Stand and Deliver

From Healthcare IT News--- HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt (you know, the one who isn't Tommy Thompson) gave a speech last Monday that could have been made any time in the last 5 years, except for this part:

"The agency will provide early deliverables within the next six months, Leavitt said, specifically the development of adverse drug event records, the electronic transmission of lab test results, and the elimination of the “medical clipboard” for patient admittance. Although he spoke of unique patient identifiers that would eliminate errors and speed patient admission, Leavitt said patient identifiers would require more discussion and study."

No surprise that the individual identifiers are on hold, but the rest is an interesting hint. Full story here.