As reported by the Center for Telehealth & E-Health Law, the Senate and House spending bills boost telehealth funding. Both the Senate and House appropriations committees released FY 2009 spending bills that will increase funding for the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth to $7,100,000 from a FY 2008 level of $6,700,000, while the Senate bill would increase OAT funding to a full $8,000,000.
In other actions, the “PRO(TECH) T Act of 2008 introduced on June 24, 2008 by John D. Dingel (D-MI), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Joe L. Barton of Texas was forwarded to the full Committee by voice vote. The Act encourages the adoption of HIT and protects the privacy and security of health information. The bill would help by authorizing funds over five years for grants and loans so that health providers would be able to buy hardware and software for health IT systems.
The Act provides for the adoption of standards to allow providers to exchange health information on their patients. Advisory panels would be established to advise on technical standards and once the advisory committee decides on these standards, then the government would be required to adopt the technology.
In addition, the legislation makes ONCHIT permanent and encourages the use of health information technology for each patient by 2014. It would further protect the security and privacy of an individual’s health information by requiring notification when a patient’s personal health information is breached.
On June 23, 2008, Representative Charles W. Boustany, Jr, MD, (R-LA) introduced the “Patient Controlled HealthIT Act (HR 6345) to establish a demonstration project to provide financial incentives to encourage the adoption of interactive PHRs and to encourage HIE networks to link the clinical data to the PHRs. Representative Boustany a former cardiothoracic surgeon introduced the bill to spur investment in health IT. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
The “Promoting Health Information Technology Act of 2008” (HR 6179) introduced on June 4th by Representatives Dave Camp from Michigan and Sam Johnson from Texas seeks to utilize public private partnerships and tax incentives to help the adoption of HIT.
A practice of five physicians could easily spend upwards of $200,000 to implement an electronic health record. To speed adoption, the PHIT Act would allow physicians who purchase HIT to deduct a larger portion of this business expense more quickly. The Act would also eliminate the arbitrary 2013 sunset HHS has placed on hospitals providing physicians with software for electronic health records.
The Act makes recommendation for HIT standards, and requires the HHS Secretary to develop a strategic plan for implementing technology and privacy standards among all federal entities involved in the development of HIT. The legislation would also establish an expedited process to approve modifications for existing standards.
The legislation would strengthen telehealth in several ways. Section 303 in the legislation would help to provide telehealth services across state lines, calls for a study on expanding home health and related telehealth services, examine how to pay for home health telehealth services, and look at ways to expand the list of sites to include county or public mental health clinics.
The legislation requests a study done by the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth to report on the use of store and forward technology for telehealth. This study needs to include an assessment of the feasibility and the costs for expanding the use of these technologies.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
WI Moving Ahead on Tech
On June 24, the Governor of Wisconsin Jim Doyle made the announcement that nearly $1 million in grants from Wisconsin’s Universal Service Fund Telemedicine program will be awarded to several non-profit health organizations around the state. The grants will help clinics purchase telecommunications equipment to promote advanced medical services especially to underserved areas.
The non-profits are going to use the funding to provide education and training, purchase telehealth units to use in emergency rooms, purchase AEDs and cell phones to communicate with the AEDs, use funding to expand psychiatric services, to establish remote pharmaceutical dispensing, to purchase home health monitoring systems, videoconferencing equipment, point of sale systems, pharmacy workstations, and computed radiology systems.
In March 2008, the Public Service Commission awarded $450,820 in grants to 23 nonprofit organizations in Wisconsin to facilitate affordable access to telecommunication and information services.
Also in March 2008, the Commission made an application package available for the Telemedicine Equipment Grant Program for FY 2008 and 2009. Due to budget uncertainties, the Commission decided to solicit grant applications for both the current fiscal year and the next fiscal year. Available grant dollars to award for the combined years are likely to range between $500,000 and $1,000,000.
In another move to help the state, the Governor announced that Ministry Health Care will begin using an electronic health record software suite developed by Marshfield Clinic. Karl Ulrich M.D., President and CEO Marshfield Clinic said “I am gratified that the agreement extends our “CattailsMD” system to Ministry Medical Group facilities.”
As part of the agreement, Marshfield Clinic will provide planning, project management, implementation, training, customer service and technical support services to facilitate the installation of the clinical software applications.
“CattailsMD” is the first provider-developed ambulatory EHR in the nation to achieve CCHIT certification and the system is used daily by more than 13,000 providers and support staff to provide integrated applications, work flow management tools, care management capabilities, and a shared data repository. Now more than 1,000 providers in the Marshfield Clinic system at Ministry Medical Group and Ministry hospital locations will be able to share access to 2.5 million patient records.
The non-profits are going to use the funding to provide education and training, purchase telehealth units to use in emergency rooms, purchase AEDs and cell phones to communicate with the AEDs, use funding to expand psychiatric services, to establish remote pharmaceutical dispensing, to purchase home health monitoring systems, videoconferencing equipment, point of sale systems, pharmacy workstations, and computed radiology systems.
In March 2008, the Public Service Commission awarded $450,820 in grants to 23 nonprofit organizations in Wisconsin to facilitate affordable access to telecommunication and information services.
Also in March 2008, the Commission made an application package available for the Telemedicine Equipment Grant Program for FY 2008 and 2009. Due to budget uncertainties, the Commission decided to solicit grant applications for both the current fiscal year and the next fiscal year. Available grant dollars to award for the combined years are likely to range between $500,000 and $1,000,000.
In another move to help the state, the Governor announced that Ministry Health Care will begin using an electronic health record software suite developed by Marshfield Clinic. Karl Ulrich M.D., President and CEO Marshfield Clinic said “I am gratified that the agreement extends our “CattailsMD” system to Ministry Medical Group facilities.”
As part of the agreement, Marshfield Clinic will provide planning, project management, implementation, training, customer service and technical support services to facilitate the installation of the clinical software applications.
“CattailsMD” is the first provider-developed ambulatory EHR in the nation to achieve CCHIT certification and the system is used daily by more than 13,000 providers and support staff to provide integrated applications, work flow management tools, care management capabilities, and a shared data repository. Now more than 1,000 providers in the Marshfield Clinic system at Ministry Medical Group and Ministry hospital locations will be able to share access to 2.5 million patient records.
Telehealth Network to Expand
Nearly 400 clinics have expressed interest in participating in the California Telehealth Network to provide broadband connections for rural telehealth. The $30 million project was the second largest project funded by the FCC under their $417 million initiative launched last November. The FCC awarded $22 million to CTN which is also receiving funds from the California Emerging Technology Fund and UnitedHealth Group Inc.
Over the next three years, the CTN will begin to connect primarily rural clinics to a telehealth network with a goal of connecting 100 clinics in the first year. The project is to be co-managed by the University of California Office of the President and the UC Davis Health System and is working in partnership with a coalition of government agencies, healthcare providers, and others.
The CTN is available to both for profit and non-profit facilities in the state. In addition to receiving a free connection to the broadband network, participating facilities will receive technical support and may have some capital equipment costs offset as well.
Healthcare facilities interested in participating must take two initial steps. They must complete an online readiness survey and submit a brief Letter of Agency (LOA) document that expresses interest in participating. The deadline for submitting the LOA is July 30. Most of the clinics have already completed the readiness survey, but many have not yet submitted a LOA. “It is important for the project to have as many LOAs as possible in order to secure the maximum available federal funding”, said Cathryn Nation, MD, Associate Vice President for Health Sciences with the UC Office of the President and co-director for the project.
For more information, go to www.caltelehealth.org or call the hotline number (916) 734-3008.
Over the next three years, the CTN will begin to connect primarily rural clinics to a telehealth network with a goal of connecting 100 clinics in the first year. The project is to be co-managed by the University of California Office of the President and the UC Davis Health System and is working in partnership with a coalition of government agencies, healthcare providers, and others.
The CTN is available to both for profit and non-profit facilities in the state. In addition to receiving a free connection to the broadband network, participating facilities will receive technical support and may have some capital equipment costs offset as well.
Healthcare facilities interested in participating must take two initial steps. They must complete an online readiness survey and submit a brief Letter of Agency (LOA) document that expresses interest in participating. The deadline for submitting the LOA is July 30. Most of the clinics have already completed the readiness survey, but many have not yet submitted a LOA. “It is important for the project to have as many LOAs as possible in order to secure the maximum available federal funding”, said Cathryn Nation, MD, Associate Vice President for Health Sciences with the UC Office of the President and co-director for the project.
For more information, go to www.caltelehealth.org or call the hotline number (916) 734-3008.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Robot Helps Stroke Patients
Neurologists at the University of Virginia Health System are learning to maneuver a robot over a wireless network using a laptop and a control stick. The robot known as the Remote Presence Robotic System (RP-7) will allow the doctors at UVA to communicate with doctors at the rural 25 bed Bath Community Hospital in Hot Springs to help stroke patients.
Dr. Nina Solenski, a Neurologist in the Primary Stroke Center at the UVA Health System and UVA’s Project Officer for the newly launched Virginia Acute Stroke Tele-Health Network (VAST) initiative is testing the effectiveness of the robot to help.
RP-7 is five feet six inches tall and has a flat panel head and camera lens eyes. As the robot moves and does the work, the face of the person at the controls is projected on the flat panel display. The robot’s camera and speakers function as eyes and ears, notes Dr. Solenski.
The project was funded by a $1.3 million grant from the National Office of Rural Health Policy. The program is testing a variety of health information technologies to see if they give rural critical access hospitals quicker and improved access to stroke experts at the regional hospitals and to other healthcare providers. Implementation of VAST was made possible by a partnership of the Virginia Department of Health, the Virginia Stroke System Task Force and the Virginia Telehealth Network.
The robot is also being used in Kentucky. A physician at the University of Louisville Hospitals is now connecting to the robot via the internet and consulting and interacting with a patient and their family at T.J Sampson Community Hospital in Glasgow. Bill Edwards, Director of T.J. Samson’s emergency room said “it allows us to have services that would otherwise not be available here. It’s not likely that we would have a world famous stroke neurologist move to Glasgow and be able to practice here, so this gives us a service that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.”
Just recently to update the robot, InTouch Health signed an agreement with Neurostar Solutions Inc. to integrate NSI’s clinical imaging management application into the RP-7 robotic system. This clinical imaging management application now enables consulting physicians to have up-to-the-minute information plus access to the patient’s imaging information.
Dr. Nina Solenski, a Neurologist in the Primary Stroke Center at the UVA Health System and UVA’s Project Officer for the newly launched Virginia Acute Stroke Tele-Health Network (VAST) initiative is testing the effectiveness of the robot to help.
RP-7 is five feet six inches tall and has a flat panel head and camera lens eyes. As the robot moves and does the work, the face of the person at the controls is projected on the flat panel display. The robot’s camera and speakers function as eyes and ears, notes Dr. Solenski.
The project was funded by a $1.3 million grant from the National Office of Rural Health Policy. The program is testing a variety of health information technologies to see if they give rural critical access hospitals quicker and improved access to stroke experts at the regional hospitals and to other healthcare providers. Implementation of VAST was made possible by a partnership of the Virginia Department of Health, the Virginia Stroke System Task Force and the Virginia Telehealth Network.
The robot is also being used in Kentucky. A physician at the University of Louisville Hospitals is now connecting to the robot via the internet and consulting and interacting with a patient and their family at T.J Sampson Community Hospital in Glasgow. Bill Edwards, Director of T.J. Samson’s emergency room said “it allows us to have services that would otherwise not be available here. It’s not likely that we would have a world famous stroke neurologist move to Glasgow and be able to practice here, so this gives us a service that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.”
Just recently to update the robot, InTouch Health signed an agreement with Neurostar Solutions Inc. to integrate NSI’s clinical imaging management application into the RP-7 robotic system. This clinical imaging management application now enables consulting physicians to have up-to-the-minute information plus access to the patient’s imaging information.
Tracking Radiation in Tumors
According to Purdue University, researchers are creating a wireless device that can be injected into tumors to let doctors know the precise dose of radiation received and be able to locate the exact position of tumors during treatment. Because organs and tumors shift inside the body during treatment, a new technology is needed to tell doctors the exact dosage of radiation received by a tumor.
The information obtained could more effectively kill tumors, said Babak Ziaie, an Associate Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a researcher at Purdue’s Birck Nanotechnology Center. Ziaie leading the team testing the prototype wireless implantable passive micro-dosimeter said “the device could be in clinical trials in 2010.”
Conventional imaging systems can provide a three dimensional fix on a tumor’s shifting position during therapy. However, these methods are difficult to use during radiation therapy, are costly, and sometimes require x-rays, which can damage tissues when used repeatedly.
The new device uses RFID technology which does not emit damaging x-rays. The device does not have batteries and is activated with electrical coils containing a miniature version of dosimeters worn by workers in occupations involving radioactivity. The tiny dosimeter provides up-to-date information about the cumulative dose a tumor is receiving over time. Since the technology does not require intricate circuitry, the device can be easier and less expensive to manufacture than more complex designs.
The device has a diameter of about 2.5 millimeters and is about 2 centimeters long so that it is small enough to fit inside a large-diameter needle for injection with a syringe. The current size is small enough to be used in tumors, but researchers are working to shrink the device to about half a millimeter in diameter and to half of its current length.
The researchers were funded by NSF and recently received a two year grant from NIH to continue the work. The researchers are working to simplify the fabrication process so that the devices can be manufactured inexpensively. In addition the researchers are working with the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center at Dallas.
For more information, email Babak Ziaie bziaie@purdue.edu.
The information obtained could more effectively kill tumors, said Babak Ziaie, an Associate Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a researcher at Purdue’s Birck Nanotechnology Center. Ziaie leading the team testing the prototype wireless implantable passive micro-dosimeter said “the device could be in clinical trials in 2010.”
Conventional imaging systems can provide a three dimensional fix on a tumor’s shifting position during therapy. However, these methods are difficult to use during radiation therapy, are costly, and sometimes require x-rays, which can damage tissues when used repeatedly.
The new device uses RFID technology which does not emit damaging x-rays. The device does not have batteries and is activated with electrical coils containing a miniature version of dosimeters worn by workers in occupations involving radioactivity. The tiny dosimeter provides up-to-date information about the cumulative dose a tumor is receiving over time. Since the technology does not require intricate circuitry, the device can be easier and less expensive to manufacture than more complex designs.
The device has a diameter of about 2.5 millimeters and is about 2 centimeters long so that it is small enough to fit inside a large-diameter needle for injection with a syringe. The current size is small enough to be used in tumors, but researchers are working to shrink the device to about half a millimeter in diameter and to half of its current length.
The researchers were funded by NSF and recently received a two year grant from NIH to continue the work. The researchers are working to simplify the fabrication process so that the devices can be manufactured inexpensively. In addition the researchers are working with the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center at Dallas.
For more information, email Babak Ziaie bziaie@purdue.edu.
HRSA Funding Center
HRSA’s Bureau of Health Professions has announced the availability of funds to help increase access to healthcare workforce information. The June 19th FOA (HRSA-08-157) HHHsolicits grant applications for the Health Workforce Assistance Center (HWAC) cooperative agreement program. The closing date for applications is July 21, 2008, and one award will be made for $750,000 to be awarded for a 5 year project period.
Some of the grantee’s responsibilities would include:
· Operating an information center to provide a full range of information and respond to general public inquiries on health workforce issues
· Planning, acquiring, and processing health workforce materials plus searching for appropriate databases for information
· Developing ways to provide information and assist in navigating the complex web of Federal agencies, foundations, and technical assistance providers
· Tracking and electronically posting policy documents and federal regulations that affect the health workforce
· Collecting and disseminating best practices in health workforce education and key research findings
· Preparing a continually updated web version and linking to grants.gov with information on state and federal funding opportunities
· Producing a general interest newsletter to be published electronically
Eligible applicants include state or local governments, health professions schools, schools of nursing, academic health centers, and community based health facilities.
For more information, go to www.grants.gov.
Some of the grantee’s responsibilities would include:
· Operating an information center to provide a full range of information and respond to general public inquiries on health workforce issues
· Planning, acquiring, and processing health workforce materials plus searching for appropriate databases for information
· Developing ways to provide information and assist in navigating the complex web of Federal agencies, foundations, and technical assistance providers
· Tracking and electronically posting policy documents and federal regulations that affect the health workforce
· Collecting and disseminating best practices in health workforce education and key research findings
· Preparing a continually updated web version and linking to grants.gov with information on state and federal funding opportunities
· Producing a general interest newsletter to be published electronically
Eligible applicants include state or local governments, health professions schools, schools of nursing, academic health centers, and community based health facilities.
For more information, go to www.grants.gov.
Legislation Moves on the Hill
On Tuesday June 24, 2008, Jonathan Linkous, CEO, American Telemedicine Association, sent out a Special Notice that the House passed H.R. 6331 by a landslide vote of 355-59. Section 149 in the bill contains provisions adding skilled nursing facilities, hospital-based dialysis centers, and community mental health centers as originating sites for Medicare telehealth reimbursement.
As reported by ATA, Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA), the Chairman and Ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee announced that they have reached a compromise in their negotiations on the Medicare legislation but according to ATA, a written copy of the compromise has not yet been release.
However, ATA has learned from sources on the Hill that at least the skilled nursing facility provision and the hospital-based dialysis provision are in the compromise bill. ATA also thinks that by including the telemedicine language in both the House and Senate versions of the Medicare bill, it is likely that the telemedicine language will be included in the final legislation.
Jonathan Linkous wants to thank the many organizations and the ATA members that worked hard to see the passage of the legislation plus he wants to thank the many people that signed personal letters to get the legislation passed. He also wants to give his personal thanks to Reed Franklin, ATA’s Policy Director, for his perseverance and the countless hours that he spent on the Hill personally shepherding the provisions through the legislative process.
As reported by ATA, Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA), the Chairman and Ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee announced that they have reached a compromise in their negotiations on the Medicare legislation but according to ATA, a written copy of the compromise has not yet been release.
However, ATA has learned from sources on the Hill that at least the skilled nursing facility provision and the hospital-based dialysis provision are in the compromise bill. ATA also thinks that by including the telemedicine language in both the House and Senate versions of the Medicare bill, it is likely that the telemedicine language will be included in the final legislation.
Jonathan Linkous wants to thank the many organizations and the ATA members that worked hard to see the passage of the legislation plus he wants to thank the many people that signed personal letters to get the legislation passed. He also wants to give his personal thanks to Reed Franklin, ATA’s Policy Director, for his perseverance and the countless hours that he spent on the Hill personally shepherding the provisions through the legislative process.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)