It has been almost two years since Congress passed the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) – an unprecedented piece of legislation that lawmakers hope will catapult the advance of healthcare IT.
In 2010, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and other federal agencies were busy putting the pieces of the HITECH incentive program in place and ready for kick-off in 2011.
Under HITECH, hospitals can earn up to $2 million a year, and physicians can earn up to $44,000 a year, by collecting health data according to a meaningful use final rule released July 13.
Not only must providers use data meaningfully, but they must use certified electronic health records. The ONC issued a temporary certification rule on June 23 and, as of mid-November, had verified more than 90 certified EHR products for meaningful use.
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology and the Drummond Group were approved this year as Approved Testing and Certification Bodies. The ONC later approved InfoGard Laboratories as an ATCB and is accepting applications on a rolling basis from other organizations.
David Blumenthal, MD, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, touted the ONC’s accomplishments so far.
“The HITECH Act represents an historic and unparalleled investment in HIT,” he told the House Committee on Science and Technology’s Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation on Sept. 30.
With the passage of HITECH, the ONC has established two new influential federal advisory committees, the HIT Policy Committee and HIT Standards Committee, and completed three rules necessary to establish stage 1 of meaningful use for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs, Blumenthal said.
In addition, the HIT Policy Committee has formed an interdisciplinary “Privacy and Security Tiger Team” of experts who are busy compiling recommendations, he said.
The ONC has also strengthened coordination throughout the executive branch and has invested nearly all of its $2 billion authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 through a number of new programs, he said.
The new programs include the State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program; the Beacon Community Program: the Health IT Workforce Program; the Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) Program; and the Health Information Technology Extension Program.
Additionally, the ONC worked with the Office of Civil Rights to develop modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules, Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal told the House committee that he feels the work done so far would have a lasting impact. Yet he isn't about to rest on his laurels.
“As we take stock of our successes and complete the challenges in front of us, we recognize that much work still remains in order to reach our goals for the future,” he said.