June 2010

HHS Awards $83.9 Million in Recovery Act Funds to Expand Use of Health Information Technology

The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $83.9 million in grants to help networks of health centers adopt electronic health records (EHR) and other health information technology (HIT) systems.

The funds are part of the $2 billion allotted to HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to expand health care services to low-income and uninsured individuals through its health center program. Forty-five grants will support new and enhanced EHR implementation projects as well as HIT innovation projects.

Funds will allow grantees to use EHR technology to improve health care quality, efficiency, and patient safety. Eligible professionals practicing within health centers who are able to demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology may be eligible for incentive payments provided under Medicaid and Medicare. Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCNs) improve the operational effectiveness and clinical quality in health centers by providing management, financial, technology and clinical support services. The networks, comprised of at least three collaborating organizations, are community-based groups that support HRSA-funded health centers that provide primary health care to nearly 19 million patients - a number expected to double over the next five years as health reform is implemented.

REPOR(t)

[Commentary] What was the impact of shows like Jon Stewart's The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert's The Colbert Report on the health reform debate?

In our May tracking poll, 12% of the American people said they got information on health reform from shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report (or their websites). The numbers were higher for college graduates (16%); higher still for 18-29 year olds (19%); and self-reported liberals (20% vs. 9% for conservatives). We also asked people what their "most important" source of information was on health reform. Cable TV news and their related websites topped the list, picked by 30%, followed by newspapers and their websites and friends and family at 12% and 11% respectively. (Note: some respected bloggers questioned whether this could be so given TV ratings data showing far fewer people tuned in to cable than, say, network news, but how frequently people view a news show and what they cite as their "most important" source of information on an issue can be very different things.) In any event, shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report were picked by a tiny 1% as people's "most important" source of information. If that sounds very low, by comparison "your doctor or another health care professional" was picked by 3% (19% said they got some information on health reform from their doctor or a health professional). We also know from an earlier Time magazine poll conducted in October of 2008 that 11% of likely voters cited Stewart/Colbert as a "major source" of news about politics and current events, 25% as a "minor source", and 63% as "not a source." So what do numbers like these mean?

I suspect the 12% who cite Stewart and Colbert as a "source of information about health reform" is a real undercount; respondents may not think of these shows as providing "information" even if they get them to "think" about a subject like health reform or about government or politics. These shows are primarily viewed by people as entertainment. Also, the data should be viewed in the context of the changing information consumption habits of many Americans, especially younger people. They are fast becoming one-person-news-aggregators, pulling together what they see and learn from multiple websites and shows to form their own overall picture of issues and events (even if they seldom pick up a newspaper or watch broadcast news). For viewers what they see or learn on The Daily Show is a piece of a "daily" puzzle they assemble themselves. An unknown and I suspect very small percentage of people get their only exposure to information about current events from shows like The Colbert Report, or The Daily Show, or Real Time with Bill Maher, or the other late night shows. The shows engage this group in public affairs when they otherwise might not be engaged but may also fuel skepticism about government and our ability to solve problems as a country which polling suggests seems to be growing.

Mobile Data: A Gold Mine for Telcos

Cell phone companies are finding that they're sitting on a gold mine--in the form of the call records of their subscribers.

Researchers in academia, and increasingly within the mobile industry, are working with large databases showing where and when calls and texts are made and received to reveal commuting habits, how far people travel for public events, and even significant social trends. With potential applications ranging from city planning to marketing, such studies could also provide a new source of revenue for the cell phone companies. "Because cell phones have become so ubiquitous, mining the data they generate can really revolutionize the study of human behavior," says Ramón Cáceres, a lead researcher at AT&T's research labs.

e-NC Authority State Broadband Survey

The e-NC Authority is conducting an online survey on broadband access across North Carolina as part of a planning project for the state. The survey will provide businesses, governments and policy makers with information on usage and challenges of high-speed broadband in the state.

More than 100,000 e-mails have been sent to NC addresses with links to the survey. Results from the survey will help the authority identify where broadband goes in North Carolina as well as to the degree and purposes for its use. "Future economic growth and prosperity for both North Carolina and the nation depends on the availability and use of high-speed broadband," said Jane Smith Patterson, executive director of e-NC Authority. "We are especially concerned about rural areas and small towns in North Carolina because broadband access and utilization are still a challenge in these communities."

The authority was awarded a $2 million grant by the National Telecommunications and Informational Administration to produce a multi-year broadband mapping and planning program for North Carolina. Broadband availability data will be collected will help determine the state's broadband map and will be included in NTIA's national map. NTIA is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. E-NC, a public-private authority created by the General Assembly, is charged with creating jobs through technology-based economic development that requires broadband access.

EHRs Lack Standards, Best Practices

A report raises growing concerns that electronic health record products are being developed without specific best practices and design standards related to EHR product use in a healthcare setting.

To overcome this difficulty, many vendors support an independent body guiding development of voluntary usability standards for EHRs, the study found. The Electronic Health Record Usability Vendor Practices and Perspectives report was published this month by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The study, which was conducted by James Bell Associates and the Altarum Institute on behalf of AHRQ, interviewed vendors of ambulatory EHR products that came on the market during the mid-1990s to 2007. The study's objective was to examine vendors' processes and practices with regard to: the existence and use of standards and "best practices" in designing, developing, and deploying products; testing and evaluating usability throughout the product life cycle; and supporting post-deployment monitoring to ensure patient safety and effective use. The adoption of EHRs is a cornerstone of President Obama's healthcare reform strategy, with billions of dollars earmarked in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund a new healthcare IT infrastructure. The adoption of EHR technology is pivotal to that strategy, with the government declaring that its goal is to provide every citizen with an electronic health record by 2014.

That Pesky DVR Is Now Killing Off Bigger Pieces Of The TV Industry

Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney/ABC Television Group, says SOAPnet, a cable network devoted to re-airing daytime operas, became obsolete because of the DVR. Viewers who worked all day simply DVR-ed their favorite soaps and watched them in the evening. One doesn't need a network to do that.

CBS and other networks have already proclaimed their chief competition in the weekday 10 p.m. time slot isn't other networks -- it's viewers' DVR machine in full playback mode. You can blame Disney Television for not thinking ahead and doing what all niche cable channels should be doing, creating their own original programming. We are not talking about highlight shows, clip shows, or shows that review the week in soaps. We are talking about original ongoing series. Yes, they are expensive. Kids shows aren't as costly -- especially for those aged 2-7 who have no problem looking at repeat shows. But doesn't the new channel, Disney Junior, provide the same problem with the DVR again? Yes and no. This is about what Disney does best: heavy licensing and merchandising for ancillary income. That can make it a big revenue winner. Another side benefit: Disney Junior can keep to The Disney Channel's business structure: no TV commercials and limited sponsorship. Disney will also get better subscriber fees from cable networks.

Canadian operators clash over access to fiber networks

Bell Canada President and CEO George Cope told the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission that incumbent telcos should no longer be forced to give independent Internet service providers wholesale access to legacy copper-based networks.

Citing the company's significant spending on the deployment of fiber, Cape claims that if independent ISPs have access to fiber networks then speeds will slow to such an extent that services such as IPTV will not be able to be offered. However, Andrew Day, CEO of Primus Telecom, said that unless changes are made to allow the company to offer speeds similar to those that will be on offer soon from Bell, Aliant and Telus, then 'Primus will effectively be forced out of the residential high speed Internet business within five years'. Day also stated that allowing ISPs access to new networks actually spurs investment, arguing that Primus does not solely resell Internet access but has also spent hundreds of millions of dollars on its own infrastructure.

Google Wi-Fi Incident Under More Scrutiny

Canada's privacy commissioner has launched an investigation into Google's disclosure that it mistakenly collected data from unsecured home Wi-Fi networks.

"We are very concerned about the privacy implications stemming from Google's confirmation that it had been capturing Wi-Fi data in neighborhoods across Canada and around the world over the past several years," said Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart. Stoddard said that her office will be examining whether the incident violated Canada's private sector privacy law, known as the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. She has urged Google to retain the Wi-Fi data it collected in Canada. "We have a number of questions about how this collection could have happened and about the impact on people's privacy," she said.

Industry players plan broadband education campaign

The Communications Alliance is bringing together the who's who of the telecommunications industry to launch a consumer education and awareness program ahead of construction of the $43 billion national broadband network.

The group -- which has secured the backing and participation of the NBN Co, the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, ATUG and the Internet Society -- will consult with industry to come up with a program to educate consumers about how migration to the NBN could play out. The group is awaiting confirmation from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission for its participation and will seek participation from retail service providers too. Once all members are signed up, the group will devise a consumer education program to explain how NBN network architecture will look inside a customer's premise, the costs of migration, how to deal with multiple Internet providers and customer options regarding fault management among a variety of topics.

U.S. Falls From Internet Elite, Aims to Catch Hungary

After ranking third in the world a decade ago, the U.S. has dropped to 15th in the proportion of citizens receiving fast Web service, or broadband, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. South Korea, Iceland and Germany are among the countries that ranked higher in 2009, the Paris-based group says. Connections were both faster and cheaper in 12 countries, including Hungary and Denmark.

Benton

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