Quarterly Newsletter | June 2005
Program Slides on the Web! Please visit the members only section of our website for access to presentations from our recent Health Information Technology Institute on May 17th. To access the slides, point your browser to www.himss-mn.org, hover on the "Members Only" option and select "Program Slides."
President's Corner
By Shawna Schueller, President
Happy Spring to all! As the chapter's fiscal year quickly comes to an end, it's my pleasure to introduce several new board members and say a fond farewell to others who've contributed significantly to the chapter over the years. You'll notice that the chapter board has grown! The incoming board for the 2005-2006 fiscal year includes:
President - Jeff Huxley, UnitedHealthcare
President-Elect - Susan Heichert, Allina Hospitals & Clinics
Treasurer - Pam Graves, Children’s Hospitals & Clinics
Secretary - Scott Azbill, Fairview Health Services
Past-President - Shawna Schueller, StoneBridge Group
Program Chair - Andy Galbus, Mayo Clinic
Program Chair-Elect - Margaret Senn, Mayo Clinic
Scholarship Chair - Dan Davenport, StoneBridge Group
Sponsorship Co-Chair - Indi Watts, Seimens
Sponsorship Co-Chair - Dr. Steve Parente, Carlson School of Management
Advocacy Chair - Mike Tressler, StoneBridge Group
Outreach Co-Chair - Mark Reichert, Caveo Technology
Outreach Co-Chair - Dave Mann, Virtelligence
Professional Development Chair - Dr. Ray Gensinger, HCMC
Member Relations Chair - Ken Stensvold, Mayo Clinic
North Regional Coordinator - Clark Averill, St. Luke’s
South Regional Coordinator - Dave Moertel, Mayo Clinic
At Large Member - Dana Kimmel, StoneBridge Group
At Large Member - Bobbie Carroll, Children’s Hospitals & Clinics
At Large Member - Pete Palmer, Guidant Corporation
At Large Member - Phil Chow, Medica
At Large Member - Mark Siska, Mayo Clinic
Please join us at the Summer Social on July 13th at Bar Lurcat to meet the new board and to network with other members of Minnesota’s healthcare community. Complimentary appetizers and cocktails will be provided as well as free valet parking.
As the seasons change, so too does the board. We’d like to thank Tom Loch of HCMC for all of his years of service to the chapter as he moves on to other commitments professionally and personally. Tom has provided outstanding performance and lasting contributions to the Minnesota Chapter. He will be dearly missed!
Programs Update
By Andy Galbus, Program Chair
Our 2005 4th Annual Health Information Technology Institute Program was a success! We had close to 100 people attend the program this year. The feedback was positive with several people sharing with our board that they appreciated being able to have these annual conferences to network and learn more about what is going on regarding healthcare challenges and changes. The presentations are now on the website in case you were unable to attend or in case you wish to review the slides in more detail. All of the programs slides are available at http://www.himss-mn.org/members/slides/slides.html
Mark your calendars for September 14th from 5:00 - 7:30pm and November 1st from 12:30 - 3:30pm. These are the dates of the next programs. We are confirming locations and topics, so stay tuned. We hope to have a great set of programs for this next year for you.
I also want to introduce you to our new Program Director-Elect, Margaret Senn. Margaret has been working with several other board members on the Programs Committee to give you the annual program and plan for future programs. Margaret is an Informatics Nurse Specialist, working at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Along with Margaret and myself, the Programs Committee consists of Jeff Huxley, Dave Moertel, Scott Azbill, Shawna Schueller, Bobbie Carroll, Ken Stensvold, Dan Davenport and Steve Parente. I want to thank them for this past year of great programs and their assistance and feedback.
Regional Events
By Andy Galbus, Program Chair
In addition to the events the chapter plans, there are a number of other events occurring in the region we thought you might be interested in. They include:
June 6-10 AHRQ 2005 Annual Patient Safety and Health IT Conference in Washington DC titled: Making the Health Care System Safer Through Implementation and Innovation http://psnet.ahrq.gov/resource.aspx?resourceID=1800
June 6-7 HIMSS Summit in NY http://www.himss.org/summit/ASP/index.asp
June 23 Minnesota eHealth Summit http://www.health.state.mn.us/e-health/summitregform.pdf
June 25 PACT Conference in Chicago http://www.himss.org/ASP/PactHome.asp
September 13 Wisconsin Dairyland HIMSS 3rd Annual Fall Conference in La Crosse, WI http://www.dairyland-himss.org/calendar/calendar.html
Sponsorship Update
By Susan Heichert, Sponsorship Chair
Thanks to all of our renewing sponsors who help make it possible for us to continue providing programs to our membership. Wolters-Kluwer Health, McKesson, Onvoy, Sprint and IBM have recently joined us as new sponsors in 2005 - welcome and thanks for your support! Our sponsors include:
PLATINUM
Onvoy
Sprint
StoneBridge Group
GOLD
Caveo Technology
HealthPartners
IBM
SILVER
McKesson Provider Technologies
WoltersKluwer Health
MN-HIMSS now offers a variety of sponsorship levels with exciting benefits - Silver, Gold and Platinum. Depending on the level selected, some of the benefits include things such as a logo and link on the MN-HIMSS web site, complimentary MN-HIMSS memberships and even exclusive sponsorship opportunities for our chapter socials.
We have started the renewal period for 2005-2006 and look forward to welcoming any new sponsors who would like to take advantage of this new structure!
For more information, please contact Susan Heichert at heichert@comcast.net or go to our link at http://www.himss-mn.org/links/sponsorship_program.pdf
Advocacy Update
By Mike Tressler, Advocacy Chair
There’s a lot going on with government sponsorship and support of healthcare IT at the national and state level.
The 21st Century Health Information Act has been introduced to Congress (please refer to the overview below). HIMSS has endorsed this important bill and is asking all HIMSS members to send a message to your representative to solicit support. One of our Minnesota Representatives has already endorsed the Act (Betty McCollum); it would be great if we could get all eight of our Representatives to endorse this in a bi-partisan manner. Please review the overview, and if you’re interested in sending an e-mail to your representative, utilize the following link which will allow you to enter your zip code and create a message:
HIMSS Advocacy Legislative Action Center: http://capwiz.com/himss/home/
Additional news on the national level occurred on May 11th HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt issued a new report citing investment in information technology as an essential, high priority for the American health care system and the U.S. economy. "Information technology is a pivotal part of transforming our health care system," Secretary Leavitt said. "We are at a critical juncture. Working in close collaboration, the federal government and private sector can drive changes that will lead to fewer medical errors, lower costs, less hassle and better care."
The report, "Health Information Technology Leadership Panel: Final Report" was released at the Business Rountable's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Health Care Summit where Secretary Leavitt and Treasury Secretary John Snow discussed the burden of rising health care costs on the U.S. economy and global competitiveness and the role of health IT in managing these costs. The meeting was chaired by Michael B. McCallister, CEO of Humana, Chairman of the Roundtable's Health and Retirement Task Force, and leader of the Roundtable's efforts to improve the health care system.
More information of the press release can be found on the HIMSS website:http://www.himss.org/pressroom/ASP/releaseDetail.asp?ContentID=64997
At the state level, there’s a Minnesota e-Health Summit scheduled for Thursday, June 23rd Dr. David Brailler and RHIO experts from across the country will be attending and sharing their insight. This is being organized by the Minnesota Department of Health, the Minnesota e-Health Steering Committee, and Stratis Health, Minnesota’s QIO.
For more information on Advocacy, please e-mail Mike Tressler at mike.tressler@stonebridgegroup.com and/or use any of the following resources:
HIMSS Advocacy Agenda:
http://www.himss.org/content/files/Advocacy_Agenda_for_2004.pdf
HIMSS Public Policy/Advocacy Page:
http://www.himss.org/asp/issuesbytopic.asp?TopicID=10
Overview of the 21st Century Health Information Act:
By Mike Tressler, Advocacy Chair
Over the past several months, Mr. Murphy (2005 HIMSS Advocacy Day Keynote Speaker) and Mr. Kennedy (2005 HIMSS Advocacy Award Winner) have worked in a bipartisan fashion on the development of legislation designed to "authorize the Secretary of Health & Human Services to make health information technology grants, and for other purposes." The result of their work is the attached legislation which is currently scheduled to be introduced into the House of Representatives on May 11.
The Act uses federal resources to leverage those solutions, removes obstacles to I.T. adoption, and ensures interoperability:
Specifics of Interest:
Section 3
identifies that the Secretary may give up to 20 grants totaling $50 million to RHIOs that enables grantees, over the period of three years, to develop and implement a regional health information technology plan that provides for a (1) health information network within a geographic region, (2) way to finance provider purchase of necessary IT, (3) the improvement of the quality, safety, and efficiency of care delivery. Grantees would have one year to develop the plan, and two years for implementation.
The bill gives AHRQ the ability to grant or contract $2.5 million per year for five years (through 2010) with an entity to create and maintain a national technology assistance center to provide assistance to physicians to encourage adoption of IT, and participation in RHIOs.
This legislation calls for the creation of a process to accredit networks that are in the process of being created. Those RHIOs receiving grants will be deemed provisionally accredited.
Section 4
states that grantees may only purchase information technology systems that have been certified by CCHIT. Bi-annually, the Secretary will review CCHIT’s governance, processes, and certification products. If CCHIT fails in any of these areas, the Secretary will disapprove CCHIT. If this happens, the Secretary will consult with NCVHS to identify another certifying body to take CCHIT’s place.
Section 5
discusses the ability of the Secretary to make loans to RHIOs that have an accredited or provisionally accredited network to finance investments in network infrastructure and technology acquisition, training and workflow engineering for physicians. The re-payment of the loans must be completed within 10 years.
Section 6
provides a safe harbor for equipment and services provided for the development or implementation of a health information network. Patient data must be securely available to other persons or entities through a RHIO, and the equipment and services must not be provided in a manner that takes into account the volume or value of referrals or other business generated between parties.
Section 6 provides a second safe harbor permitting the provision of goods or services intended to allow the exchange of health information to improve quality, safety, and effectiveness of care. Again, the volume or value of referrals cannot be taken into account.
Sections 7, 8, & 9
provide the same language pursuant to Anti-Kickback laws.
Summary
This legislation has been reviewed and approved by the following HIMSS volunteer groups:
Advocacy & Public Policy Steering Committee
Chapter Advocacy Liaison Roundtable
Advocacy Collaborators Roundtable
Government Relations Roundtable
Legislation & Regulation Review Work Group
Recommendation
That the HIMSS Board of Directors endorse the 21st Century Health Information Act.
Scholarship Update
By Susan Heichert, Scholarship Chair
Congratulations to our 2005 scholarship winner Srikala Gajjala, a graduate student in Health Informatics at the University of Minnesota. Srikala is interested in the topic of how genetics and informatics combine to allow us to develop personalized diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of patients.
It’s not too early to submit your application for our 2006 scholarship! HIMSS annually awards a $1000 scholarship to part-time or full-time undergraduate, graduate and PhD student members of the chapter studying in the healthcare information or management systems field. Scholarships are awarded for academic excellence and the potential for future leadership in the healthcare information and management systems industry. Review criteria include as a core foundation: scholastic achievement and demonstration of leadership potential, including communication skills and participation in HIMSS activities.
Completed applications must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2006. Winners will be notified by April 1, 2006. You can access a copy of the application by visiting http://www.himss-mn.org/scholarship/scholarship.html.
For more information, e-mail Susan Heichert at heichert@comcast.net
Membership Update |
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| By Scott Azbill, Member Relations Chair As of May 2005, the Minnesota Chapter of HIMSS has a record number of 486 members! Below are the total number of members by membership type. The chart below shows the growth of our membership between this year and last. Just a reminder to renew your membership. HIMSS' fiscal year is July 1 - June 30, so today's the perfect time to renew. And, if you know anyone that would be interested in joining the chapter, they can easily join by visiting http://himss.org/ASP/membershipHome.asp. They can join at the national level for $140 or the chapter level for $30. Total Minnesota HIMSS Members: 486 National Members: 371 Local-only Members: 81 Student Members: 34  |
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