chickenfeet

OK so I’m on the hook to do a lunch and learn for the “Business Special Interest Group” of the Healthcare practice at $employer. I am, apparently, the leader/convenor of this SIG and this is the first gig. I volunteered to speak on “Next Generation eHealth Strategies” and I’m writing this to get my thoughts straight and maybe get some ideas on whether it makes sense.

( rather long )

I get to read papers with titles like Updated Background Paper on National Unique Identifiers for Health Providers.

I don't often think or write about ehealth in the USA as the issues are often different and not readily comparable to jurisdictions with a much higher level of government involvement in healthcare. I do find the following press release intriguing though:

February 22, 2007

Personal Health Records:
Using I.T. to Empower Consumers and Transform Health Care

A Congressional Briefing
Thursday, March 1, 9:30-11:30 a.m., 122 Cannon

Dear Colleague:

We have all heard the promises that information technology will transform health care. Yet progress in moving from our old pen-and-paper system to a modern, digital information system has been slow. Web-based, patient-controlled personal health records (PHRs) offer a way forward that might drive more rapid change.

What exactly are PHRs, why do they matter, and what can Congress do to promote their use? I invite you to a Congressional briefing on March 1 at 9:30 a.m. in 122 Cannon to explore these questions and learn about how creative efforts to jump start the use of PHRs could have ripple effects throughout health care. Speakers include:

· Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, Medical Director, American Heart Association
· Dr. Frank Opelka, CEO, LSU Health Network
· Peter Neupert, Senior Vice President, Microsoft
· Glen Tullman (invited), CEO, Allscripts
· Dr. Edward Fotsch, CEO, Medem
· Ob Soonthorsima, CIO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana

Stakeholders across the health care spectrum are coming to see the potential of PHRs. They put the patient at the center of health care, where they belong. They enable providers to have a complete picture at the point of care. They allow patient-specific communications between doctor and patient that improve patients' stewardship of their own health. And they accomplish these things with modest investments by government and private sector alike. Most importantly, they tap the greatest force in health care to drive the use of I.T. - the doctor-patient relationship.

I hope you'll join me on March 1 to learn more about the possibility in PHRs and how Congress can use them to make our health care system safer, better, and more efficient.

Sincerely,
/s/
Patrick J. Kennedy
Member of Congress


Personalized Health Information Act
Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy

Purpose: The Act will create a public-private partnership to promote use of secure, transportable, consumer-controlled, web-based personal health records and patient communication services for Americans.

Why:
§ PHR Potential. Personal health records are widely acknowledged by healthcare leaders, including HHS Secretary Leavitt, as a key to improving healthcare quality and cost efficiency by making more accurate patient data available at all points of care, and by directly engaging consumers in their own health.
§ PHRs and the Doctor-Patient Relationship. To date PHR take-up rates have been extremely low. Health care providers are best positioned to engage consumers with PHRs because of their access to and credibility with patients. If a doctor also uses one's PHR, then it has value to the consumer.
§ Personalized Communications. Interactive PHRs connecting patients and their providers online create a personalized communications channel to deliver important, customized patient education, reminder, and care management messages that enable better health outcomes and more efficient care.
§ Latent Consumer Demand. Patients want these resources. A September '06 Wall Street Journal poll found that 74% want to be able to email their doctor, 77% want electronic reminders when they're due for appointments, and 75% want online scheduling, but fewer than 10% can do any of these things right now.
§ Widespread Benefits. Health care payers including CMS, employers, and drug and device manufacturers all benefit when PHRs help improve adherence to prevention protocols and medication regimens. The Act helps coordinate disparate efforts to spur use of PHRs and delivers greater incentive for physicians.

How:
§ Incentives to Physicians. For three years, providers who use qualifying PHRs to replace their clipboard and communicate with patients and who ensure that medication lists are updated will receive an annual incentive payment of at least $3 per eligible patient.
§ PHR Incentive Fund. The incentive payments will be made from an HHS-administered PHR Incentive Fund. The Fund will receive contributions from Medicare trust funds and, voluntarily, from private contributors like health plans and drug and device companies according to a schedule.
§ Deliver Information to Patients. Any contributing partner will may have objective, patient-relevant, accurate messages sent via PHRs to appropriate individuals. Individuals can shut off the messages at any time in their entirety, or from particular sources. Advertising, marketing or other messages not directly related to an existing patient-payer relationship or current medication are strictly prohibited.
§ Minimum Criteria for PHRs. To qualify, a PHR would need to be controlled by the patient, enable interactive messaging as described above, be standards-based, interoperable and portable, and adhere to privacy and security standards.
§ Eligible Patients. An eligible patient is any patient who is a beneficiary of a public or private health plan that has contributed to the Fund.
§ Privacy. Operators of PHRs for whom incentive payments are paid would be deemed covered entities under HIPAA's privacy rule and will be required to notify consumers and the Secretary of security breaches. In addition, the Secretary, advised by a consumer-led privacy panel, will promulgate additional privacy and security rules for PHRs as necessary.

Strengths of this Approach:
§ Create Patient Demand for I.T. Patients engaged in PHRs by their providers will have increased convenience and greater online access to their providers and to information of importance to them, leading to patient demand for physicians who use I.T.
§ Can Benefit Any Physician. Any physician with an internet connection can benefit from I.T. without major up-front investments, while increasing the incentive to invest further.
§ Targeted Federal Investment. The federal government will only pay incentives for Medicare beneficiaries who are actually enrolled in PHRs; all other incentives will be covered by private partners.