November 01, 2011
Back in June, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) published the proposed rule for implementing perhaps the most challenging of the requirements of ARRA HITECH related to updating the HIPAA Security and Privacy rules. The proposed rule addressed the requirements found in Section 13405(c) of ARRA HITECH for a patient to have the right to an accounting of disclosures for disclosures made from the electronic health record of the patient’s electronic personal health information (ePHI).
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August 30, 2011
I recently provided an overview of electronic health records (EHRs) to a new college graduate considering employment in the field. I described how access to clinical information at the right time significantly contributes to patient safety. I highlighted how clinicians can simplify their workflow by building personalized templates among care plans, order sets and notes, which they easily customize to each patient. I outlined the great advancements that can be made by querying the information for research sake. Most of all, however, I emphasized how exciting it is to be able to empower health care providers with use of the electronic health record during an unprecedented time of growth. Several regulatory initiatives will greatly accelerate responsible sharing and deeper use of information collected within the record. While I mentored my young friend on each of the upcoming initiatives, I stressed the importance of ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS.
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August 25, 2011
Through some twisted events of fate, I have found myself at the cataclysmic intersection of three worlds: emergency medicine, health information technology and accountable care organizations (ACOs). I was asked a few years ago to be the CMIO for the Palmetto Health Quality Collaborative (PHQC), an ACO established by Palmetto Health in Columbia, S.C., and it has been quite amazing to realize the interrelatedness of these worlds.
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August 16, 2011
Several words come to mind when people think about health care, one of those being “costly.” A new report from Medicare’s Office of the Actuary projects that by 2014 health care spending will grow by 8.3 percent. This rate far outpaces any projected growth in the U.S. GDP. And by 2020, the U.S. is expected to pay $4.6 trillion – yes, TRILLION – for health care services. Some of this cost is unavoidable as the Baby Boomer generation heads into retirement and begins to become heavy consumers of health care services. But there are things we can do as individuals and as employers to improve the health system and ultimately reduce costs.
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August 11, 2011
The idea that a healthy workforce makes for a productive workforce isn’t new to employers. Occupational health, a discipline focused on health and safety in the workplace, was officially defined by International Labour Organization and the World Health Organization in 1950 and various approaches have been in place since that time. As health care costs in America rise, employers are the ones who face the brunt of these expenses. Realizing the need to both control costs and maintain a healthy workforce, many employers are expanding their view of occupational health and taking a more holistic, proactive approach to overall workplace health.
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August 03, 2011
It’s no secret that health care costs in the United States are significant. Ask anyone who has been to the ER recently, or someone managing chronic health issues and taking several different prescription medications. Two recent reports discuss how much Americans can expect to spend on health care, and how that spend compares with other countries.
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