Health IT Law Blog : Health IT Law Blog : Post & Schell: Law Firm : HIT & Electronic Health Records

On December 8, 2010, President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) issued its report on the importance of widespread adoption and use of health IT to improve healthcare delivery and reduce costs. The report concluded that:

information technology can help catalyze a number of important benefits including improved access to patient data, which can help clinicians as they diagnose and treat patients and patients themselves as they strive to take more control over their health; streamlined monitoring of public health patterns and trends; an enhanced ability to conduct clinical trials of new diagnostic methods and treatments; and the creation of new high­technology markets and jobs. Health information technology can also help support a range of healthcare ­related economic reforms needed to address our Nation’s long­term fiscal challenges.

PCAST also recommended "nationwide adoption of a universal exchange language for healthcare information and a digital infrastructure for locating patient records while strictly ensuring patient privacy," and tasked CMS and ONC with developing guidelines "to spur adoption of such a language and to facilitate a transition from traditional electronic health records to the use of healthcare data tagged with privacy and security specifications."

You can view PCAST's press release here.

You can view PCAST report here.

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On April 13, 2010, the Wall Street Journal published two fascinating articles on health information technology issues.  In "Can Technology Cure Health Health Care?" author Jacob Goldstein examined the complexities and major risks of adopting electronic medical records.  Goldstein also suggested a few high-level policies necessary to combat such risks, including designing the software with patient care in mind (rather than focusing on billing and other administrative tasks); customizing the software to fit the unique needs of one's organization; and taking the time to implement the EMR in a carefully crafted, staged manner. 

The last recommendation seems to be indeed crucial to a successful EMR implementation, but it will likely put many healthcare providers trying to capitalize on HITECH incentive payments in a peculiar situation.  Such providers must carefully balance their need to achieve "meaningful use" in a short time frame, while preventing as many disruptions to patient care as possible.

In "Breaking Down the Barriers," Laura Landro examined the state of regional health organizations (RHIOs) and health information exchanges (HIEs). While RHIO/HIE's are still rare, the number of such electronic patient data exchanges grows every day.  In fact, according to the Journal, the number of RHIO/HIE's increased by 57% since last year.  Such exchanges are also likely to benefit from HITECH Act funding distributed by HHS. 

There is an interesting nexus between these two articles:  interoperability and exchange.  A successful widespread adoption of EMR technology seems to depend upon different EMRs talking to each other, and different - including competing - healthcare providers exchanging patient information.  While EMRs may only marginally improve patient care in each individual hospital, they are likely to have a far greater impact as part of a nationwide health information exchange.

"Can Technology Cure Health Care?" Wall Street Journal (April 13, 2010).

"Breaking Down the Barriers," Wall Street Journal (April 13, 2010).

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The State of Maryland awarded $10 million to support the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP), a newly created health information technology exchange organization.  Some of  the biggest players in Maryland's health care industry, including Johns Hopkins, MedStar and the University of Maryland Medical System are going to participate in CRISP. 

According to the Baltimore Business Journal:

Funding will come from the hospitals that will receive a slight increase in the prices they can charge patients and federal stimulus money.

The news comes as health care officials and lawmakers champion electronic medical records as a way of reducing health care costs. They argue that electronic medical records will reduce costs by hopefully eliminating unnecessary tests and reducing errors by allowing doctors to quickly access patients’ medical records.

State health insurers plan to provide incentives to hospitals, which include a lump sum payment or increased reimbursement, to adopt electronic health records.

"Maryland awards $10M for health IT exchange," Baltimore Business Journal (August 5, 2009).

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