August Recess
The U.S. Senate and U.S. House are currently adjourned for the month of August. Members of Congress will return to the Capitol and resume legislative business after Labor Day.
HHS: Announcement to Help Speed Adoption of Electronic Health Records
Excerpt from HHS press release:
“The first round of ambulatory electronic health record products (EHRs) have been certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT), HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced today. HHS awarded CCHIT a contract in fall 2005 to develop certification criteria and a certification process.
“This seal of certification removes a significant barrier to wide-spread adoption of electronic health records. It gives health care providers peace of mind to know they are purchasing a product that is functional, and interoperable and will bring higher quality, safer care to patients,” Secretary Leavitt said.
CCHIT certification indicates that EHR products meet base-line levels of functionality, interoperability and security in compliance with CCHIT’s published criteria. This impartial seal of approval paves the way for adoption of health IT products by limiting the risk associated with investing in health IT. CCHIT is continuing to evaluate products, and additional results will be announced at the end of the month and quarterly thereafter.
“Volunteers from across the health care spectrum developed CCHIT’s criteria and inspection process, ensuring fairness and balance between the interests of diverse stakeholders,” said Dr. Mark Leavitt, CCHIT Chair.”
The full press release can be found at: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2006pres/20060718.html
HHS: New Regulations to Facilitate Adoption of Health Information Technology
On August 1, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released regulations providing two new exceptions to physician self-referral laws and two new safe harbors under federal anti-kickback laws. The regulations were published in the August 8 Federal Register.
These exceptions and safe harbors are designed to allow a variety of providers, suppliers, practitioners, and health plans to donate certain election health information technology – such as electronic health records and electronic prescribing systems – without fear of retribution under self-referral or anti-kickback laws.
Excerpt from HHS press release:
“HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced final regulations that will support physician adoption of electronic prescribing and electronic health records technology.
“Electronic health records help doctors provide higher quality patient care, improved efficiency and with less hassle,” Secretary Leavitt said. “By removing barriers, these regulation changes will help physicians get these systems in place and working for patients faster.”
Electronic prescribing enables a physician to transmit a prescription electronically to the patient’s choice of pharmacy or ancillary provider. It can improve patient safety by decreasing prescription errors due to hard-to-read physician handwriting and communication errors, automating the process of checking for drug interactions and allergies and eliminating duplicative laboratory and diagnostic tests.”
The full press release can be found at: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2006pres/20060801.html
Kansas Health Policy Authority to conduct stem cell research study
At the close of the 2006 Kansas legislative session, the Legislature reached a compromise by agreeing to study the issue of stem cell research. In a July meeting, the Legislative Coordinating Council assigned the KHPA to the task of studying the terminology and different types of cloning and associated research. No legislators are assigned to the study.
As you may recall, Dr. Marcia Nielsen, former KUMC Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Policy and Government Affairs and former faculty member in the Department of Health Policy and Management, began as Executive Director of the KHPA on July 10.
The KHPA’s stem cell research study is an interim study. The 2007 state legislative session is scheduled to begin January 8.
Results of August 1 primary election
On August 1, Kansas held a primary election to determine which candidates will participate in the November 7 general election. Results are available on the Kansas Secretary of State’s websites below.
All national and state races:
http://www.kssos.org/ent/kssos_ent.html
Map of statewide race outcomes, by county, and color-coded by candidate:
http://www.kssos.org/ent/maps_graphs.html#REPGOVIDX
On August 8, Missouri held a primary election to determine which candidates will participate in the November 7 general election. Results are available on the Missouri Secretary of State’s website below.
All Results:
http://www.sos.mo.gov/enrweb/allresults.asp?eid=173
Information available for November 7 general election
In the November 7 general election, the following offices in Kansas are up for election or re-election:
• All 4 U.S. Representatives
• Governor and Lt. Governor
• Secretary of State
• Attorney General
• State Treasurer
• Commissioner of Insurance
• All 125 Kansas House Members
• State Board of Education (Districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9)
• 2 Kansas Supreme Court Justices
• 9 Kansas Court of Appeals Judges
• District Court Judges
• District Magistrate Judges
In the general election in Missouri, the following offices are up for election or re-election:
• 1 U.S. Senator
• 9 U.S. Representatives
• State Auditor
• 163 State Representatives
• 17 State Senators (even-numbered districts)
• Various judges
Further information is available on the websites below.
Kansas Secretary of State’s page on upcoming elections:
http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_upcoming.html
Missouri Secretary of State's page on upcoming elections:
http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/upcomingElections.asp
Find Your Legislator by Either Address or Map via the Kansas Legislature’s Website:
http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-legisportal/redistricting.do
Find Your Legislator by Address via the KU Policy Research Institute:
http://www.ipsr.ku.edu/ksdata/vote/
Find Your Missouri Legislators:
http://www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/leg_lookup.aspx
Also of interest is a ballot initiative regarding stem cell research that will be on Missouri voters’ ballots in November. The official wording of the ballot initiative is available at:
http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/2006ballot/
©
The University of Kansas Medical Center
