ACPM members and staff represent the organization and the specialty in many ways. This web page includes news about recent meetings and gatherings where ACPM has been represented.

October 2005

October 24-25, 2005
The ACPM staff attended the 3^rd National Prevention Summit held at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, DC.

Richard Carmona, U.S. Surgeon General led the discussion with a distinguished panel of speakers.  The electronic personal record was emphasized.  Carmona praised the internet as a “tool to reach the public in a timely matter”.  He stated that “the power of data has the ability to transform our health system”.  He pointed out that Kaiser Permanente has used information technology for decades but that it is still in its infancy.  Questions from the audience were addressed such as the challenge of protecting the patient’s privacy and reaching the minorities. 

Topics also addressed at the conference included obesity and its association with co-morbid disease such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and some forms of cancer.  Tobacco cessation, promoting health literacy, and healthier workplaces were also discussed.

Workplaces, senior centers, schools, and community coalitions are now involved in creating healthier places.  For example, forces are already in the workplace to promote a healthier workforce.   Some organizations have provided pedometers and established walking teams.  Vending machines have been supplied with healthier snacks and fresh fruit is supplied at business meetings.  E-mails on a daily basis are sent out to employees on hints as to how to improve their nutrition and engage in an exercise program.  Rewards and incentives are used to motivate the employee.  Most programs have worked successfully and have cut down on absenteeism and lost productivity.  The final goal is to engage employer and employee in a partnership in order to promote a “healthier, happier workforce”.   

A showcase of upcoming technology was also displayed at the conference demonstrating the upcoming and developing powerful electronic medical record. 

http://www.healthierus.gov/steps/summit.html

 
October 12, 2005
The ACPM  Staff attended the “Heath Professional Roundtable on Preventive Services, Partnership for Prevention”
Various speakers included Kaiser Permanente with the program “My Chart” developed by EPIC, a software company. The program integrates the clinical record with appointments, registration and billing to deliver improvements in care delivery and patient satisfaction across the Kaiser Permanente organization.  Kaiser Permanente members are able to go online to make appointments, view lab test results, refill prescriptions, view prescription histories, and communicate with their doctors and other health care providers online. A Kaiser Permanente patient is able to see a history of visits with their doctor, even the diagnosis at each visit and recommended next steps for themselves and their self-care.  A patient's medical history will be available to every clinician who is involved in that patient's care--at the same time--even if the doctor is in Georgia, a nurse is in Colorado, and the specialist is in California.

One of the key goals of the project is to free up doctors' and nurses' time to spend with patients rather than on paperwork.  Studies have already found that, for instance, having a computer in the exam room enhances communication between the doctor and patient.

The next speaker from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) also elaborated on the personal health record.  The program “My HealtheVet” was developed by VISTA, a software company.  The program is similar to other software programs and emphasizes also patient education in the management of chronic disease.

The final two speakers represented the Center for Health Information Technology (HIT) and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).  The costs, ease of use, maintenance, and interoperability issues were discussed.  The barriers of privacy/security issues were also discussed.  It is still not certain who will govern the personal electronic record, federal vs. private sector but the overall end goal is interoperability across the nation.

October 12, 2005
The ACPM staff attended an OMB Meeting held at one of the White House offices

Norris Cochran conducted the meeting with various agencies attending such as Maternal Health, Society of Nephrology, Family Physicians, etc.  The discussion focused mainly on the 2% cut in defense, the impact of Katrina, and FEMA reimbursement to the various agencies.  Cochran spoke of the tail end of the 2006 budget and how the committee was now going through plans for the 2007 budget.  He agreed that Katrina was a new factor this year that was not planned for in the budget.  The final point was that the 2007 budget was in its early stages and would be prepared by February of 2006.  He agreed to take back to the committee the concerns of Katrina, FEMA and the defense cut.

October 11, 2005
The ACPM staff attended the conference “Connecting Americans to Their Health Care: Empowered Consumers, Personal Health Records and Emerging Technologies”

The first national conference to focus on the needs and concerns of consumers, including privacy, in the rapidly growing field of health information technology was held on October 11^th in Washington DC.  Sponsored by the Markle Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the format of the conference consisted of lecture and open panel discussion led by a moderator. The conference focused on advances in personal health technology and the core principles for creating a health information environment in which consumers can use information technology to participate more fully in managing their health and health care. Seven consumer and patient principles were presented. The principles are designed to protect privacy and ensure that personal health information is used appropriately in health information exchange.

The seven patient and consumer principles endorsed by the Personal Health Technology Council are:

1. Individuals should be able to access their health and medical data conveniently and affordably.

2. Individuals should be able to authorize when and with whom their health data are shared. Individuals should be able to refuse to make their health data available for sharing by opting out of nationwide information exchange.

3. Individuals should be able to designate someone else, such as a loved one, to have access to and exercise control over how their records are shared.

4. Individuals should receive easily understood information about all the ways that their health data may be used or shared.

5. Individuals should be able to review which entities have had access to their personal health data.

6. Electronic health data exchanges must protect the integrity, security, privacy, and confidentiality of an individual's information.

7. Independent bodies, accountable to the public, should oversee local and nationwide electronic health data exchanges. No single stakeholder group should dominate these oversight bodies, and consumer representatives selected by their peers should participate as full voting member.

Americans will have the ability to review their own medical records online including labs, prescriptions, able to generate appointments, interact with the health care provider, and add pertinent information.  Various speakers cited Hurricane Katrina as an illustration on the recent experience of lost medical records and as to how electronic records can improve quality of care.

Below are the sponsors of the conference, their mission, and web site.

The Markle Foundation (www.markle.org) works to accelerate the use of technologies to address critical public needs, particularly in the areas of health care and national security. The Markle Foundation Health Program is committed to accelerating the ability of patients and consumers to use information technology to improve their health and health care, while protecting patient privacy. The Markle Foundation envisions a time in the near future when individuals will be able to gain access to their own health information through nationwide electronic health information exchange, personal health records, and other emerging technologies, making it possible for patients to participate more fully in their own health care.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (www.rwjf.org) focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful, and timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. Helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in our lifetime.

The mission of the federal Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (www.ahrq.gov) - part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - is to support research designed to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. The research sponsored, conducted, and disseminated by AHRQ provides information that helps people make better decisions about health care. AHRQ sponsors and conducts research that provides evidence-based information on health care outcomes; quality; and cost, use, and access. The information helps health care decision makers - patients and clinicians, health system leaders, purchasers, and policymakers - make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services.