The Health Resources and Services Administration is seeking comments from the public on how it can best encourage health information technology adoption in the community clinics it helps to support.
In an announcement in the Sept. 19 Federal Register, the Department of Health and Human Services said the primary goal of its health IT programs is to improve the quality of health care for the more than 14.5 million patients served by community health centers and for other underserved Americans.
The agency is considering altering its Health Center Controlled Networks grant program “to focus solely on projects that promote HIT adoption,” according to the announcement. Until now, the program has funded other kinds of network functions, including billing, training, accounting and reporting.
The agency aims to use the data generated from clinical information systems to track patient outcomes and to remedy gaps and lapses in the care provided in the safety-net clinics. “Collecting and using data to drive system change is a fundamental part of improving patient care and related health outcomes,” the notice says.
Noting that HRSA’s budget may not increase much, it is asking for public comment on the kinds of changes it should make in the grant program. A list of 15 questions from the agency addresses the role of telehealth in the overall health IT strategy, how to gauge the performance of the health IT initiative, network sustainability issues, and what kinds of incentives would encourage HRSA grantees to join health IT networks.
The deadline to send comments to the agency is Oct. 10.
In an Aug. 29 speech to the National Association of Community Health Centers, Elizabeth Duke, HRSA administrator, said, “Top-quality care emphasizes evidence-based, patient-centered treatments linked to appropriate information technology.”
She said the agency is re-examining the reporting requirements it imposes on grantees with an eye to reducing the quantity of reports and increasing their utility in evaluating health care.
HRSA also worked with HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to develop a Web site called the HRSA Health IT Community. “People who log on can take part in online discussions, share documents, and exchange tools and resources on using health IT in the community setting,” Duke said.
Two weeks after the July announcement of the site, HRSA received more than 1,300 requests for user IDs from 325 health centers, networks and other safety-net health care providers, she said.
“Soon we will supplement the HIT Community site with an online toolkit that offers advice on such topics as budgeting for HIT, funding opportunities, and how to use HIT to improve quality of care and program evaluations,” Duke added.
From the battlefield to the home front: Managing medical data
Government Health IT presents Col. Claude Hines Jr., program manager for the Defense Health Information Management System, in this recent InSight eSeminar. Col. Hines discusses the health information technology and tactical challenges faced by the military medical community in Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas of conflict. In doing so, he describes the current information technology solutions for transferring clinical data between battlefield care givers to health care personnel at military treatment facilities worldwide.
