HIS Talk: Make it illegal to sell or use non-CCHIT certified systems in NJ?

[Edmund Billings]

From today’s HIS Talk

Herb Conaway, Jr., a private practice physician, attorney, and Democratic assemblyman from New Jersey, introduces a bill<http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/A4000/3934_I1.HTM> that would make it illegal to sell or use non-CCHIT certified systems in the state. He previously introduced the New Jersey Health Information Technology Promotion Act<http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/A4500/4044_R1.HTM> that appears to mandate EMR use. HIMSS loves him, of course, having given him a 2008 State Advocacy Award<http://www.himss.org/advocacy/activities_advocacyday.asp> and put him on the podium at the annual conference in Chicago. I found it interesting that his own practice’s EMR vendor went belly-up<http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/01/11/an-md-legislator-pushes-for-electronic-medical-records/>, maybe leading him to favor the larger vendors that can afford CCHIT certification fees and who wouldn’t mind seeing a bunch of competitors knocked out of the arena for one reason or another. Thanks to HIStalk reader Chip for the tip. I thought I was getting used to well-intentioned government intrusion into private business, but this idea leaves me speechless.

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Edmund Billings MD
Chief Medical Officer & EVP Product
Medsphere
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"Transforming Healthcare through Open Source"

[David Kibbe]

This is precisely the problem being faced in the US Congress, both houses.  It's the Democratic members who are now taking significant lobbying monies from the legacy vendors and their organizations, in order to get re-elected in 2010 and 2012.  But this, of course, then establishes a special relationship.  It's how Washington works, and it's not going to end until lobbying becomes illegal.  I wish I could be more sanguine about the near future, but I am not.  The only thing that we can do is continue to notice the details and make sure they get published into the light of day.   DCK

David C. Kibbe, MD MBA

Senior Advisor, American Academy of Family Physicians

Chair, ASTM International  E31Technical Committee on Healthcare Informatics

Principal, The Kibbe Group LLC 

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