James R. Knickman, Champion of Sensible Reimbursement


James R. Knickman is the first President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York State Health Foundation. I encourage everyone to read his comment at the Huffington Post. SV

Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Public Comment is Now Open


Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) 2011 Update

Public Comment is Now Open
NCQA invites all parties to comment on proposed changes to the Physician Practice Connections®-Patient-Centered Medical HomeTM (PPC®-PCMHTM) 2011 standards from May 27-June 28. The PCMH 2011 standards build on the strengths of PPC-PCMH. They apply to the full spectrum of practice configurations, from small to large or electronically enabled to paper-based, in a variety of practice locations and for newly applying practices, as well as for those seeking renewal of Recognition.

Click here to access the public comment on the PCMH 2011 update.

In addition to emphasizing patient-centric, coordinated care and moving toward performance benchmarking within practices, the revised standards seek to:
Encourage better integration across practices through enhanced quality improvement requirements
Strengthen program requirements
Integrate behaviors affecting substance abuse and mental health issues
Align with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' proposed Measures of Meaningful Use (for ARRA incentives)
The program has been restructured from nine standards (in PPC-PCMH) to six standards. We propose additional advanced requirements: reporting standardized clinical and patient experience results and establishing formal relationships with specialists and facilities. As with the current program, NCQA will not require all items to be met for achieving Recognition.

NCQA appreciates the time and effort that organizations invest in providing comments, and reviews all Public Comment feedback.



For more information on public comment, contact NCQA Customer Support at 888-275-7585.

NYC DOH PCIP/NYC REACH Meaningful Use Webinars

The PCIP Quality Improvement team is now hosting free webinars to help doctors understand the federal Meaningful Use incentives. You can join through any internet connection. RSVP to learn:

• What Meaningful Use is
• The incentives available for physicians who demonstrate Meaningful Use of an EHR
• The Federal requirements for these incentives
• The eligibility criteria for receiving these incentives
• How NYC REACH will help providers meet the requirements

The first webinar will be this Wednesday, May 26th, 8:30 am - 9:30 am. If you cannot make this one, we will be holding sessions throughout June:

• Thursday, June 3rd, 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
• Wednesday, June 9th, 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
• Wednesday, June 16th, 8:30 am - 9:30 am
• Thursday, June 24th, 8:30 am - 9:30 am

To RSVP, contact Nadine Nikas at nnikas@health.nyc.gov.

NYC REACH

HP Notebook PC Battery Pack Recall

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and/or other safety regulatory authorities, HP announced voluntary recalls and replacement programs for some of the battery packs used in certain HP notebooks.

HP

CDPHP PCMH 2010 project expansion

Cudos again to CDPHP for setting the standard for Managed Care rewarding of PCMH practices. SV

CDPHP® of NY recently announced the second phase of its patient-centered medical home (PCMH) pilot, which was originally launched in May 2008. Developed to achieve improvements in the quality and efficiency of health care through transformation of the way primary care is practiced and reimbursed, the second phase of the pilot is expected to encompass 100 area practitioners serving nearly 100K members in the Capital Region.

The announcement was made to the medical community at the recent one-day technology conference, e-Forum 2010: Deciphering the Meaning of “Meaningful Use” and Enhancing the Value of Health Care Delivery. The event, jointly sponsored by CDPHP and the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY), hosted more than 100 area physicians and practice managers.

Cornell Study: E-prescribing cuts medication errors by seven-fold

This excellent study supports the work of Dr James Figge at NY to have additional e-Prescription compensation for prescribers and pharmacies. SV

Examples of the types of errors found included incomplete directions and prescribing a medication but omitting the quantity. A small number of errors were more serious, such as prescribing incorrect dosages.

Cornell Chronicle
Journal of General Internal Medicine Springer Select

CCHIT Certified 2011 Ambulatory EHRs

As we await the final Meaningful Use Criteria and ONC certification programs, here is the list of products that have made the leap to achieve CCHIT 2011 Certification. SV

Company	Product	Date Certified	Certification Expires	Certification
ABEL Medical Software Inc.	ABELMed EHR - EMR / PM 11 Pre-Market	11/23/2009	12/31/2014	2011
Compulink	Advantage/EHR 10 Pre-Market	12/16/2009	12/31/2014	2011
CureMD Corporation	CureMD EHR Version 10 Fully Certified	4/13/2010	12/31/2014	2011
EHS, Inc	EHS CareRevolution 5.3 Pre-Market	12/17/2009	12/31/2014	2011
Epic Systems Corporation	EpicCare Ambulatory - Core EMR Spring 2008 Fully Certified	1/8/2010	12/31/2014	2011
Epic Systems Corporation	EpicCare Ambulatory - Core EMR Summer 2009 Fully Certified	1/8/2010	12/31/2014	2011
Greenway Medical Technologies, Inc.	PrimeSuite 2011 Pre-Market	12/8/2009	12/31/2014	2011
KeyMedical Software, Inc.	KeyChart 4.0.0.0 Pre-Market	12/21/2009	12/31/2014	2011
MCS - Medical Communication Systems, Inc.	mMD.net EHR 10.8 eRx Conditional	12/21/2009	12/31/2014	2011
MedEvolve LLC	MedEvolve EHR 4.0 Pre-Market	12/21/2009	12/31/2014	2011
NeoDeck Software	NeoMed EHR 3.0 Pre-Market	4/20/2010	12/31/2014	2011
NexTech Systems Inc.	NexTech Practice 2011 9.5 Fully Certified	1/26/2010	12/31/2014	2011
NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc.	NextGen EHR 5.6 Fully Certified	12/8/2009	12/31/2014	2011
Nortec Software Inc	Nortec EHR 7.0 Fully Certified	5/12/2010	12/31/2014	2011
Pulse Systems	Pulse Patient Relationship Management 4.1.02 Fully Certified	12/11/2009	12/31/2014	2011
StreamlineMD, LLC	Streamline EHR 10.8 eRx Conditional	12/21/2009	12/31/2014	2011

NEW YORK EHR MEANINGFUL USE SUMMITS

Sponsored by the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC), NYC REACH, and the New York Chapter American College of Physicians (NYACP), this free full-day program addresses Meaningful Use incentives for physicians:

Thursday, May 13, 2010 - Brooklyn
Friday, May 14, 2010 - Long Island
Thursday, May 20, 2010 - Buffalo
Friday, May 21, 2010 - Syracuse
Saturday, May 22, 2010 - Binghamton
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - Albany
Friday, June 4, 2010 - Tarrytown

Registration

The Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program: 2010 Awardees

The Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program provides funding to communities to build and strengthen their health information technology (health IT) infrastructure and exchange capabilities. These communities will demonstrate the vision of a future where hospitals, clinicians, and patients are meaningful users of health IT, and together the community achieves measurable improvements in health care quality, safety, efficiency, and population health.
The Program provides funding to communities at the cutting edge of electronic health record (EHR) adoption and health information exchange to push them to a new level of sustainable health care quality and efficiency. This program is anticipated to demonstrate how health IT can help providers and consumers develop innovative ways of delivering care leading to sustainable and measurable health and efficiency improvements. The program also will generate lessons learned on how other communities can achieve similar goals enabled by health IT.

In May 2010, ONC made awards in the form of cooperative agreements to the following 15 qualified non-profit organizations or government entities:

Community Services Council of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK
$12,043,948

Delta Health Alliance, Inc., Stoneville, MS
$14,666,156

Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, Brewer, ME
$12,749,740

Geisinger Clinic, Danville, PA
$16,069,110

HealthInsight, Salt Lake City, UT
$15,790,181

Indiana Health Information Exchange, INC., Indianapolis, IN
$16,008,431

Inland Northwest Health Services, Spokane, WA
$15,702,479

Louisiana Public Health Institute, New Orleans, LA
$13,525,434

Mayo Clinic Rochester, d/b/a Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN
$12,284,770

Rhode Island Quality Institute, Providence, RI
$15,914,787

Rocky Mountain Health Maintenance Organization, Grand Junction, CO
$11,878,279

Southern Piedmont Community Care Plan, Inc., Concord, NC
$15,907,622

The Regents of the University of California at San Diego, San Diego, CA
$15,275,115

University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hilo, HI
$16,091,390

Western New York Clinical Information Exchange, Inc., Buffalo, NY
$16,092,485

An additional $30.3 million is currently available to fund additional Beacon Community cooperative agreement awards. An announcement to apply will be made in the near future.

For more information on the Beacon Community Program,
e-mail BeaconCommunityGrants@hhs.gov.

eHI's Free Webinar on Regional Extension Centers

Service Offerings and Sustainability
Wednesday, May 26, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. (ET)

This second session in the series will be held on Wednesday, May 26 from 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. (ET) and will focus on Regional Extension Centers (REC) Service Offerings and Sustainability.

REGISTER NOW

The eHealth Initiative will hold the second FREE webinar in a series on the Health Information Technology Regional Extension Program. The series is aimed at the REC and provider communities and will offer an educational forum to share insights and learn from one another.

The May 26th Webinar will feature:

* Ned Ellington, PhD, Director, HITRC Division, Office of Provider Adoption Support, Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) - Understanding How the Health Information Technology Research Center (HITRC) will Support the Regional Extension Centers in Their Mission

REC Reactor Panel:

* Moderated by Derek Schoonover, Vice President of Government & Strategy, McKesson Corporation
* Amy Andres, Chairperson of the Board, Ohio Health Information Partnership (OHIP); Health Information Technology Officer for the State of Ohio; and Chief of Staff at the Ohio Department of Insurance
* Melissa Rutala, MPH, Director, Regional Extension Center, Arizona Health-e Connection
* Monica Arrowsmith, Director of the Indiana Health Information Technology Extension Center, Purde University

REGISTER NOW

McKesson

Relay Health

HP

This webinar is sponsored by McKesson , RelayHealth and HP.
Please contact Keviar Warner with any questions about this event.

2010 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative & Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program

National Provider Call with Question & Answer Session

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Provider Communications Group will host a national provider conference call on the 2010 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) and Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program (eRx). This toll-free call will take place from 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m., EDT, on Wednesday, May 12, 2010.

The PQRI is voluntary quality reporting program that provides an incentive payment to identified individual eligible professionals (EPs), and beginning with the 2010 PQRI, group practices who satisfactorily report data on quality measures for covered Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) services furnished to Medicare Part B Fee-For-Service (FFS) beneficiaries.

The PQRI was first implemented in 2007 as a result of section 101 of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA), and further expanded as a result of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (MMSEA), and the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA). The eRx Incentive Program is an incentive program for eligible professionals initially implemented in 2009 as a result of section 132(b) of the MIPPA. The eRx Incentive Program promotes the adoption and use of eRx systems by individual eligible professionals (and beginning with the 2010 eRx Incentive Program, group practices).

Following a few program announcements and updates, the lines will be opened to allow participants to ask questions of CMS PQRI and eRx subject matter experts.

Educational products are available on the PQRI dedicated web page located at, http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI , on the CMS website, in the Educational Resources section, as well as educational products are available on the eRx dedicated web page located at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ERxIncentive on the CMS website. Feel free to download the resources prior to the call so that you may ask questions of the CMS presenters.

Conference call details:

Date: May 12, 2010

Conference Title: Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) - National Provider Call

Time: 1:30 p.m. EDT

In order to receive the call-in information, you must register for the call. It is important to note that if you are planning to sit in with a group, only one person needs to register to receive the call-in data. This registration is solely to reserve a phone line, NOT to allow participation.

Registration will close at 1:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, May 11, 2010, or when available space has been filled. No exceptions will be made, so please be sure to register prior to this time.

To register for the call participants need to go to:
http://www.eventsvc.com/palmettogba/051210


Fill in all required data.

Verify that your time zone is displayed correctly in the drop down box.

Click "Register".

You will be taken to the “Thank you for registering” page and will receive a confirmation email shortly thereafter. Note: Please print and save this page, in the event that your server blocks the confirmation emails. If you do not receive the confirmation email, please check your spam/junk mail filter as it may have been directed there.

For those of who will be unable to attend, a transcript of the call will be available at least one week after the call at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/pqri on the CMS website.

If you require services for the hearing impaired please send an email to: Medicare.TTT@PalmettoGBA.com.

Live Webcast -- Making “Enhanced Use” of Health Information

Recently passed health care reform legislation, together with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, provides an unprecedented opportunity to transform our current care delivery system into a high-value health care system. Making more effective – or “enhanced” – use of the health information routinely collected in the delivery of patient care can improve both individual patient care and overall population health through better quality reporting and performance measurement, public health surveillance, and evidence development.

On May 14, the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at Brookings will host a forum to identify practical solutions for advancing enhanced use of electronic health information on a national scale and examine best practices of organizations already engaged in such effective use. Experts and key stakeholders will also discuss concrete steps for further supporting enhanced use on a broader scale in light of recent legislation.


Event Registration

Friday, May 14, 2010
9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Online webcast

Register for eHI's Free Webinar on Regional Extension Centers

Service Offerings and Sustainability
Wednesday, May 26, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. (ET)

This second session in the series will be held on Wednesday, May 26 from 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. (ET) and will focus on Regional Extension Centers (REC) Service Offerings and Sustainability.

REGISTER NOW

The eHealth Initiative will hold the second FREE webinar in a series on the Health Information Technology Regional Extension Program. The series is aimed at the REC and provider communities and will offer an educational forum to share insights and learn from one another.

The May 26th Webinar will feature:

Understanding How the Health Information Technology Research Center (HITRC) will Support the Regional Extension Centers in Their Mission
Ned Ellington, PhD, Director, HITRC Division, Office of Provider Adoption Support, Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC)


Reactor Panel - Moderated by Derek Schoonover, Vice President of Government & Strategy, McKesson Corporation
Amy Andres, Chairperson of the Board, Ohio Health Information Partnership (OHIP); Health Information Technology Officer for the State of Ohio; and Chief of Staff at the Ohio Department of Insurance
Melissa Rutala, MPH, Director, Regional Extension Center, Arizona Health-e Connection
Monica Arrowsmith, Director of the Indiana Health Information Technology Extension Center, Purde University

REGISTER NOW

Promoting Use of Health IT: Why Be a Meaningful User: Dr David Blumenthal

I have been blogging for several years on the advantages of HIT.
Here is an excerpt from Dr. David Blumenthal's ONC blog. Dr Blumenthal makes a succinct case for implementing EHRs. SV

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 | Posted by: Dr. David Blumenthal | Category: ONC

As I write, physicians throughout the United States are deciding whether to become meaningful users of electronic health records by 2011 when Medicare and Medicaid start making extra payments to meaningful users. For some the decision may be pretty simple. Almost 200,000 doctors already have adopted EHRs and are using them at a basic or sophisticated level. For these physicians, the journey to meaningful use, and its financial and clinical rewards, may be comparatively short. Many other doctors, however, remain undecided.

I don’t want to minimize the obstacles. When I started using an EHR, I found it challenging. I often longed for a dose of my old prescription pad (confession – I cheated once in a while). I chafed at reconciling medication lists, updating problem lists, scanning through seemingly endless consultant notes. (In the past, many wouldn’t have been available – lost somewhere in the paper world.) It was much easier to use the triplicate x-ray requisition I had used for 30 years than the radiology order entry software required by my EHR. My visits were longer and more complicated. Every time I turned on the computer, it seemed, I had to learn something new.

But I am glad I did it, as are 90 percent of all physicians who adopt an EHR, according to a scientific survey published in the New England Journal of Medicine. My EHR made me a better doctor. I really knew what was going on with my patients. I could answer their questions better and more accurately. I made better decisions. I felt more in control.

Physicians don’t go into medicine because it’s easy. They go through grueling training – spending endless days and nights at the bedside or in the OR. They face tough personal and clinical decisions throughout their professional lives. They constantly have to grow and learn to keep up with the science and practice of medicine. That’s what makes them the professionals they are. That’s what earns their patients’ and colleagues’ respect and admiration. That’s what gets them up in the morning knowing there’s nothing else they would rather be doing.

The EHR is just another of the transitions that physicians are constantly called upon to make in the interest of their patients, their professional competence, and their professional self-esteem. Its advent is inevitable – no more avoidable than the arrival of the stethoscope in the early 1800s or anti-sepsis in the mid 1800s ( both of which some physicians furiously resisted) or the ICU in the mid-1900s. Positive change is often disruptive, but it is irresistible nevertheless. In 10 years, paper records will be the exception. Lagging physicians will be seen as quaint throwbacks, no longer at the top of their game, nostalgic reminders of a bygone age when offices brimmed with manila folders and piles of forms, or when nurses and doctors searched endlessly on hospital rounds for that one essential patient chart that always seemed missing from the nursing station. (How many millions of hours have clinicians spent wandering hospital floors looking for those elusive missing paper records?).

Still, some physicians may be tempted to put off the inevitable, trying to postpone the disruption and expense. Why not wait five or six years? Maybe it will get easier? Less expensive?

For several reasons. First, the sooner physicians start using an EHR, the sooner they and their patients will realize its benefits – the ability to share patient data with colleagues and patients, the ability to retrieve old data effortlessly, the ability to access patient records remotely, so they answer patient questions intelligently from home, or even from a medical meeting.

Second, right now, the federal government is making a once in a lifetime, never to be repeated, offer: it will help physicians pay for the transition with up to $44,000 in extra fees from Medicare, or $63,750 from Medicaid. Physicians can take the leap now with financial and technical help from the government. Or they can do it on their own (or facing a financial penalty) in five years.

Third, anyone who is building a practice, and wanting to recruit young, talented physicians needs to confront the reality that the next generation will expect and demand that their own medical home have a modern information system. I know this from personal experience. With two children in medical school, and a daughter in law who is an intern, I know young physicians will never settle for paper records. Wait, and the cream of the recruiting crop will pass you by.

To me the choice is clear. Physicians’ professional, clinical and financial interests all point in the same direction. Become part of the future. Become a meaningful user of an electronic health record.

–David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P. – National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

ONC: Health IT Buzz

NYC REACH for Free Meaningful Use Summit

Sponsored by the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC), NYC REACH, and the New York Chapter American College of Physicians (NYACP), this free full-day program addresses Meaningful Use incentives for physicians:


How the Meaningful Use criteria for EHRs translate to better quality
care for patients and improved public health
Who qualifies for up to $44,000 in Medicare incentives and up to $63,750 in Medicaid incentives and how to meet the federal criteria
Where to get assistance selecting, implementing, and using EHRs

Day at a Glance:
8:30 – 11: 00 am Education Sessions
11:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch
1:00 – 4:00 pm Afternoon Sessions

For providers not yet using an EHR: Vendor Demonstrations
For providers currently using an EHR: Break out sessions on Patient Centered Medical Home, Privacy & Security, Patient Engagement, Health Information Exchange, Maximizing Revenue, EHRs for Public Health, Pay for Performance, and more
Who should attend: Providers and practice staff interested in how Electronic Health Records can help their practice

May 13, 2010
8:00am Registration & Breakfast
Brooklyn Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge
333 Adams Street • Brooklyn, New York
Questions: Call NYACP at 518-427-0366

NY Academy of Medicine:Medical HIT Update Conference May 3,2010

Invitation

On May 3, 2010, the New York Academy of Medicine Special Interest Group on Informatics will host a session entitled Update on Medical IT: What Every Health Professional Needs to Know.

(See http://www.cat.columbia.edu/documents/NYAMMedicalITEventannouncement.pdf)

The speakers are -

o Edward H. Shortliffe, MD, PhD, MACP, FACMI; President & CEO American Medical Informatics Association and NYAM Trustee;

o George Hripcsak, MD, MS, Professor and Chair of Biomedical Informatics, and Director of the Center for Advanced Information Management, Columbia University; and

o Rachel Block, Deputy Commissioner Office of Health Information Technology Transformation NYS Department of Health



You are invited to a pre-session reception, co-sponsored with NYAM, at 5:00 PM to welcome guests, acknowledge recent medical informatics-based grants received under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and announce a new Health IT training program scheduled for fall 2010.



We encourage you to register early and attend this event.

http://www.nyam.org/events/?id=608&click=



New York Academy of Medicine

1216 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10029
(212) 822-7200







Center for Advanced Information Management

The Center for Advanced Information Management (CAIM) at Columbia University is a NYSTAR (New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation) Center for Advanced Technology (CAT), one of 15 CATs at major research institutions in the state. The CAT program mission is to support university-industry collaborative research and technology transfer in commercially relevant areas. CAIM serves to bring the resources and expertise of the institution to bear on problems and challenges of interest to the state’s industries that it serves. CAIM staff and participating faculty members help companies achieve technical and economic success in various ways, depending on need and stage of development. Biomedical informatics is one of the core technologies promoted by CAIM.

NYC Regional Electronic Adoption Center for Health (NYC REACH)

Here is information on NYC Reach made possible by ARRA Funds.SV

The NYC Regional Electronic Adoption Center for Health (REACH) is a collaboration between the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Fund for Public Health in New York to help make sure doctors in New York City don't get left behind. Our mission is to assist them in adopting technology and methods that measurably improve the health of New Yorkers. Some providers may also be eligible for incentives for EHR use from federal, state, or private programs. Our job is to help offset the transition cost and burden as much as possible through training, education, and links to funding sources.

Drawing on the experience of the Primary Care Information Project (PCIP), which oversees this organization, REACH has a team of experts for all stages of EHR implementation and use. A New York City mayorial initiative founded in 2005, PCIP succeeded in bringing over 1,800 providers live on Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and is now the largest community-based EHR program in the country. PCIP worked closely with the Fund for Public Health in New York to develop a program that educates and assists providers through the entire process of implementing an EHR, from preparing the office to effective use that leads to health quality improvement.

NYC REACH

Metropolitan Health Networks,(MetCare) Florida PCMH Savings

MetCare is a NCQA PCMH III medical group that cares for 35,000 Medicare patients.

Quality measures related to Breast Screening, Cholesterol management and Diabetes management were significantly improved.

After one year, Total Medical Expenses rose only 5.2% versus 26.3%.

Congratulations!!! SV

MetCare

Federal Register: DEA:Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances:Final Rule


The good news: the DEA will permit electronic prescriptions of controlled substances
The bad news: EHRs will need several new features that may delay implementation for a little while

Conclusion: Another road block to the adoption of e-Prescribing has been removed.
Stay tuned. SV

Highlights:

1) Prescriber in-person identity proofing (fortunately this can be done at a DEA-registered hospital)

2)Authentication protocol would have to be two-factor

3)Pharmacies would have to regularly check on the prescriber’s status

4)Both the electronic prescription service provider and the pharmacy system provider would need to obtain annual third-party audits for security and processing integrity. 3rd party audits

SUMMARY: The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is revising its
regulations to provide practitioners with the option of writing
prescriptions for controlled substances electronically. The regulations
will also permit pharmacies to receive, dispense, and archive these
electronic prescriptions. These regulations are in addition to, not a
replacement of, the existing rules. The regulations provide pharmacies,
hospitals, and practitioners with the ability to use modern technology
for controlled substance prescriptions while maintaining the closed
system of controls on controlled substances dispensing; additionally,
the regulations will reduce paperwork for DEA registrants who dispense
controlled substances and have the potential to reduce prescription
forgery. The regulations will also have the potential to reduce the
number of prescription errors caused by illegible handwriting and
misunderstood oral prescriptions. Moreover, they will help both
pharmacies and hospitals to integrate prescription records into other
medical records more directly, which may increase efficiency, and
potentially reduce the amount of time patients spend waiting to have
their prescriptions filled.

Federal Register

HHS Awards $144 Million in Recovery Act Funds:Education and Research Winners

HHS Awards $144 Million in Recovery Act Funds to Institutions of Higher Education and Research to Address Critical Needs for the Widespread Adoption and Meaningful Use of Health Information Technology

Academia and the Research Community will support health providers by delivering more than 50,000 new health IT professionals to the workforce and addressing current and future barriers to achieving meaningful use of health IT.

Workforce Award recipients, by program area, include:

Community College Consortia Program ($36 million)

Curriculum Development Center ($10 million)

University-Based Training Programs ($32 million)

Competency Examination Program ($6 million)

Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) Program ($60 million)

HHS