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Health IT Industry Divided Over Importance of Reform Ruling

Health IT industry leaders are divided on how important the U.S. Supreme  Court’s ruling to uphold the federal health reform law will be to the progress  of health IT initiatives, InformationWeek reports (Terry, InformationWeek, 6/28).

On Thursday, the Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling upheld the major elements of  the reform law.

Health IT Implications of Ruling

The Supreme Court ruling clears the way for health care providers to continue  working on health IT projects related to the implementation of the reform  law.

Although the reform law does not directly address health IT adoption, some of  the law’s Medicare programs give preference to health care providers who have  installed electronic health record systems.

Other health IT-related provisions of the reform law include:

  • Demonstration projects for accountable care organizations, which use IT  tools;
  • New collection and reporting responsibilities on health care disparities;
  • New health care-associated data collection by the Internal Revenue Service;
  • New operating rules to standardize HIPAA transactions;
  • Online-based insurance exchanges at the state level; and
  • Web-based enrollment for health care and human services programs.

Ruling Does Not Affect Meaningful Use Program

The Supreme Court ruling does not affect the meaningful use program, which  was created by the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, not the 2010 health  reform law. Under the stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate  meaningful use of certified EHR systems can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare  incentive payments (iHealthBeat,  6/28).

How a Different Ruling Would Have Affected Health IT

Although health IT industry observers agree that the Supreme Court’s decision  validates the reform law’s health IT-related provisions, they are divided about  whether a decision striking down the law would have affected health IT  efforts.

Bruce Merlin Fried — a health care attorney with SNR Denton in Washington,  D.C. — said that if the court had ruled that the reform law was  unconstitutional, “it would have thrown the entire health care system into  chaos, as everyone tried to understand the implications.”

He said that as a result, CFOs likely would have halted spending until the  situation was clearer.

However, Steve Bernstein — head of the health care law practice of McDermott  Will & Emery in Boston — said that had the Supreme Court struck down the  entire law, “I don’t think it would have mattered.”

Bernstein said there would have been “a momentary pause by providers and  health plans,” but the market has driven reform efforts for the past two years  (InformationWeek, 6/28).

Health IT Industry Leaders Look Ahead

Dave Roberts — vice president of government relations at the Healthcare  Information and Management Systems Society — said the high court’s decision  means hospitals will begin to see a drop in uncompensated care, which will allow  them to increase their investments in health IT beyond EHRs (Goedert, Health Data Management, 6/28).

William Bria — chair of the Association of Medical Directors for Information  Systems and corporate director for medical informatics at Shriners Hospitals for  Children — said that because the health reform law incentivizes wellness over  episodes of care, patients will turn to technology to become more engaged in  their health care.

Steven Davidson — senior vice president and chief medical informatics  officer for Maimonides Medical Center in New York — noted that the reform law  will place more focus on caring for specific populations, rather than just  individuals. He said that the challenge will be that “the vast majority of  physicians in practice today … have never trained to do population health  care” and that “the vendors are really just beginning to deliver population  health tools” (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 6/28).

Roberts noted that patient identification also is a challenge. He said, “If a  nationwide solution isn’t proposed, it will be difficult to implement nationwide  exchange of data” (Health Data Management, 6/28).

Source: iHealthBeat

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