PRO(TECH)T Act of 2008

Quote of the day:

 
Boys will be boys, and so will a lot of middle-aged men. - Kin Hubbard

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The role of the Federal Government rears it's head  once again

with the reactivation of H.R. 6357, as it winds it's way through the Ways and Means Committee chaired by our venerable and staunch representative, and defender of the coiffers of HCFA, Pete Stark of California.

Elements of the draft bill call for:

• Maintaining the grant and loan programs included in HR 6357;
• Directing federal officials to coordinate the development of an open source electronic health record;
• Establishing Medicare incentive payments for health care providers who adopt and use IT systems;
• Requiring federal officials to study the definition of "health care operations" to determine which activities can be performed with de-identified data and which need patient consent;
• Preserving most of HR 6357's security and privacy provisions but specifying that the accounting requirement only would apply to disclosure of information stored in EHR systems;
• Increasing penalties for HIPAA privacy rule violations and requiring a Government Accountability Office study on the "minimum necessary" standard for disclosing data; and
• Authorizing state attorneys general to file lawsuits to enforce the privacy rule.

A quick observation on my part in reviewing the list of  CCHIT certified software reveals the certified solutions are quickly gaining ground in the market place. Primary care is on the leading edge of  EMR in software applications and will be as the concept of a  "Medical Home"  gains it's foothold.

THE  MEDICAL  HOME...KEY TO THE PUZZLE??

Sometimes I just want to 'Scream'