Obama official: Make health IT real for people to speed adoption

May 8 2014

Elsewhere, only four hospitals are enrolled in stage 2 of "meaningful use" -- where they are paid for using electronic health records, and concierge medical services expand.

Politico Pro: Experts: Health IT Needs To 'Get Real For People' -; And Get Reimbursed 
It took the disaster of Hurricane Katrina to get Louisiana's doctors to open their minds to new medical technologies, and if health IT is going to win support nationwide, it'll have to "get real for people," the Obama administration's top health IT official argued Tuesday. "It has to become tangible and real for the person, the family member, the doctor, the nurse," said Karen DeSalvo, the national coordinator for health information technology, who was a physician in New Orleans when Katrina hit in 2005 and later became the city's health commissioner. But the technologies also have "to demonstrate benefit," she added. Speaking at a Politico breakfast panel on connected health, DeSalvo said that without a national embrace of electronic health records and related systems and devices, the United States misses the chance to vastly improve care and prevent disasters like a hurricane from disrupting care (Cheney, 5/6).

Modern Healthcare: Few Hospitals, Docs At Stage 2 Meaningful Use, CMS Officials Says 
Only four hospitals have achieved Stage 2 meaningful use of electronic health records seven months into the reporting period for hospitals enrolled in the federal EHR incentive-payment program, a CMS official reported today. Among physicians and other eligible professionals -- who are four months into their reporting year -- only 50 have attested to Stage 2 meaningful use, said Elisabeth Myers, policy and outreach lead at the CMS' Office of eHealth Standards and Services, during a presentation to the agency's Health Information Technology Policy Committee (Conn, 5/6).

Kaiser Health News: Need A Doc? These Companies Will Hook You Up In A Hurry
Grand Rounds is one of many healthcare startups bringing on-demand, concierge-like services once reserved for the ultra-rich to the middle class – similar to what tech outfits like Google, Amazon, Uber, and Lyft have done for personal shopping and transportation. These budding companies offer basic access to medical advice, appointments and other assistance. Some operate regionally, others nationally. Their services and prices vary substantially-;but all aim to fill gaps in the existing health care system, in part by using the Internet Hernandez, 5/7).