Juvan's Seven Day Recap--9/24/2006

It's time to reflect back on last week's noteworthy stories:

• E-Prescribing, E-Patient Records, but No E-mail? Recently, the federal government has centered its efforts around allowing physicians to move their practices into the Twenty-First Century by encouraging the adoption and use of e-prescribing and e-patient records systems. Though current trends strive to connect physicians to the internet, the Centers for Studying Health Systems Change released results from the HSC Community Tracking Study Physician Survey and concluded that physicians were generally very slow to adopt e-mail as a form of physician-patient communication. Only approximately 24% of physicians reported that they use e-mail to communicate with patients about clinical issues. The report indicated that the lack of reimbursement for e-consultations, the high cost of implementing a secure messaging system, the possibility that the use of e-mail will increase physicians' workload and the inability for some patients to access e-mail have all served as an impediment for the adoption of such communication methods. Some states also have onerous regulatory requirements that scare physicians off from using e-mail. See, for example, the Texas Medical Board telemedicine rules.
• U.S. Health System Receives a Failing Grade. The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System reported that "across 37 indicators of performance, the U.S. receives an overall score of 66 out of a possible 100 when comparing actual national performance to achievable benchmarks." Among other reported findings, the study concluded that the U.S. is "one-third worse than the best country on mortality from conditions 'amenable to health care'" and that the "average adult disability rate is one-fourth worse than the best five U.S. states." Click here to view the report.
• Two High Profile Health Agencies Continue to Lack Leaders. America's health system is constantly under attack. Critics launch multiple charges, including that the current system is inefficient, fails to provide quality services and does not focus on patient outcomes. But the so-called health crisis in this country is exacerbated by the fact that two integral governmental agencies--The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") and the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA")--are without confirmed leaders. Mark McClellan, the CMS administrator, is scheduled to leave his post in only a few weeks. Additionally, the FDA has been without a confirmed chief thoughout most of President Bush's tenure. Though the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved the nomination of Andrew von Eschenbach to lead the FDA on Wednesday, Senators David Vitter and Jim DeMint have promised to block the appointment.