Top Story

• State health agencies to update IT systems, survey finds
  Many state health departments are implementing best practices and technological advancements to modernize the IT platforms they use, according to the results of a survey published by Microsoft and the American Public Human Services Association. The report found 57% of agencies surveyed have not upgraded their IT systems, but the majority of them will pursue modernization within the next three to five years. The findings also show good program management practices, due diligence and proper leadership could help agencies get gradual benefits from IT modernization despite challenges. Healthcare IT News (11/16)     

	A Guide to Healthcare IT Disaster Recovery Prepare for and mitigate unforeseen events in your datacenter. Read how it's done at Adventist Health Systems. Inside: Steps to Deliver Highly Available Patient Care, Uncover Disaster Recovery Myths and Realities, Top 10 Disaster Recovery Best Practices, A Quick-Start Guide to Disaster Recovery, Disaster Recovery 101 - The Basics. Download now.

EHRs and MU

• Agency asks for public comment on proposed stage 3 MU measures
  CMS seeks public input on potential stage 3 meaningful use measures developed by Mathematica Policy Research and the National Committee for Quality Assurance to be used by health care professionals participating in the EHR incentive programs. The proposed measures will evaluate key parts of the yearly wellness visit benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. BeckersHospitalReview.com (11/16)     

• N.C. provider to make its biggest single HIT investment
  WakeMed Health & Hospitals in Raleigh, N.C., is making its biggest health IT investment to date by allocating almost $100 million for an integrated EHR system that will organize its health records in a single platform and will be used by all of its emergency rooms, inpatient facilities and physician practices. Full implementation of the system is expected in 2015, with the initial stages kicking off next summer. Modern Healthcare (subscription required) (11/15)     

• NBA to centralize athletes' health data using Cerner's EHR system
  Cerner announced the National Basketball Association will be using its integrated cloud-based EHR system to centralize athletes' health records and enable trainers and physicians to combine players' personal medical data in a single location. Healthcare Informatics online (11/15)     

Advancing Care With IT

• Text messaging interventions show promise in smoking cessation
  Smokers who tried smoking cessation programs using text messaging were twice as likely to go half a year without smoking compared with those who did not use the interventions, according to a review of five studies published by the Cochrane Library. The review, which focused solely on texting interventions, found that around 9% of smokers in the five treatment groups were tobacco-free after six months of receiving support such as automated motivational messages and fast responses to messages concerning their cravings. MobiHealthNews.com (11/16)     

Technology Trends

• Utah health privacy legislation advances
  Legislation that would require Utah health care providers to inform patients when their personal data has been or might be shared with government programs has cleared the Health and Human Services Committee. The bill would also require the Utah Department of Health to develop model language for disclosures and ensure providers are using the language in privacy statements. The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah) (11/14)     

HIE

• Public, private HIEs should work together to boost data sharing
  Public and private health information exchanges should work in conjunction with each other to boost data sharing and enhance care coordination and quality, according to the results of eHealth Initiative's 12th Annual HIE Survey. Researchers say it is possible data will not be adequately exchanged if HIEs within the same region or state use different systems. The survey also indicated HIEs with multiple revenue sources have a better chance of being sustainable over time than those that operate only using federal funds. Healthcare IT News (11/15)     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by Health IT SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Ex-president's program aims to boost health care for underserved (Healthcare Informatics online)

• Hospitals look to patient flow solutions to address crowding (Healthcare IT News)

• DHS awards $3M emergency data mining contract for social media (Modern Healthcare (subscription required))

• Cerner confirms plan to acquire behavioral health tech firm (American City Business Journals)

• Poll finds 50% rise in EMR use among U.S. physicians (BeckersHospitalReview.com)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Career Track

• HIMSS, BioDistrict to promote HIT workforce programs
  HIMSS has signed a deal with BioDistrict New Orleans to promote health IT workforce programs including educational, online and career support initiatives taking place before or coinciding with the 2013 HIMSS Conference & Exhibition in that city in March. HIMSS will be responsible for providing the BioDistrict with job development resources such as webinars, white papers, job boards and online mentoring and networking. Healthcare IT News (11/16)     

WEDI News

• WEDI National Conference in Las Vegas -- call for proposals
  WEDI is inviting individuals and companies to submit presentation proposals to be considered for the WEDI 22nd Annual National Conference to be held May 13-16, 2013, in Las Vegas, Nev. The conference is expected to attract more than 500 health information management professionals to learn the latest in the management of health information and technologies. We need you to share your expertise, successes and ideas with your peers! Learn more and submit a proposal.     

• WEDI Health IT Innovation Network
  The WEDI Health IT Innovation Network is a new interactive website developed by WEDI as a tool to help health IT industry members connect with peers, share their latest innovations and learn from best practices. The website is configured to allow users to submit their organization's latest health IT innovations and easily access the network of previous submissions. The easy-to-use system offers 25 innovation categories with 55 subcategories and can be sorted by date of submission, organization name and topic. The Health IT Innovation Network is accessible to the health care industry at no cost.     

SmartQuote

Nothing is too small to know, and nothing is too big to attempt." --William Cornelius Van Horne, Canadian railway executive