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May 4, 2010 |
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Education & Outreach|
Policy|
Workforce Development & Training|
Finance & Sustainability
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Newsletter Contents
$220 million for Beacon Community Grantees Announced
HHS Seeks Public Comments on Individual’s Right to Disclosures of their Health Information
Call-to-Action: Get Your Congressperson to Co-sponsor H.R. 5040 to Expand Health IT Funding to Community Behavioral Health Centers
Senate Special Committee on Aging Gets a Peak at Health ITUpcoming Events
$220 million for Beacon Community Grantees Announced
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it is awarding $220 million to 15 communities as a part of its Beacon Communities Program. 130 applications were received for this round of funding. The 15 communities and their key strategies will serve as best practice models for adopting and meaningfully using EHRs in 3 specific areas: improving quality, cost-efficiency, and population health. They will also work closely with their regional extension centers (RECs) and State health information exchanges (HIEs) to help facilitate health IT adoption and meaningful use of EHRs. The program is being managed and funds will flow through the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). Of the$250 million made available for the Beacon Program through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), $30 million is still available to fund additional “Beacon Communities”. ONC has noted that another RFP will be sent out in the near future for other communities who would like to apply.
HHS Seeks Public Comments on Individual’s Right to Disclosures of their Health Information
Over the weekend, HHS issued a request for information in the Federal Register, HIPAA Privacy Rule Accounting of Disclosures Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. Click here to view the notice. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act expands an individual’s right to gain access to disclosures of their electronic health record and health information under HIPAA that are made by covered entities (e.g., health care providers, health plans, and health care clearinghouses) and their business associates. HHS seeking comments from stakeholders (particularly consumer groups) in order to answer specific questions on the benefits of individuals having an accounting of disclosures of their protected health information. The deadline for submitting comments to HHS is on or before May 18, 2010.
Call-to-Action: Get Your Congressperson to Co-sponsor H.R. 5040 to Expand Health IT Funding to Community Behavioral Health Centers
Last week, Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Tim Murphy (R-PA) introduced a bill (H.R. 5040), Health Information Technology Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act of 2010, which would expand the impending EHR incentive payments to previously ineligible community behavioral health providers and organizations, including: behavioral and mental health professionals, psychiatric hospitals, behavioral and mental health treatment facilities, and substance abuse treatment facilities. Currently mental and behavioral health providers are excluded from receiving EHR payment incentives through ARRA. There are currently 12 co-sponsors for the bill:
- Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2]
- Rep Blackburn, Marsha [TN-7]
- Rep Courtney, Joe [CT-2]
- Rep Gonzalez, Charles A. [TX-20]
- Rep Green, Gene [TX-29]
- Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7]
- Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-23]
- Rep Murphy, Christopher S. [CT-5]
- Rep Murphy, Tim [PA-18]
- Rep Ryan, Tim [OH-17]
- Rep Skelton, Ike [MO-4]
- Rep Watson, Diane E. [CA-33]
Senate Special Committee on Aging Gets a Peak at Health IT
On April 22nd, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing to discuss the FCC’s National Broadband Plan and broadband’s integration with the changing healthcare landscape. The panel got a chance to preview devices such as a wireless automatic drug dispenser and get a glimpse into its capabilities to collect patient data and transmit that information to the patient’s EHR. The Committee was particularly interested in health IT’s role in reducing Medicare costs and improving healthcare quality for an aging population and efficiency for their healthcare providers. Click here to view more information about the hearing.
Upcoming Events
- Beyond Reform: Health Concerns and Disparities Among America’s Fastest Growing Populations - May 6, 2010, 9:30am-noon, Washington, DC
- The Cost of Inaction: Going Beyond the Business Case for Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities - May 11, 2010 (webinar)
- CMS Webinar Series
- 2010 Indian Health Information Management Conference (IHIMC) - May 10-14, 2010, Scottsdale, AZ
- NHIT Workgroup Meeting – Save the Date, June 15, 2010
- SHIRE’s 2nd Health Information Technology Resource Teach-In – June 23, Los Angeles, CA
- eHealth Initiative’s National Forum on Health Information Exchange – July 22, Washington, DC
- National Health IT Week - Save the Date, June 14-18
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