The Golden Rule

"He who has the gold, rules"

Consumer Directed Health Care (CDHR) is beginning to make major intrusions and fund IT.  CALPERS is acting on behalf of it's employees by directing it's pension fund to  invest in Health IT. Beyond that they are directing their insurers to do the same, following their lead.  No doubt CALPERS has enormous purchasing power in the market place.!

California Retirement Fund Backs Statewide Health Data Exchange

The California Public Employees' Retirement System -- which serves 1.2 million state and local employees, retirees and dependents -- has endorsed and will support the California Regional Health Information Organization's statewide health information exchange, called CalRHIO, Health Data Management reports.
CalPERS has directed its health insurers -- Anthem Blue Cross, formerly known as Blue Cross of California, Blue Shield of California and Kaiser Permanente -- to negotiate contracts with CalRHIO. CalPERS also plans to work with CalRHIO to ensure the privacy and security of member information as it is transferred over the health data exchange (Health Data Management, 4/24).
"The electronic exchange of health data will lead to increased safety, higher quality and better coordination of care," Rob Feckner, CalPERS Board of Administration president, said (CalPERS press release, 4/23).
CalRHIO is supporting the development of local health exchanges intended to be interoperable and help form a statewide network. CalRHIO's initial project will create a resource in which physicians in high-volume emergency departments will be able to access patient data (Health Data Management, 4/24).

April 24, 2008

HHS Secretary Pushes Transparency, Health Care IT Adoption

At the fifth annual World Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said his agency will continue to drive efforts to increase health information transparency and health IT adoption during the final months of the Bush administration, Healthcare IT News reports.
The Bush administration's value-driven health care plan relies on health IT adoption to record quality measures, as well as to collect and provide cost and quality information to consumers. However, only about 10% of small physician practices have adopted IT applications, Leavitt said.
Leavitt dismissed the idea of waiting for the government to pay for health IT. He noted that Internet adoption is being driven by the market and is not funded by the governme

California Retirement Fund Backs Statewide Health Data Exchange

The California Public Employees' Retirement System -- which serves 1.2 million state and local employees, retirees and dependents -- has endorsed and will support the California Regional Health Information Organization's statewide health information exchange, called CalRHIO, Health Data Management reports.
CalPERS has directed its health insurers -- Anthem Blue Cross, formerly known as Blue Cross of California, Blue Shield of California and Kaiser Permanente -- to negotiate contracts with CalRHIO. CalPERS also plans to work with CalRHIO to ensure the privacy and security of member information as it is transferred over the health data exchange (Health Data Management, 4/24).

"The electronic exchange of health data will lead to increased safety, higher quality and better coordination of care," Rob Feckner, CalPERS Board of Administration president, said (CalPERS press release, 4/23).
CalRHIO is supporting the development of local health exchanges intended to be interoperable and help form a statewide network. CalRHIO's initial project will create a resource in which physicians in high-volume emergency departments will be able to access patient data (Health Data Management, 4/24).

THE SPIN STOPS HERE: Michael Leavittt has the real inside scoop. Another unfunded mandate….