The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange has scheduled the second in a series of educational audiocasts about the forthcoming HIPAA electronic claims attachment standards. The 90-minute, May 29 program will cover how the standards work; how they relate to other HIPAA standards and to the Health Level Seven Clinical Document Architecture; and how implementation specifications are laid out.
A new organ donor register has been launched which promises preferential treatment for anyone signing up, but doctors say it is not legally binding and is morally repugnant. Members who sign up to the Web site, called LifeSharers, agree to donate their organs when they die, but on the condition that those organs are offered first to fellow members.
A professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley and his colleagues have developed a portable medical scanner that can be plugged into a cellular phone, which transmits raw ultrasound or X-ray scanning data to a remote computer processor. The computer then converts the data to images and relays these back for viewing on the cell phone screen. The concept is a cheaper and easier alternative to conventional medical scanning service because one computer server does the imaging for many scanners.
Medicare has launched its pilot online personal health records program in South Carolina, which gives thousands of Medicare beneficiaries in the state access to a PHR populated with their hospital and physician claims information. Information on prescription drugs will not be provided, but PHR users can enter information on their prescription and over-the-counter medications. Through the program, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services hopes to learn more about people's use of PHRs and how to encourage them to use the tools, said CMS representatives.
The New Orleans region could lose up to $70 million a year in healthcare financing under a bill approved by the Senate that aims to redistribute the way money is divided among southern Louisiana charity hospitals. The bill was filed to correct a disparity between the amount of tax dollars that flow to the New Orleans Charity Hospital facilities compared with other hospitals in the public hospital system run by Louisiana State University, proponents say. Opponents to the bill said New Orleans deserves the money it gets because a disproportionate amount of expensive and complex procedures are performed there while regional hospitals often focus on routine primary care.
A bill changing how healthcare in Minnesota is provided and paid for was approved by the Legislature. The bill would start a statewide campaign to reduce smoking and obesity and offer public data on the quality and costs of doctor and hospital services. The bill would also certify doctors and clinics that provide "medical homes" with comprehensive and coordinated care, and expand eligibility to add about 40,000 people to MinnesotaCare. The bill faces a possible veto when it reaches Gov. Tim Pawlenty, however, who has expressed misgivings.