Digital Government
IT Procurement, Happily Ever After
If Aesop were writing today, he might spin a cautionary tale about the selection of electronic health records. The moral? A proprietary system that looks like a golden goose may turn out to be a costly pile of sour grapes. Or something like that.
Digital Government
The Weakest Health IT Link, Inc.
A major failing of the government's plan to digitize paper medical records, assert some privacy advocates assert, is that you just can't trust pointy headed bureaucrats to keep that information safe. That sentiment isn't unfounded, says a CMS official, but it is misplaced.
Digital Government
Head to Toe, Health IT Exposed
For gearheads and policy wonks who quiver at the mention of health IT (and you know who you are), your <a href="http://www.healthaffairs.org/1500_about_journal.php">"swimsuit issue"</a> hits stands today. That's right, the entire issue of Health Affairs magazine is devoted to ... wait for it ... glistening full-body coverage of the "benefits and limitations of electronic health record systems."
Digital Government
Stethoscope, Thermometer, iPad
Early adopters who forgot to preorder an iPad are <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/01/ipad-line/">lining up</a> to get their nerdy mitts on Apple's latest device, which goes on sale on Saturday. We don't expect to see many white coats or stethoscopes in the queue, but mass adoption of the iPad by the medical community could be just a matter of time.
Digital Government
IT Workforce Adequate, Possibly
It is inevitable that the massive undertaking to digitize and electronically exchange the country's health care data will result in a near-term shortage of health IT workers, right? That's the conventional wisdom. But David Blumenthal, the Obama administration's national coordinator for health IT, <a href="http://www.ihealthbeat.org/features/2010/blumenthal-discusses-federal-health-it-strategy-timeline.aspx">takes a more sanguine view</a>--sort of.
Digital Government
Madison Ave. to Gild Health IT
The Health & Human Services Department has enlisted a private public relations firm to persuade Americans that health information technology systems will protect their personal health information. The contract will pay Ketchum $26 million to devise the public education campaign, <a href="http://www.govhealthit.com/newsitem.aspx?nid=73411">reports Government Health IT</a>.
Digital Government
Big Brother Eyes Health Records?
The use of scare tactics to undermine health reform continues. Fox News suggested this week that efforts to expand the use of electronic medical records raise concerns "about government access to Americans' medical history ... and what the government will do once it has access to Americans' medical history."
Digital Government
Health Reform and Health IT
Making law is often compared to making sausage, but the crafting of health care reform that unfolded over the past year more resembled the intractable twisting and turning of a taffy puller. If nothing else, the epic process provided a ready-made excuse for reluctant readers: Why peruse today a bill that will change again tomorrow?
Digital Government
NIST Releases Testing Protocol
Seeking to ensure that the nation's burgeoning health IT infrastructure lives up to expectations, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has released <a href="http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/tb2010_0316.htm#hit">the first phase</a> of "a new health IT test method and related software." Three additional installments are to follow.
Digital Government
Wanted: Health IT Workers
At a time when the national unemployment rate hovers above 10 percent, the health IT sector has more shovel-ready jobs in the pipe than there are qualified hi-tech shovelers.
Digital Government
HHS Reaches Exchange Milestone
As of this week, HHS has awarded funds for building health information exchanges, the nervous system of an advanced health IT system, to every state and eligible territory. Dr. David Blumenthal, national coordinator for health information technology, said the occasion marked a "significant milestone" in attaining the seamless exchange of health information that is needed to improve patient care.
Digital Government
The Amazing (Health IT) Race
Yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre is one way to start a riot. Yelling "free candy" at the concession stand is another. The chaos is just as disruptive. Hence the potential for the mother of all chocolate messes as health care providers stampede to gobble up billions of dollars in federal sweeteners cooked up to promote greater use of health IT.
Digital Government
The Carrot is Mightier Than the Stick
The coiners of maxims about relative strength -- the pen is mightier than the sword. Superman's more powerful than a locomotive. Love conquers all -- have long overlooked the humble carrot.
Digital Government
When Blumenthal Saw the IT Light
Dr. David Blumenthal, chief evangelist in the crusade to move American healthcare into the electronic age, is a recovering Luddite.
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