Health IT Roundup: Digital divide, a VA contract, the open data movement

Computerworld: The digital divide is alive and well when it comes to health care technology. Although President Barack Obama has made it a priority to have medical facilities deploy electronic health records (EHR) over the next four years, the people most likely to benefit -- those in poor and minority communities -- are unlikely to see them anytime soon. Physicians' practices and small clinics, where most doctors work, don't have the money to implement the technology, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars" (Mearian, 10/27).

WashingtonTechnology: CACI International Inc. will develop an electronic health care database for the Veterans Affairs Department through a General Services Administration Schedule 70 blanket purchase agreement worth $91 million over five years. The BPA supports the VA's comprehensive Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record initiative, known as VLER" (Hubler, 10/26).

The Virginia Gazette: "Opening up data to developers and the public has taken heath care toward a 'historic moment' that could fundamentally change how patients get care, Todd Park, CIO of the Health and Human Services Department, said today during a session at the Executive Leadership Conference. An open approach allows for an evolving system of health care information that can take applications out of the hand of government in some cases, leading to a multipronged approach, he said. ELC, staged by the American Council for Technology and the Industry Advisory Council, is taking place this week in Williamsburg, Va." (10/26).