AHRQ ISSUES EHR USABILITY REPORT

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has issued a new report that focuses on assessing and improving the state of usability in Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems. Key recommendations from the project's expert panel include:

• Establishment of usability/information design of EHRs as an essential part of the certification requirements for EHRs;
• Basing certification on a practical and fair process of usability evaluation; and
• Designing certification programs for EHR usability in a way that focuses on objective and important aspects of system usability.

Learn more about the panel's recommendations online.

AHRQ is working closely with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Heatlh Information Technology (ONC) to address the recommendations identified in its research. In June, AHRQ plans to award a project for the development, testing and dissemination of an easy-to-use, objective and evidence-based toolkit that healthcare organizations can use to evaluate critical aspects of their EHR systems' usability, accessibility and information design.

In addition, NIST is currently seeking applications for development of an EHR usability evaluation framework to be discussed at a meeting, titled "Health Care IT Usability: Strategy, Research, Implementation," to be held July 13, 2010 in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

CMS TO HOST FFS EDUCATION CALL

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will host its seventh national education call regarding the Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) implementation of HIPAA Version 5010 and D.0 transaction standard from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT on June 30, 2010. The session will focus on the 837 Institutional Claim Transaction and subject matter experts will review Medicare FFS specific changes as well as general information to help the audience prepare for the transition. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

Registration will close at 2:00 p.m. EDT on June 29, 2010 or when available space has been filled.

ONC ISSUES FINAL RULE ON EHR

HHS press release of June 18, 2010: The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) issued June 18, 2010 a final rule to establish a temporary certification program for electronic health record (EHR) technology. The program establishes processes for testing and certifying organizations' use of EHR technology.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will soon issue final regulations to implement the EHR incentive programs.

More information about the temporary certification program and rule is available online.

CMS LAUNCHES EHR PROGRAM WEBSITE

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched the official website for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, which will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals and hospitals as they adopt, implement, upgrade or demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology.

More information about the incentive program is available online.

ONC SEEKS COMMENTS ON ENROLLMENT

The June 18, 2010 edition of the NCPDP Now reported that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) had organized a new enrollment work group (subcommittee), which held its first public meeting on Monday, June 14, 2010.

The ONC invites public comments on eligibility and enrollment systems that are making or will make applying for health or human services as easy as using the Internet. The ONC Federal Advisory Committee Blog will remain open for your comments until July 1, 2010.

HHS LAUNCHES HEALTHCARE.GOV WEBSITE

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently launched a new website intended to provide consumers with new information and resources that will help them access quality, affordable healthcare coverage.

Mandated by the Affordable Care Act, HealthCare.gov is the first central database of health coverage options, combining information about public programs, from Medicare to the new Pre-Existing Conditions Insurance Plan, with information from more than 1,000 private insurance plans.

ONC ENROLLMENT WORK GROUP

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has organized an enrollment work group (subcommittee) under the auspices of the HIT Policy Committee to respond to a section of the Affordable Care Act to develop a set of standards which would facilitate enrollment in state and federal health and human services programs, including offerings by new health insurance exchanges.

This might include standards for:

• Electronic matching across state and federal data;
• Retrieval and submission of electronic documentation for verification;
• Reuse of eligibility information;
• Capability for individuals to maintain eligibility information online; and
• Notification of eligibility.

Visit ONC website for details.

CMS POSTS FINAL RULE PART C AND D

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted a final rule for revisions to the regulations governing the Medicare Advantage (MA) program (Part C) and prescription drug benefit program (Part D) with an effective date of June 7, 2010.
However, the regulation notes that because health and drug plans under the Part C and D programs operate under contracts with CMS that are applicable on a calendar year basis, the provisions will not be applicable prior to contract year January 1, 2011, except where otherwise noted.
The final rules are available online as published in the Federal Register.

OCR PUBLISHES NOTICE ON PHI BREACHES

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Health and Human Services has published a notice on the use of information from organizations reporting breaches of protected health information.
The notice discusses modifications to a "system of records," a computer system called the Program Information Management System (PIMS) and will become effective following a 40-day comment period from April 13, 2010 unless OCR receives comments that require alterations.
The notice is available online as published in the Federal Register.

CCHIT CALLS FOR LTC AND PAC

CCHIT seeks Long Term and Post Acute Care (LTPAC) EHR vendor participants for their 2010 pilot test to be conducted in April and early May of 2010. The pilot test is designed to validate criteria, test steps, and testing tools against real products and to solicit vendor comment to fine tune the inspection process.
There is no fee for participation.
If interested, contact Certification Program Director Bambi Rose at brose@cchit.org.

DEA ISSUES RULE ON ePRESCRIBING

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a Interim Final Rule (IFR) with Request for Comment to provide practitioners with the option of writing prescriptions for controlled substances electronically and permit pharmacies to receive, dispense and archive these electronic prescriptions. The published IFR was posted in the Federal Register Wednesday, March 31, 2010 and includes a 60-day comment period. The new IFR is posted online. NCPDP's Response to IFR

NIST SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENT ON PROCEDURES

In support of the health information technology certification program, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is developing the conformance test methods (test procedures, test data, and test tools) to ensure compliance with the meaningful use technical requirements and standards.
View the draft test methods online.
NIST seeks public comment on the draft test methods. Comments can be sent to hit-tst-fdbk@nist.gov