workgroup.

Acquisition

Did CDC violate contract rules? Agency, auditors disagree

The HHS inspector general is accusing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of violating federal acquisition rules prohibiting personal services contracts, while CDC's director insists no violation has occurred.

Digital Government

Grants for broadband becoming easier to apply for

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utilities Service have made the grant application process easier.

People

Energy CIO Tom Pyke to retire Feb. 27

Energy Department Chief Information Officer Tom Pyke announced his retirement in a note to staff.

Cybersecurity

Napolitano orders SBInet reassessment

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has ordered a re-evaluation of options for protecting the United States-Mexico border because of delays in deploying the SBInet technology system.