intermediaries news from FierceHealthIT

So the VA EMR can't talk to the DoD's system--no surprise, given the gigantic bureaucracies involved. But it's daunting to consider that this is just one flavor of a nationwide problem we're facing Read more...

A Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives has introduced a bill to create a national health information technology network. The model relies on a concept known as a "trust," under Read more...

Regional health information organizations have their place--and at least some are success stories. But RHIOs still struggle to protect patient privacy, determine data ownership and keep themselves afloat financially, says Cerner's David McCallie, M.D. McCallie is arguing for the creation of "health record banks," neutral intermediaries which maintain data but have no other stake in the game. Editorial

What is the business model for sustaining a RHIO? As venerable exchanges like the Santa Barbara RHIO begin to collapse under the weight of their expenses (see below), it's a question that should be asked more …

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Pharmaceutical industry vendors are suing to get a New Hampshire law thrown out which they claim unconstitutionally restricts their use of physician-identifiable prescription information. New Hampshire's House Bill 1346, which took effect this summer, is the first state or federal effort to limit commercial use of physician-identifiable data (patient data is already protected by HIPAA). Currently, pharma industry intermediaries like IMS Health and Verispan collect prescription information …

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