What the 2012 Presidential Election Results Mean for Health IT

Thank you mansur. I think I watched it once or twice.

If you watch CNN's Fareed Zakaria's episodes on health IT in other countries you will get a glimpse.

Well that is good news. I thought US is dominating but my only worry is for developing and non-developed countries. When will they get an oppertunity like this unless some big company funds them but still

No, they don't. We still have some Governors -- including my own -- who are dawdling in hopes that *something* will happen such that they don't have to do it -- and in the meantime have numerous other cards to play to help delay the process. For example, in Idaho, the legislature passed a law forbidding the legislature to appropriate any money for Obamacare. In other words, even if 100% of the money comes from the Federal government, it still can't be spent, because that's done through the appropriations process. And we have enough ideologues in the Legislature that they may well stop any effort to change this, so it'll require a long tiresome court process.

Yes Alison - people and policy management is critical for information security. Think of home security. You can have the most expensive security technology for your home but if do not use it or engage it or if you or your guests leave the doors open/unlocked and windows ajar your entire investment in security is wasted.

When you look at the list of security breaches gathered by HHS - recognizing that this data is only from breaches that affect 500 or more patients - it is frightening to see how many come from lost or stolen laptops, smartphones, or thumb drives. For IT professionals, it's a neverending process of educating end-users, healthcare professionals, and automating as much of the security process as possible to reduce human error.

Meaningful Use Stage 2 involves use of patient portals.  Many organizations are not even at Stage 1. The following is a good synopsis:

http://blog.cms.gov/2012/02/28/stage-2-meaningful-use-nprm-moves-toward-patient-centered-care-through-wider-use-of-ehrs/

Appropriate security implementation in healthcare has a long way to go.

I wonder, though, where and how patients control that information. Accessing a patient portal is one thing: Controlling the information that's in there is another. I can understand why healthcare facilities wouldn't want patients to alter records willy nilly. If someone had a drug, alcohol, or weight problem, perhaps, in the past, it could still be pertinent, even if the patient didn't want to discuss it 10 years later. But if a record is flat-out wrong, then I hope "they" address a clear-cut, simple, bureaucracy-free path to correction, one that doesn't impose a legal-type structure on the patient who is, after all, the one responsible for his/her health ultimately.

When I enrolled my daughter at middle school, I was amazed to find her full vaccination records were available online to school officials with no specific authorization required from my husband or me. What was particularly interesting was that Florida has not cooperated with Obamacare and does not have an HIE. Also, I read that when the Colorado shooting occurred, the news media quickly determined Loughner's psychiatric records; now, getting information to authorized people is one thing, but we need to ensure privacy too, even for those charged with horrific crimes.

Part of the Meaningful Use requirements is patient portal implementation and patient engagement and access to their records.  As these get implemented, people should have better control over privacy and accuracy of their records.  That said, in general, as far as I know, doctors need to have full medical history (except for those Federal and State protected conditions which require consent).