The government has released it’s summary of funding and expenditures for the implementation of the HIT strategy included in the recent recovery act. The 8 page document is filled with information, mostly written in “beurocratese” with endless references to various legal frameworks. Hello . . . the key is the technology folks, not the legalese. What is also most interesting in the budgetary numbers is that the vast majority, as outlined below, is listed under the category of “unspecified”. As in $1.5 billion plus. That’s what we would call leaving quite a margin of error. We are most interested in meaningful adoption of electronic health records, which are secure, portable and confidential. We continue to argue that health insurance reform must go hand and hand with any HIT initiatives. The collecting of sensitive medical data, no matter the safeguards, could be used against patients (and in the past has). We must immediatly eliminate pre-existing condition exclusions, eliminate limitations on what constitutes a family member, eliminate health profiling to determine decisions to drop subscribers . . . these are the real safeguards needed much more than extensive HIPPA compliance regulations (which we do agree with by the way). We are hopeful, but continue to be cautious, about the data aggregation plans under this legislation and the nature of its and use and ultimate intent. Improving health, health care delivery and outcomes is something we all agree on . . . limiting options, rationing or restriction of access to technology we cannot accept . . . obi jo
Health Information Technology American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) Implementation Plan Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
Funding Table
Total Appropriated (Dollars in Millions)
Privacy and Security* $ 24.285
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) $ 20.000
Regional HIT Exchange $ 300.000
Unspecified $ 1,655.715
Total, Health Information Technology $ 2,000.000
*Note: This dollar figure, $24,285,000, includes an estimated $9.5 million for audits by the Office for Civil Rights and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This estimate is subject to change. Updated Figures will be reported to Recovery.gov.
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act provisions of the Recovery Act of 2009 create a historic opportunity to improve the health of Americans and the performance of the nation’s health system through an unprecedented investment in health information technology (HIT). This initiative will be an important part of health reform as health professionals and health care institutions, both public and private, will be enabled to harness the full potential of digital technology to prevent and treat illnesses and to improve health. This is a remarkable and far-sighted commitment that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is honored to lead and support.
The ONC is acutely aware that to fulfill its obligations under the Recovery Act it must act swiftly but thoughtfully. It must meet tight deadlines created by statutory requirements of the law while assuring that ONC’s decisions and actions support the law’s fundamental, long-term purposes: improving health and health care through the best possible applications of HIT. Meeting the long-term goals of the Recovery Act will require careful thought and planning while delivering to the American people quick action and effective investment of committed funds.
http://www.recovery.gov/
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