Standards

The segments of the National Cardiovascular Data Registry are taking on increasing value both as research tools and as aides to hospitals and individual practices in reporting to regulatory agencies and in getting feedback on quality improvement efforts.

Surescripts released its annual 2010 progress report on ePrescribing, which reported across the board increases in prescriptions being routed electronically, electronic responses to requests for prescription benefit information, and prescription histories being delivered to prescribers. One of the reports most salient findings was the 72 percent rise in prescriptions being routed electronically from 191 million in 2009 to 326 million in 2010.

Every vendor involved in ARRA certification, inpatient and eligible ambulatory care provider, has rolled its newly certified code to a beta client or two, on the path to demonstrate Stage 1 Meaningful Use. This will be the first relevant experience for implementation teams to bring Stage 1 functionality live across the install bases.

While at HIMSS last week, I got a chance to sit down with Lee Barrett, Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC)’s executive director, to get an update on his organization’s newest accreditation program, the Health Information Exchange Accreditation Program (HIEAP), as well as how its other certification programs are going. Last year we reported that UHIN’s cHIE in September was the first HIE to be certified by EHNAC (Farmington, Conn.). Currently, there are three more HIEs going through the certification process, according to Barrett, but it’s too early to release the names of those HIEs. The HIEAP not only accredits HIEs, but also vendors over roughly a six-month period with several steps, including a site visit.

With the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act/Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (ARRA-HITECH) Act incentives expiring in just a few years, healthcare providers will likely get only one chance to qualify for the full amount of incentive payments. Thus, successful installation and operation of an electronic health record (EHR) system by the vendor becomes critical to each healthcare organization trying to achieve meaningful use. Therefore, EHR contracts must include adequate protections, safeguards, and other rights reserved for the customer, in the event that the vendor defaults or otherwise fails to perform to the provider's satisfaction. This article provides a sampling of, though by no measure all, such protections and safeguards, along with some valuable suggestions for negotiating a fair deal for both parties.