Rhode Island Health IT e-Newsletter, May 2006; 2(3), The

Medicine and Health Rhode Island,  Jul 2006  

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E-RX UPDATE:

Dr. David Gifford, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, and Jeffrey Newell, COO of Quality Partners of Rhode Island, acting as co-chairs of the Rhode Island Quality Institute E-prescribing work group, have been working to identify barriers for both prescribes and pharmacies to utilize e-prescribing for all their prescription transactions.

The workgroup has compiled a comprehensive list of barriers, which include:

1. The ability to provide accurate medication formularies from the managed care organizations so that prescribers can make sure a medication is covered by the patient's plan before it is sent to the pharmacy. This will greatly decrease the return calls from the patient or the pharmacy.

2.Only twelve pharmacies remain to be certified to accept electronic prescriptions. The group is working to bring this final group on board.

RHODE ISLAND SELECTED AS "RHIO BEST PRACTICES" SITE BY OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL COORDINATOR:

Rhode Island has been selected as one of nine RHIOs (Regional Health Information Organizations) in the country to produce a state-level "RHIO Best Practices" consensus document for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The RHIOs named at this point are: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Florida and Tennessee. The other five should be named soon.

The RHIOS involved will conduct a public consensus meeting on July 18-19 in Washington, DC. A final report and recommendations are due September 1, 2006.

For more information visit: www.hhs.gov/healthit

GOVERNOR CARCIERI'S HEALTH IT BOND UPDATE:

Governor Carcieri has asked the Legislature for $20 million to complete development of a technological infrastructure to provide statewide healthcare-information connectivity. A budget hearing with the Rhode Island General Assembly convened April 12, 2006. Letters of support for the IT bond, addressed to the House Finance Committee, were received and members of the RI Health IT Project Steering Committee and other interested parties testified before the House and Senate in support of the HIT Bond. A legislative decision on the issue is pending.

THE CERTIFICATION COMMISSION FOR HEALTHCARE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (CCHIT):

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) was launched in July 2004 as a voluntary, private-sector organization to certify Health Information Technology (HIT) products. CCHIT was awarded a three-year contract by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2005 to develop and evaluate certification criteria and create an inspection process for HIT in three areas, including ambulatory EHRs for the office-based physician or provider. These criteria for the office-based physician encompass all processes from registration to reporting.

CCHIT will assess the vendors ambulatory EHR product for conformance with its criteria for functionality and security beginning June 2006. Vendors that meet the standards will become "CCHIT Certified" and recognized as distinguished among vendors in the industry.

For a physician practice embarking on an EHR implementation journey, ask vendors about their certification status. Vendor evaluation should include focus on those EHRs that are working towards or meet the rigorous CCHIT certification process.

For more information on CCHIT certification, visit: www.cchit.org/work/overview.htm

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS HELP PUSH HEALTH IT:

A new report says Medicare-funded health care qualityimprovement organizations in 41 states are aiding progress toward Health Information Exchanges (HIEs). The American Health Quality Foundation report says HIEs are helping both medical clinics and exchanges to adopt health care technology.

To learn more visit: www.govhealthit.com/article92836-04-05-06-Web

RHODE ISLAND TOPS IN KEY INDICATOR FOR PATIENT SAFETY; RANKED #1 STATE IN THE NATION FOR ELECTRONIC PRESCRIBING

Governor Carclerl Accepts First-Ever SafeRx Award for State and Recognizes Rhode Island's Own Top e-Prescrlblng Physicians

Governor Joins Quality Partners of Rhode Island, Rhode Island Quality Institute, Rhode Island Medical Society, and Rhode Island Pharmacy Association to Launch Statewide Technology Assessment to Help Thousands More Physicians "Get Connected"

PROVIDENCE - May 8, 2006: Governor Donald Carcieri and leaders from the Rhode Island healthcare community cited three physicians for their outstanding efforts to improve patient safety and practice efficiency through the use of electronic prescribing technology. Dr. Conrad Granito, Dr. Christine Rayner and Dr. Diane Siedlecki were commended by the Governor during a ceremony at the Statehouse where they were given the first annual SafeRx award. The ceremony opened with Governor Carcieri receiving a SafeRx award on behalf of the State of Rhode Island for finishing number one in the nation as part of the first ever nationwide review and ranking of electronic prescribing activity.

"SafeRx" recognizes how e-prescribing enhances patient safety by providing a more secure and accurate prescribing process. The award goes to the top ten e-prescribing states in the nation and three physicians within the winning states who have demonstrated outstanding leadership through their use of e-prescribing technology. Results are based on an analysis of data from new prescriptions and refill requests transacted over the SureScripts Electronic Prescribing Network. States are ranked based on the number of prescriptions routed electronically in 2005 as a percentage of the total number of prescriptions eligible for electronic routing.