National Health IT Week Thursday Recap

TOPICS:

Posted By: Roberta Mullin September 20, 2013

National Health IT WeekWednesday, Sept 18th

This week is the 8th Annual National Health IT Week. The week raises awareness of Health Information Technology’s power to improve the health and health care of patients all across the nation, and at lower cost. National Health IT Week celebrates the efforts that have been made—and are being made—in the transformation of how care is delivered and paid for and how patients engage in their own health and health care. Here are some highlights of day 4.

  • Brian Ahier is hosting the National Health IT Week Blog Carnival this year on his Advanced Health Information Exchange Resources site. It will run all week and he will be updating daily. This year’s theme is “The Value of Health IT.” Day 4 includes Dr.John Halamka, CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston brings us his insight on “Patient and family engagement in ICUs. Dr. Geeta Nayyar, CMIO at PatientPoint posted “Unlocking the Potential of Mobile Technology.” And more, check all the great articles Brian has assembled.
  • Twitter hashtags to follow: #NHITWeek, #healthIT, and #HITchicks (check out the chat they had on Thursday).
  • Regina Holliday was in attendance painting and gathering with her members of the Walking Gallery this week celebrating National Health IT Week. Here is her recap – Time to Leave the Island.

HIMSS 12th Annual Policy Summit

Relay HIMSS’ top priority “Asks” directly to your members of Congress and their staff.

  1. Consistent Nationwide Patient Data Matching Strategy – Recommendation: Congress should make the development and adoption of a consistent nationwide patient data matching strategy, through a government-industry collaboration, a priority for the Administration.
  2. Alignment of Healthcare Quality Reporting Requirements Across Federal Programs – Recommendation: Congress should require expedited efforts to align the EHR Incentive Program’s quality reporting requirements across all federal reporting and incentive programs. HHS and other federal agencies should align Meaningful Use Program Consistent clinical quality measures (CQMs) with other health IT compliance initiatives, including Version 5010, International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition (ICD-10), Physician Quality Reporting System programs (PQRS), EHR Incentive Program Pilot for Eligible Providers, e-Reporting Pilot for Eligible Hospitals and Clinical Access Hospitals, Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program (IQR), and the Medicare Shared Savings (ACO) Program.
  3. Consistent Adoption of Health IT Exchange Standards and Implementation Guidelines – Recommendation: To improve the quality of patient care, safety, and cost containment, Congress should exercise its oversight authority to ensure that needed health IT data definitions and transaction standards are implemented consistently and effectively nationwide, with needed infrastructure in place, to support the EHR Meaningful Use Incentive Program Stages and national healthcare transformation.

Tweets from the Week