The Birthday Boy!

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Originally uploaded by Coffield.

Queen of the Party

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Originally uploaded by Coffield.

My Shingle Hangs Up Blawg Review #21

Blawg Review #21 is now up for viewing at Carolyn Elefant's MyShingle.com. When I saw that Carolyn was hosting Blawg Review this week I sent her an email recalling my first interaction with her last year when I was just starting to blog. She was one of the first lawyer bloggers to recognize and comment on my "then new" blog on health care law issues. She might not have known it but it was encouragment to keep blogging -- someone out there was reading my posts.



I noticed a post this morning that Carolyn also influenced Evan Schaeffer over at Legal Underground.

Corporate Blogger Positions and the Future of Health Care Blogs

Interesting post at Real Lawyers Have Blogs on corporations creating and hiring new Corporate Bloggers. Law firms will certainly be behind the curve on this one.

What about health care providers? Many hospitals and large physician practices are very progressive on marketing and public relations related initiatives. I'm sure we will see some health care blogger positions in the near future. As an example, check out the patient blogs a pilot project being done by High Point Regional Health System.

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Is Official

Today the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT) is official. The National Coordinator of the ONCHIT is Dr.David Brailer.

A notice in the August 19 Federal Register outlines the structure of the ONCHIT and established four divisions, including: The Office of Health Information Technology Adoption, The Office of Interoperability and Standards, The Office of Programs and Coordination and The Office of Policy and Research.

Thanks to Health Data Management for the article tip.

CMS Issues New Educational Advice on HIPAA Security Rule

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued the sixth of seven new educational guidance documents related to implementation and compliance with the Security Rule under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The sixth guidance issued is entitled "Basics of Risk Analysis and Risk Management."



Follwing is a complete list of the HIPAA Security Educational Paper Series:

1. Security 101 for Covered Entities

2. Security Standards - Technical Safeguards

3. Security Standards - Physical Safeguards

4. Security Standards - Organizational, Policies and Procedures and Documentation Requirements

5. Security Standards - Administrative Safeguards

6. Basics of Risk Analysis and Risk Management



Health care provider Privacy Officers and Security Officers may want to take a look at the new guidance materials.



Thanks to Health Data Management who reported on the new Security Rule advice.

New Blog by IBM Healthcare Executive Carol Kovac

A new health care blog called LifeLines is being authored by Carol Kovac, IBM's General Manager of IBM's Healthcare and Life Sciences. Ms. Kovac is responsible for the strategic direction of IBM's global healthcare and life science business.

I was fascinated when I ran across information about National Geographic and IBM's Genographic Project and the Genetic Journeys after exploring some background infomation on Ms. Kovac. Here is Ms. Kovac's genetic journey. As an avid genealogist who has tracked back my family on both sides at least 7 generations I found the project fascinating and am going to consider signing up to participate.

Thanks to Hospital Impact for pointing out LifeLines.

Reduce Food Tax to Trigger Healthy Lifestyle Changes

The Daily Mail today is reporting that a top economic expert says Governor Joe Manchin's plans to reduce the sales tax on food may lead to positive economic benfits for West Virginia.



Governor Manchin wants to completely eliminate the 6% food tax altogether. Based on the article, the Governor will propose some type of reduction at the upcoming special session.



I want to propose a modified version of the food tax reduction -- one that will not only benefit West Virginian's pockets but also their belts and waistlines. A food tax reduction that targets healthly food groups -- for example: remove the tax on fruits, vegetables, grains, milk, low fat meat, beans and other healthy food groups to promote and give consumers an incentive to make more health food choices. Base the reduction on the new/updated Healthy Food Pyramid. I have always been amazed that it is more expensive to eat health than it is to eat unhealthy.



Such a proposal would add a second reason to support a reduction of the food tax. As health care costs continue to spiral and West Virginians continue to come out at the top or bottom of every health related survey that I run across -- we need to creatively attack the health care crisis and take any steps to promote more healthly lifestyles. If Governor Manchin would take this approach to reducing the food tax he would not only gain the support of consumer groups and the business/economic groups, but also health advocates throughout the state of West Virginia.



I've not looked to see whether there are any other model states that have taken this approach -- but it would be interesting to see if this approach has been considered or taken elsewhere.

Hospital on Wheels & the Walmarting of Health Care

An interesting post from Hospital Impact discussing a South Bend, IN hospital experimenting with a "a "hospital on wheels" and the "Walmarting of Health Care" experiment. It was only a matter of time before Walmart decided to get into the health care business by providing an inhouse clinic.

In a state like West Virginia where Walmart is the biggest employer and has a footprint in every regional area around the state -- it makes a lot of sense. At a minimum, it provides greater access to health care to our elderly rural population who visit their local Walmart on a regular basis.

While health care costs continue to skyrocket it might be interesting to see whether Walmart can buck the trend and lower costs for preventive care.