CCHIT expands its reach.

Later this month, the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) will broaden its reach with certification of electronic health records (EHRs) geared to medical specialty practices and specialized care settings. CCHIT is expected to announce, later this month, the first medical specialties it will concentrate on. Interim National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Robert Kolodner, M.D., made the announcement in late November 2006, along with CCHIT Chairman Dr. Mark Leavitt who said, "We can only tackle two or three specialized areas during this next year, but these will pave the way to do even more in the future."

That move will likely garner support from at least one prominent physician in a state known for healthcare IT adoption. Interviewed by "Digital HealthCare & Productivity," Dr. B. Dale Magee, the president-elect of the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) laid forth an agenda for Massachusetts physicians that includes increased adoption of EHRs along with integration of pay-for-performance programs, public reporting of physician data and standards for office-based surgeries. Magee is a practicing OBGYN in Shrewsbury, Mass., who deployed an EHR in his practice four years ago, and MMS was the first state medical society to endorse e-prescribing technology for its members, contracting with DrFirst's Rcopia three years ago. Magee estimates that less than 25 percent of MMS' 18,500 members now use EHRS, but also predicts that in 10 years, they will be commonplace.

As Leapfrog conducts its 2007 Hospital Quality and Safety Survey, it will offer hospitals the opportunity for public recognition if they agree to a series of steps following the occurrence of a never event. These include: 1) apologizing to the patient and/or family; 2) reporting the incident to at least one reporting program such as a state agency or JCAHO; 3) conducting a root cause analysis in accordance with the reporting agency's requirements; 4) waiving costs and not seeking reimbursement from the patient or a third party payer for the error. Among supporters of the new Leapfrog policy are Aetna, General Motors, Caterpillar, IBM, Intel, UPS and a variety of state and regional business coalitions.

To read the NQF's updated list of 28 never events, logon to www.qualityforum.org and click on "News." Look for the press release entitled, "National Quality Forum Updates Endorsement of Serious Reportable Events in Healthcare" from Oct. 16, 2006. For Leapfrog's call to arms, logon to www.leapfroggroup.org and look for a PDF press release entitled, "The Leapfrog Group Issues Call for Hospitals to Commit to New Policy on Health Care 'Never Events.'"