Leavitt releases his doctrine on IT privacy
Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt has released an eight-point "doctrine" for stimulating conversation about healthcare IT privacy. He said the doctrine is his own, formulated "with a lot of thought," but for the sake of time not yet thoroughly vetted through HHS. Speaking at the Fifth Nationwide Health Information Network Forum in Washington, Dec. 15, Leavitt said he plans to launch a public discussion about privacy and expand the doctrine in his remaining 36 days as HHS secretary. Date: 12/15/08

California establishes telehealth center
The private non-partisan California HealthCare Foundation is establishing an organization to lead and coordinate telehealth services throughout California. Called the California Center for Connected Health, it will be based in Sacramento, and will be led by Sandra Shewry, former director of the California Department of Health Care Services, who was named president and CEO. The center will connect stakeholders including state agencies, provider groups and public and private organizations to set the strategy and vision for a sustainable telehealth model in California. Date: 12/15/08

States increasingly wired for healthcare IT
A new report released by the National Conference of State Legislatures shows state lawmakers are moving at an unprecedented rate to get healthcare wired in their states. According to NCSL, each year states have been working on increasing their efforts to pass laws that will advance healthcare IT as a way to improve quality of care and control healthcare costs. This most recent NCSL study shows that during an 18-month period between 2007 and 2008, state lawmakers introduced more than 370 bills relating to healthcare IT. Date: 12/12/08

Boost in the use of PHRs is likely, survey finds
A new survey says individuals will be creating their own personal health records in order to better manage their health. The survey was conducted by Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Morpace Inc., a research and consulting organization specializing in the automotive, financial services, healthcare, retail and technology sectors. The survey found that 27 percent of American adults say they are "extremely likely or somewhat likely" to create an online PHR to help track their medical history and medications. Date: 12/10/08