federal health news from FierceHealthIT
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ALSO NOTED: AHA head plugs new standards model; Baylor rolls out IM, presence-based solution; and much more...
> The CEO of the American Hospital Association is calling for a new model for creating and developing federal health IT standards. Read more...
Is health IT adoption slowing?
Despite pressure from a broad range of health industry stakeholders, the pace of health IT investment-including EMR adoption-may be slowing down for a bit, according to some industry observers. Industry leaders are "exhausted," and "[running] out of adrenaline," says Scott Wallace, president and chief executive officer of the National Alliance for Health IT. Efforts are stumbling, in part, because IT execs don't have enough successes to look at as models, Scott and others suggest. …
... Read more...GAO: Gov't HIT efforts lack privacy, security
Not only have federal health IT efforts left major holes in security and privacy policy, it's going to be difficult and expensive to fix the problem, too, according to a new GAO report. The watchdog organization would like to see HHS establish rules and project milestones which make sure that the exchange of digital health information between providers nationwide is secure and protects patient privacy. These rules should take into account individual state laws and specify the amount of …
... Read more...Congress to address health IT, patient privacy?
While the U.S. Congress failed to pass national health information technology legislation last year, the issue (which many cite as falling outside of traditional party lines) is likely to be considered yet again this year. Along with the Democratic sweep in Congress, many in the industry are expecting an accompanying shift in Federal health IT legislation. "Democrats will certainly re-address the issue, and in fact, there's already been talk among staffers about putting together a new …
... Read more...Feds plan $5B in HIT upgrades for '07
It's about time, guys. Federal agencies are placing a new emphasis on the power of IT to foster healthcare industry changes--budgeting nearly $5 billion for infrastructure upgrades and improved network connectivity. Agencies like HHS, the VA and the Department of Homeland Security will place a particular emphasis on EMR adoption and health data sharing next year. To get that done, they plan to consolidate data centers, hook up isolated systems and move some systems to component-based …
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