Meaningful Use: The Elephant IS In The Room

May 18, 2009 · Filed Under general, medical records, policy issues, reforming hc, trends & principles · 12 Comments

Comparative Effectiveness: a comparison of the impact of different options that are available for treating a given medical condition for a particular set of patients. Such studies may compare similar treatments, such as competing drugs, or they may analyze very different approaches, such as surgery and drug therapy. The analysis may focus only on the relative medical benefits and risks of each option, or it may go on to weigh both the costs and the benefits of those options.

I am afraid that by focusing so much on HITECH and on the definition of Meaningful Use and Certification on this blog we have been missing on the most important part of the “ARRA” stimulus package , the initial $1.1 bn. funding of Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) to be spent by Sep. 2010. Specifically some of the $400 millions to be used at the discretion of the DHHS Secretary that must be allocated to encourage the development and use of clinical registries, clinical data networks, and other forms of electronic health data that can be used to generate or obtain outcomes data. It certainly looks like the national implementation of EHRs may become fully intertwined with CER.

The minimum definition of “Meaningful Use” as defined in ARRA includes e-prescribing, electronic exchange of medical information and interoperability. These are also the necessary elements to start implementing a national CER strategy. There is just too much at stake this time to think it won’t happen.

e-Patients should become informed about the potential impact of CER for future care. Please read the summary of the “Listening Session of the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research” from April 14, 2009 to get a better understanding why we, the patients & patient groups, must get directly involved in helping to develop the CER private/public infrastructure & activities.

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EMRs: “Would you take it if it were FREE?”

May 15, 2009 · Filed Under medical records, policy issues, trends & principles · 9 Comments

Blogger John at the “EMR (EHR) and HIPAA” blog posted a musing that caused my business antennas to twitch. A vigorous discussion has started in the comments.
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Tags: Antennas, Billions, blog, Business Perspective, doctors, EHR, Emr System, Emr Systems, Front Page, Guess, Hipaa, Horrible Experiences, Incentives, Stimulus, Wsj

Saving Lives, Old-School Style

December 9, 2008 · Filed Under general, positive patterns, reforming hc · 3 Comments

What if there was a simple, old-school style procedure that could save tens of thousands of lives every year?

Better yet, what if it could be implemented at minuscule costs (about $3 million to rollout nationwide), and would require very little change in anyone’s procedure or daily lives?

What if that procedure was something as simple as going down a checklist before running any procedure on a patient?

Tags: checklist, checklists, EHR, technology

Technology as a means, not an end

February 14, 2008 · Filed Under policy issues · Comment

I was part of a brainstorming session yesterday about the role of technology in health and health care, in preparation for a June 2008 Ix conference here in DC. Here is one of the quotes I captured from another participant:

Technology is always framed as an end and it is not. It is a means. The “end” for most people is getting the information and care they need.

The group went on to talk about how convincing docs to track their patients with electronic medical records is really not the point. Better health outcomes is the point.

Can we break that down a little further? If you had one minute to address the nation on the topic of health, what would you say? Put another way: What would your headline be?

Tags: EHR, EMR, technology

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