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Meaningful Use A Meaningful Use Defining Moment
Dr. David Blumenthal | December 30, 2009
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its draft definition for the “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHRs) today as part of its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). The NPRM describes the proposed implementation of incentives to providers for the adoption and meaningful use of certified EHRs. This NPRM from CMS kicks off a 60-day public comment period to help inform its development of the final 2011 meaningful use criteria.
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Local Implementation Support ONC’s Work to Stimulate Innovation and Diffuse EHR Best Practices
Joshua Seidman | December 28, 2009
A recent New Yorker article by Atul Gawande skillfully draws an analogy between today’s health care crisis and the food crisis our country faced a century ago. Whereas the heath care system currently consumes about 17% of the U.S. economy, Americans spent more than 40% of their income on food at the turn of the last century. Like our current health care system, there existed a huge chasm between what science suggested could be achieved in improved quality and productivity and how farmers dispersed throughout the country were actually practicing.
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Community College Consortia, Competency Exam Program, Curriculum Development Centers, From the ONC Desk, University-Based Training Expanding and Strengthening the Health IT Workforce
Dr. David Blumenthal | December 24, 2009
Today the administration announced two additional programs to support the development of the skilled workforce needed to support broad adoption and use of health IT. Awards totaling $32 million to establish or expand university-based health IT training programs and $6 million dollars to develop a health IT competency testing program will complement the previously announced workforce development program grants established through the Recovery Act.
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From the ONC Desk The ONC Commitment to Transparency
Dr. David Blumenthal | December 23, 2009
As we work to encourage the meaningful use of health information technology, we want to hear what you have to say. That’s why we started this blog and it’s why we have worked so hard to ensure our process for moving forward is open and transparent. Today, I want to address another step we’re taking to bring more Americans into the conversation about health IT.
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Health Innovation Health IT Innovation is the Key to Care
Dr. David Blumenthal | December 18, 2009
As Americans, we realize the importance of relentless innovation. A key component of securing a healthy future for all Americans relies on harnessing innovation in health IT.
The new Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) Program announced today and funded at a level of $60 million through the HITECH Act, is designed with this purpose in mind. This program will fund projects in areas of research where breakthrough advances are needed to address barriers in health IT adoption.