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Care record data set released by ASTM
A standard specification for an electronic "continuity of care record" (CCR), a core set of patient data that can follow patients as they receive care at different clinics, hospitals, and physician offices, has been released by ASTM International (www.astm.org), an organization that develops voluntary consensus standards for health care informatics and other fields.
The data set includes the most relevant information about a patient's health status, treatment, allergies, medications, and tests, as well as basic information about the person's identification, family health history, insurance, advance directives, care plan, and care provider.
The CCR will bring an end to physicians and other health care professionals having to act without easy access to relevant patient information, and will change the way in which practitioners preserve and transfer information about their patients, according to the ASTM web site.
RWJF report outlines health coverage plans
The annual "State of the States" report, summarizing strategies states are implementing or considering to expand health coverage, has been released by State Coverage Initiatives, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Illinois lawmakers have extended health coverage to children, according to the report, while Maryland legislators required large employers to increase their health coverage. Massachusetts officials are considering proposals to achieve universal health coverage.
Medicaid strategies eyed in Pew report
A recent report by the Pew Center on the States (www.pewcenteronthestates.org) examines state Medicaid reforms being tested to reduce program spending.
Reforms include changes related to long-term care, prescription drugs, new technology, copayments, program management, and privatization.
The authors conclude, among other findings, that many reforms do not actually reduce spending but shift it elsewhere in the health care system.
"We hope this report will help states see the costs and benefits of the approaches other states are taking and aid them in crafting their own strategies to tackle this growing challenge," says Sue Urahn, director of the Pew program, which examines policy approaches to critical state issues.
A standard specification for an electronic "continuity of care record" (CCR), a core set of patient data that can follow patients as they receive care at different clinics, hospitals, and physician offices, has been released ...Subscribe Now for Access
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