HIT
CT lags in health IT adoption
If you’ve been avoiding the health information technology debate (it can get a bit technical), yesterday’s CT Mirror has a great analysis. While electronic medical record adoption is slow across the US, it is glacial here in CT. There are several reasons nicely outlined in the story; we need to address them all. Health IT…
Read MoreCT gets $695,000 for electronic health records in Medicaid
CMS has awarded CT $695,000 in federal matching funds under the federal stimulus program for state planning activities to implement electronic health records in the Medicaid program. This funding will match state spending at the 90% rate – the state needs to contribute only $77,222 to access the full federal amount. The funding will help…
Read MoreDPH public hearings on health information technology plan, privacy policy
Next month, DPH will be holding public hearings and accepting public comment online on their proposed plan for health information exchange for Connecticut. The plan includes a controversial privacy policy recommendation to default all patients into the system, unless they affirmative opt-out. Under the opt-out plan, providers would be responsible for removing any sensitive information…
Read MoreFrustrating eHealth privacy meeting
Today’s meeting of the CT Health Information Technology and Exchange Advisory Committee’s Legal and Policy Subcommittee was frustrating. I was asked to come to discuss the concerns I raised in testimony at their public hearing June 23rd about an opt-out privacy policy for health IT exchange in CT. The committee members at the meeting included…
Read MoreWellPoint data breach put sensitive medical information on 5,600 CT residents at risk; Reinforces need for privacy protections
The Hartford Courant is reporting that between October and March, sensitive financial and health information about 470,000 Americans who applied to WellPoint for individual insurance was at risk of public disclosure, including 5,600 Connecticut residents. WellPoint is the parent company of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Connecticut. The breach only affected people who applied…
Read MoreState considering eHealth privacy policy that defaults everyone into the system
A DPH state planning committee announced that they are recommending a privacy policy for state health information exchange that would default consumers into the system unless they affirmatively opt-out. The process to opt-out, or even how consumers would be informed of their rights, is unclear. The recommendation also requires providers – hospitals and doctor’s offices…
Read MoreHealth IT strategic plan public hearing tomorrow; opt-out policy being considered
DPH’s health IT planning group will have a public review of their strategic plan tomorrow evening, June 23rd from 5 to 7pm at the Legislative Office Building. DPH is heading the state’s HIT planning in response to CT winning federal funding to build a health information exchange. The group is accepting input online until June…
Read MoreeHealthCT wins federal grant for health IT training
This week eHealthConnecticut announced their application for $5.7 million in federal stimulus money was approved. The funding is to create a training center for CT health care providers implementing electronic health records. eHealthCT joins a network of sixty similar training centers across the nation. Electronic health records are a long overdue innovation in medicine that…
Read MoreComment on eHealth exchange privacy policies
eHealthConnecticut has created a portal to collect public comment on evolving privacy and security policies for CT’s health information exchange. Posted so far is the draft Universal Medical Records Release form that patients will sign to indicate if they agree to share their information and materials from our two input forums held at the Capitol.…
Read MoreCVE meeting in DC
I’ve spent the last two days at a fascinating meeting of data geeks, providers, employers, health plans, quality organizations and consumer advocates from across the country all working to improve the quality of health care. It was a meeting of Chartered Value Exchanges from 25 communities/states; eHealthConnecticut was designated as a CVE in a very…
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