First 2010 Post (Conferences, Meaningful Use, and More)

A few years ago I passed a church as a wedding party pushed out onto the lawn at the end of the ceremony. My boys were in the back seat and the younger looked out the window and said out loud, "Dad, I don't want to have to get married."

I wasn't too surprised, really, because even then, at the age of4 or 5, he was full of funny exclamations. "Why not, buddy?"

"Because sometimes...sometimes, I just need a day off."

Well, I need a day off from "work" so I can get to the blog. Whenever you see a gap in my posts like I've had recently, it's because there's so much happening in the world of pediatrics that I don't have time to blog it all. Thus, I'm relegated to the shotgun post.

• PCC has another AAP endorsed pediatric coding and practice management event in Miami, FL at the end of January. I know a few of you are already signed up, but we still have room. For non-PCCers who have attended similar events, there are a few new classes. For PCCers who attend everything we do (you know who you are, Lynn Cramer), there's at least one AWESOME new class in here that will make the entire trip worth your while.

  We're about to announce an other event in Virginia any moment now.

• Many of you probably already read the HISTalk interview with Bill Zurhellen, but if you haven't, please do. Bill was the brave soul who stood up at the CCHIT committee meeting and said, "...if our work isn't about improving healthcare, then why are we here?" I don't know if he realizes - and is therefore thankful or spiteful - that I put the HISTalk folks in touch with him or not. I think the interview is excellent, though I am a little dissapointed that he toned it down!
• PCC's world has started to circle around the Meaningful Use drain, though we're doing our best to get caught in it as little as possible. I remember learning about the "Bread and Circus" back in junior high and I can't think of a better analogy. Nearly everyone we speak to these days wants to know if they're going to get their money. I've written about this issue for the AAP before. Pediatricians need to focus on REAL meaningful use, imo. If you want to read the 700+ pages related to the bill - in it's "Preliminary Final" form (what does that mean?), you can get the details here and here.
  You can also find some interesting summaries and helpful documents here and this summary by HISTalk is quite helpful.

How is this not a giant waste of money?