arra

I usually don't talk much about PCC's actual "business" here, but I can't help myself today.

Although we've known for a little while, it's official now: PCC has passed ARRA certification!  Woohoo! I wanted to throw an image of the certified seal up here, but I didn't want the Gods of ONC to come down on me.

If you see a PCC developer, designer, or training, pat him or her on the back.

I'm really not this lazy, it's just that what Erica has put together is really good.

If you're a pediatrcian and thinking about ARRA (as many of you appear to be), PedSource is assembling what I think are among the best pediatric-focused ARRA resources you will find anywhere.

As you may have heard - even the AAP has announced the news - the Final Draft of the Meaningful Use Final Rule has been issued by CMS.  There are already dozens of analyses of the results posted on-line (how some of these folks read 860+ pages in a matter of hours is beyond me), but remarkably little as it relates to pediatricians.  As you know, MU and the ARRA money are really aimed at the 95% market share, namely physicians who take Medicare.

As many of you know, I am on the CCHIT Child Health Workgroup, which has been both a delight and an exercise in futility.  The focus and capability of the folks on that committee is intimidating, to say the least...but, sadly, we have not met since last September, if I have my dates right.  Everyone - especially CCHIT - expected them to be named the one-and-only certification body for all things EHR, but that never materialized and now many of us are wondering what to do.

Check out my new favorite toy:

What's More Profitable: Demonstrating Meaningful Use or Managing Your Productivity?

We continue to get daily calls and requests for information about the ARRA funding.  We were even told by a potential client that they went with a well-known (but little liked) vendor now in order to maximize their ARRA $$, even though the money itself may be a mirage and they don't even know what their state is going to do. 

Big sigh.

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."

After today's post, I am going to return with some really cool benchmark data (the sort of topic I prefer), but the news about EHRs is coming fast and furiously. My apologies for the length of the post.

First, from the AAP: