8/27/2007

Vol. IV, No. 31

Health Information Technology Team Report
Brought to you by Thomas Jefferson University’s Department of Health Policy

Report: 12 States Lead the Way in Medicaid Health IT Adoption

12 state Medicaid agencies are in the lead in adopting health IT, but levels of progress and types of
technologies vary widely, according to a report just released by HHS’ Office of Inspector General.
The report found that the 12 state Medicaid agencies have adopted a total of 16 health IT initiatives,
including claims-based EHRs, e-prescribing, remote disease monitoring and PHRs. The 12 states are
Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Pennsylvania, Tennessee,
Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The report also found that 25 state agencies are planning or
development health information exchange networks. (Modern Healthcare, 8/21)
Web-Based Tool Helps Uninsured Find Public, Private Health Plans
The non-profit Foundation for Health Coverage Education is offering a web-based tool including
information specific to all 50 states and the District to help consumers identify their eligibility for
public and private plans. Once a user identifies his state of residence, he/she answers 5 questions on
household income, employment, and previous health conditions, and the system uses the answers to
personalize its guidance. The website provides links to printable applications for many plans and
phone numbers for insurers and government agencies. If users do not qualify for a public plan, the
system can refer them to brokers who offer private plans. The same information is available via a
toll-free hotline in more than 50 languages. The foundation, funded largely by the insurance
industry, argues that many of the 43 million uninsured Americans do not know the choices available
to them. (The Washington Post, 8/21)
Cities Use Online Database To Aid Emergency Medical Systems
Cities nationwide are using a program developed by Emory University and the CDC that allows EMS
units and city officials to use an online database with data from 911 dispatch centers, paramedic run
reports, and hospital discharge records. The 5-year, $1.5 million Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance
Survival (CARES) project launched 3 years ago. Users can track how many cardiac arrest patients
EMS crews treated, how many victims had their hearts restarted in the field, how many returned
home from the hospital with normal brain function, and how many got help before crews arrived.
Cities, including Anchorage, Atlanta, Austin, Cincinnati, Houston, Kansas City, Raleigh, and Tucson,
can compare their crews to others in the region and nationally. Atlanta significantly improved its
survival rate for cardiac arrest by using CARES between 9/05 and 7/07. (USA Today, 8/21)
Report Gauges Health Insurers' Information Technology Adoption
30% of health insurers release hospital quality data for specific conditions, but only 6% release
similar data about physicians, according to a report from the National Business Coalition on Health.
The survey of over 200 HMOs and 40 PPOs measured plans’ performance against HHS’ Four
Cornerstones of Value-Driven Health Care initiative that encourages providers to adopt interoperable
health IT. The report found: 41% of plans use standards for 75% or more of eligibility and enrollment
transactions; 64% offer PHRs for members, but most do not include claims data; 75% offer
prescription drug pricing data; and 50% offer providers cash incentives for improving health care but
still pay for services regardless of outcomes (Health Data Management, 8/21; report available online).

Any questions regarding this newsletter can be directed to

Albert Crawford at albert.crawford@jefferson.edu.