Report Watch – Week of 12 January, 2009

Just an occasional post when I come upon a few interesting reports that are worth a download. Already we have had the Booze Allen report which I noted here:

http://aushealthit.blogspot.com/2009/01/booze-allen-suggests-sophisticated.html

Two others also dropped into my view this week.

First we have:

Report Covers E-Script Issues

January 13, 2009

A new report examines ways for provider organizations, pharmacies and insurers to cooperate to ease adoption of electronic prescribing systems and integrate them with other information systems.

The report is from I.T. vendor and consulting firm Computer Sciences Corp. in Falls Church, Va. It discusses what e-prescribing is and its major functions, incentives to encourage adoption, best practices, and barriers.

.....

To access the complete report, click here.

--Joseph Goedert

Access the full article here:

http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/e-prescribing27546-1.html?ET=healthdatamanagement:e735:100325a:&st=email&channel=medication_management

The second was:

ONC Commissioned Medical Identity Theft Assessment

In May 2008, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) awarded an approximately $450,000 contract to Booz Allen Hamilton to assess and evaluate the scope of the medical identity theft problem in the U.S.

Medical Identity Theft

Medical identity theft is a specific type of identity theft which occurs when a person uses someone else's personal health identifiable information, such as insurance information, Social Security Number, health care file, or medical records, without the individual's knowledge or consent to obtain medical goods or services, or to submit false claims for medical services. There is limited information available about the scope, depth, and breadth of medical identity theft.

Dr. Robert Kolodner, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, has noted that medical identity theft stories are being documented at an increasing rate, bringing to light serious financial, fraud, and patient care issues. ONC recognizes that health IT is an important tool to combat the threat of medical identity theft. We are seeking input from the public and other government agencies to better understand how health IT can be utilized to prevent and detect medical identity theft as well as build consumer trust in electronic health information exchange. ONC believes it is imperative to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of this issue from a variety of perspectives, and to create an open forum for dialogue to work proactively to address medical identity theft.

An Assessment in Three Phases

Three specific deliverables corresponding with each of the three phases resulted from the assessment.

I. A comprehensive Environmental Scan Report of the medical identity theft problem in the U.S particularly focusing on the intersection of Health IT was completed October 15, 2008 and released at the ONC Medical Identity Theft Town Hall meeting.

A literature review and documentary research in addition to interviews was conducted to explore the scope and trends of medical identity theft. This report will:

1. Identified a comprehensive list of stakeholders who are affected by medical identity theft and summarize their activities;
2. Identified issues of medical identity theft, quantify its impact on the health care industry, and identify gaps where there are no reliable measures; and
3. The Environmental Scan Report serves as a baseline for developing recommendations for the prevention, detection, and remediation of medical identity theft.

II. A one-day Town Hall meeting was held, October 15, 2008, in Washington, D.C. sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on Medical Identity Theft. The written transcript and audio file from the event are now available. Access the written transcript and audio file.

The Town Hall enabled health care experts to share knowledge and experience of medical identity theft and how health IT can be utilized to prevent and detect medical identity theft.

ONC Medical Identity Theft Town Hall Speakers and Topics

Welcoming Remarks by Robert Kolodner, MD, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

Opening Remarks by Jodi Daniel, JD, MPH, Director, Office of Policy and Research, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

Panel 1: Understanding the Scope of the Problem

Moderator: Jodi Daniel

Panel:
Department of Justice, Kirk Ogrosky
Federal Trade Commission, Betsy Broder
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Lisa Gallagher
Identity Theft Resource Center, Linda Foley
Massachusetts General Hospital, Shanda Brown
Victim of Medical Identity Theft, Nicole Robinson
World Privacy Forum, Pam Dixon

Panel 2: Laws, Policies and Procedures

Moderator: Jodi Daniel

Panel:
American Health Information Management Association, Harry Rhodes
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Stephanie Kaisler
HHS Office of Inspector General, Gary Cantrell
Hogan & Hartson LLP, Marcy Wilder
Massachusetts General Hospital, Shanda Brown
Social Security Administration, Jonathan Cantor

Panel 3: The Role of Health Information Technology (HIT)

Moderator: John Loonsk, MD, Director, Office of Interoperability and Standards, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

Panel:

American Health Information Management Association, Harry Rhodes
BlueCross BlueShield Association, Calvin Sneed
CareSpark, Liesa Jenkins
Good Health Network, Lory Wood
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Lisa Gallagher
Indiana Health Information Exchange, Debbie Banik

Panel 4: The Path Forward

Moderators: Morris Landau, JD, MHA, LLM, Policy Analyst, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Denise Tauriello, Senior Associate, Booz Allen Hamilton

Panel:

American Health Information Management Association, Harry Rhodes
CareSpark, Liesa Jenkins
Federal Trade Commission, Betsy Broder
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Lisa Gallagher
Massachusetts General Hospital, Shanda Brown
World Privacy Forum, Pam Dixon

III. A final report and roadmap.

The report and roadmap summarizing health IT and medical identity theft issues raised at the town hall will be released in Winter 2008 - 2009 and will set forth possible next steps for the Federal government and other stakeholders in order to work toward prevention, detection, and remediation of medical identify theft.

The web page is found here:

http://www.hhs.gov/healthit/privacy/theft.html

Both reports and associated materials are worth a close look.

David.