The Academy of Medicine of Cleveland & Northern Ohio receives myriad calls from members and staff regarding health information technology resources. Below is an overview of information that may assist our members and their staff when they are looking for additional information on the topic of HIT.
Resources for physicians:
The Center for Health
Information Technology is the focal point of the AAFP’s technical expertise,
advocacy, research and members services associated with medical office
automation and computerization. The
Center is dedicated to increasing the availability and use of low-cost,
standards-based information technology among family physicians, nationally and
internationally, through consultative, educational and outreach activities.
American Health
Information Management Association (AHIMA)
AHIMA is the association of
health information management (HIM) professionals. AHIMA is dedicated to the effective management of personal health
information needed to deliver quality healthcare to the public.
Certification
Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT)
CCHIT is the recognized certification authority for electronic health
records and their networks, and an independent private-sector initiative. CCHIT acts as a
mediator among the vendor community, government, physicians and large
purchasers in an attempt to find and refine products that meet the needs of all
the above. CCHIT’s certification
criteria are redesigned each year, using input from physician testers, or
jurors, in active practice, to the development process itself, discovering
functions that may be lacking as products currently available are tested ‘in
the field.’ Ms Ray then discussed how
CCHIT develops criteria by using a broad, consensus-based process for more than
250 Ambulatory EHR products. They
review:
v
Functionality—What the
product can do
v
Interoperability—How
the product can connect to other medical information sources
v
Security/Reliability—How
the product protects the information stored in it
American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Clinical Information (COCIT)
COCIT supports the need for
AAF Fellows to understand how computerized information systems in the clinical
setting can benefit the health of children and improve the effectiveness of
care by pediatricians. COCIT also
pursues educational, policy, and technological endeavors in pediatrics and
clinical information technology.
Healthcare Information
and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
HIMSS is the healthcare
industry’s membership organization exclusively focused on providing leadership
for the optimal use of healthcare information technology and management systems
for the betterment of human health. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare public policy and industry practices
through its advocacy, educational and professional development initiatives
designed to promote information and management systems’ contributions to
ensuring quality patient care.
KLAS focuses solely on healthcare technology. Since 2004, KLAS has been rating firms that
deliver professional services to healthcare providers. KLAS reports on several
services markets, a few of which include: implementation, planning and
assessment, vendor selection, technical consulting, IT outsourcing and business
process outsourcing. For Physician
Practices - The ambulatory market contains hundreds of vendors offering
solutions—making it difficult for providers to determine which ones best suit
the needs of their practices. To help facilitate the decision making process,
KLAS offers two research tools, free to providers: The Free KLAS Vendor Directory - Determine which vendors offer
ambulatory solutions, search for vendor contact information, product
descriptions, technical specifications and more. KLAS Ratings Online - To find
out which Practice Management products, EMR solutions, and Imaging Technologies
are currently rated in the KLAS database.
RESOURCES
FROM THE US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
US Department of Health and
Human Services/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology
This office provides leadership for
the development and nationwide implementation of an interoperable health
information technology infrastructure to improve the quality and efficiency of
health care and the ability of consumers to manage their care and safety.
Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality (AHRQ)
AHRQ funds health information
technology research and development with money obtained through grants and
contracts. This money is awarded to
programs across the country to support and stimulate investment in health IT,
especially in rural and underserved areas.
AHRQ also created the National Resource Center for Health Information
Technology, which provides technical assistance and shares knowledge and
findings that have the potential to transform everyday clinical practice.
American Health Information
Community (AHIC)
The AHIC is a federal advisory body,
chartered to make recommendations to the Secretary of HHS on how to accelerate
the adoption and development of health IT.
The AHIC pursues breakthroughs that will produce tangible value to the
health care consumer in the near term, while building toward long-term goals.
http://www.hhs.gov/healthit/community/background/
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Bridges to Excellence
Bridges to Excellence (BTE) is a non-profit coalition-based
organization created to encourage quality of care by recognizing and rewarding
health care providers who demonstrate that they deliver safe, timely and
effective patient-centered care. BTE
works with large employers, health plans, physicians and a wide range of
organizations that have a shared goal of improving quality and patient
outcomes. BTE also works with the
eHealth Initiative. BTE lends an analytical eye toward the supply and demand elements of
the national healthcare arena, helping companies manage and encourage healthier
living and disease management within, then rewarding providers of care for
high-efficiency as defined by the particular performance program. BTE takes its cue from programs developed by
the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQF) and is funded by the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation. Initially
generalized for the primary care setting, with programs entitled Physician
Office Link, then Diabetes Care Link and Cardiac Care Link, BTE anticipates
expansion in the next few years to include cardiac care, cancer care and
more.
Ehealth Initiative
The EHealth Initiative and the
Foundation for eHealth Initiative are independent, non-profit affiliated
organizations whose missions are the same:
to drive improvement in the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare
through information technology. EHealth
initiative offers a free toolkit to assist physicians and other entities with
health information exchange.
Health Policy
Institute of Ohio (HPIO)
EHealth Initiative is
working the HPIO to help plan for a statement health information exchange
concept in Ohio. The AMCNO participates
in this endeavor as well – along with AMCNO involvement in the Northeastern
Ohio Regional Health Information Organization (NEORHIO) concept. Some of the activities of HPIO include the
initial assessment of the state of HIT in Ohio, including an overview of
stakeholder views concerning opportunities and challenges related to HIT and
HIE and a high-level inventory of existing projects.
The Leapfrog Group is an
initiative driven by organizations that buy health care who are working to
initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality and affordability of
healthcare for Americans. It is a
voluntary program aimed at mobilizing employer purchasing power to alert
America’s health industry that big leaps in health care safety, quality and
customer value will be recognized and rewarded.
This group is an independent
philanthropy committed to improving the way health care is delivered and
financed in California, and helping consumers make informed health care and
coverage decisions. CHCF also
commissions research and analysis, publishes and disseminates information,
convenes stakeholders, and funds development of programs and models aimed at
improving the health care delivery and financing systems. Several of their reports have focused on the
Cleveland market.
The Markle Foundation/Connecting
for Health
The effective use of IT in
health care presents an opportunity to move critical medical information where
and when it is needed in a secure and private manner. The Markle Foundation’s Health program is dedicated to ensuring
that the primary beneficiary of this opportunity is the patient. Bringing electronic connectivity to health
care has the potential to empower patients by allowing them to control their own
medical records in a secure and private manner.
Connecting for Health is a
public-private collaborative working to harness health information technology
while protecting patient privacy and the security of personal health
information. This public-private
collaborative of more than 100 organizations is committed to enabling health
professionals and patients to use information technology, so that they can
achieve the best care possible in emergency and routine situations, as well as
managing chronic illness.