About the HITECH Act of 2009
In early Spring of 2010, final rules
will be issued on health IT standards, implementation specifications, EHR
certification technology, meaningful use, and incentive programs
for eligible professionals and hospitals.
What is the HITECH Act?
On February 17, 2009 a $787 Billion,
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 aka "the Stimulus
Bill," was signed into law by the federal government. Included in this law is
$22 Billion and $19.2 Billion of that is intended to be used to increase
the use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) by physicians and hospitals;
this portion of the bill is called, the Health Information Technology for
Economic and Clinical Health Act, or HITECH Act. The government firmly believes
in the benefits of using electronic health records and is ready to invest
federal resources to proliferate its use. Title XIII in Division A, pages 112 through 165 and Title IV in Division B, pages 353 through 398, cover the
HITECH portion of this economic recovery act.
HITECH Funds Allocation
- $18 billion
through the Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement systems as incentives for
hospitals and physicians who are "meaningful users" of EHR systems.
- $2 billion
to the Office of the National Coordinator for infrastructure necessary to
allow for, and promote, the electronic exchange and use of health
information for each individual in the United States; updating the
Department of Health & Human Services' technologies to allow for the
electronic flow of information; integrating health IT education into the
training of healthcare professionals; and, promoting interoperable
clinical data repositories.
- $1 billion
to be made available for renovation and repair of health centers and for
the acquisition of health IT systems.
- $550 million
for - among other things - the purchase of equipment and services
including, but not limited to, health IT within Indian Health Service
facilities.
- $400 million
for comparative effectiveness research on how use of electronic data
impacts healthcare treatments and strategies.
- $300 million
to support regional and sub-national efforts towards health information
exchange.
- $40 million
to be used by the Social Security Administration to use EHRs to submit
disability claims.
Determining Policies and Standards
Located within the Department of HHS
is the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
(ONCHIT). Created by Executive Order in 2004, it was legislatively mandated in
the ARRA. Through the HITECH Act, the ONC was to adopt an initial set of
HIT standards, and create an incentive program for meaningful users of EHR
certified technology. The ONC created two new Federal Advisory committees,
the HIT Policy
and HIT Standards committees .
The HIT Policy Committee is charged
with making recommendations to the National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology on a policy framework for the development and adoption of a
nationwide health information infrastructure, including standards for the
exchange of patient medical information.
The HIT Standards Committee is
charged with making recommendations to the National Coordinator for Health
Information Technology on standards, implementation specifications, and
certification criteria for the electronic exchange and use of health
information.
Definitions and Acronyms
Definitions of the acronyms
associated with HIT and EHR adoption are numerous and continue to
grow. You can always find an updated list of acronyms and their definitions
on our Key
Acronyms page.
What's happening right now?
On December 30, 2009 the ONC
and CMS released rules and notices. The ONC released an interim final rule
on initial standards, implementation specifications, and certification
criteria. CMS issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that outlines provisions
governing the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs and definition on
meaninful use.
