Government Document News

Federal Documents: Health IT

m_vonseggern@wsu.edu (Marilyn Von Seggern) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:48:29 GMT

Health Information Technology (Health IT) is the use of information technology to increase the efficiency of health care for consumers and providers. It has the potential to improve the quality of care, reduce costs and paperwork, increase access to care,and prevent errors. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provided funding for Health IT and is being used in part for grants to build regional centers which will provide technical assistance for getting started with Electronic Health Records. Other grant funds willgo to states for building health information exchange among providers and hospitals.
The Columbia Basin Health Association serving the towns of Mattawa, Othello, and Connell in rural Washington, recently was cited by Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, for being, "one of the first community health centers in the United States to fully transition to an electronic health record (EHR) system from paper-based charts."
A Docuticker post of 10-29-09 notes the report, "Health Information Technology in the United States, 2009", released by the non-government organization Robert Woods Johnson Foundation. (report executive summary)

State Documents: Simply Washington

m_vonseggern@wsu.edu (Marilyn Von Seggern) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:58:26 GMT

A booklet covering Washington's history, government, demographics, education, business, and culture has been newly released by the Office of the Secretary of State. Simply Washington gathers a variety of information about the state in a colorful pdf pamphlet, freely available for viewing and downloading. The pages summarizing Washington's government, the branches of government, departments and offices, legislation, and elections, are a particularly good summary and quick review.
From WSL Updates of 10-22-09

Federal Documents: Endangered Species Resources

m_vonseggern@wsu.edu (Marilyn Von Seggern) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:03:20 GMT

Endangered Species: Selected Internet Resources has been issued by the Science, Technology, and Business Division of the Library of Congress. Included are online information sources from international, federal, and non-governmental organizations, among them the Center for Biological Diversity, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
The Selected Internet Resources series covers fields such as astronomy, physics, and molecular biology, topics such as 17-year periodical cicadas, meteor showers, and avian influenza, and practical applications such as science fair projects and resources for teachers.
tip from ResourceShelf

State Documents: Death with Dignity Statistics

m_vonseggern@wsu.edu (Marilyn Von Seggern) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:01:47 GMT

The Washington State Library News reports on a Seattle Times article (9-09-09) relaying statistics on the Death with Dignity Act in Washington, now in effect for one year. The Act "...allows terminally ill adults seeking to end their life to request lethal doses of medication from medical and osteopathic physicians." It also specifies that the Washington Department of Health, "...shall generate and make available to the public an annual statistical report of Information..." which the Department has done in tabular form on this web page.To date, prescriptions for drugs that will end lives has been received by 28 people in the state. Since receiving the drugs 16 have died but the actual cause of death is not tracked. More information is on the main web page about the Washington State Death with Dignity Act.

Federal Documents: EPA Guide for Community Design

m_vonseggern@wsu.edu (Marilyn Von Seggern) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:40:23 GMT

A new guidebook for older Americans from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discusses environmentally friendly community design and "smart growth." Growing Smarter, Living Healthier: A Guide to Smart Growth and Active Aging (pdf) provides information for seniors on "age-friendly neighborhoods," discussing issues of mobility, access, transportation, and staying engaged and involved in community concerns and development. The report includes links to other resources and a community self-assessment tool.
Docuticker tip

State Documents: Renewable Energy Incentives

m_vonseggern@wsu.edu (Marilyn Von Seggern) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:06:53 GMT

The North Carolina Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (U.S. Dept. of Energy) produced DSIRE: Database of State Incentives for Renewable and Efficiency, information on state, local, utility, and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. View maps on topics such as state grant programs and sales tax incentives for renewables. Summary tables are also available onincentives, rules, and regulations. Further resources such as technical reports, articles, presentations are contained in the DSIRE Library.

International Documents: World Social Situation 2009

m_vonseggern@wsu.edu (Marilyn Von Seggern) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:48:21 GMT

The United Nations recently issued the report, "World Social Situation 2009." One of the report's 19 policy recommendations is, "Rather than waiting for economic recovery before focusing attention on poor people, it would be wise to formulate policies and allocate resources to ensure the basic well-being of all individuals, those already experiencing poverty and those at risk of experiencing it, as a strategy to stimulate recovery."

Federal Documents: Health Care Reform

m_vonseggern@wsu.edu (Marilyn Von Seggern) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:33:22 GMT

Health care reform is one of the biggest issues facing Congress and the country this year. The government has posted information in several venues to provide facts, track progress on plans, and answer questions arising from the ongoing debate. A general site available to the public is HealthReform.gov which provides government reports, video updates, a list of blogs, speeches, news releases, and testimony, and several user response features such as "Share your story."
The Obama administration also has a web site devoted to health care which offers the President's guiding principles and summarizes progress toward reform. A third information source is a report and table by the Congressional Budget Office, "Preliminary Analysis of the Insurance Coverage Specifications Provided by the House Tri-Committee Group," which analyzes specifications of the draft legislation, America's Affordable Health Choices Act released on July 14, 2009.

International Documents: Noise Pollution

m_vonseggern@wsu.edu (Marilyn Von Seggern) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:31:15 GMT

The European Union issued an Environmental Noise Directive (END) in 2002 related to environmental noise and means of "avoiding, preventing or reducing" the harmful effects of noise on people. Member States of the EU were required to adopt noise reduction plans and make noise maps which indicated levels of noise due to industry and transportation. In the UK the Directive was the basis for the Environmental Noise Regulations of 2006. A summary of noise pollution and its effects on human health as well as an update on noise reduction efforts is in postnote 338 (July 2009), a publication of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology.

International Documents: Influenza and Pandemic

m_vonseggern@wsu.edu (Marilyn Von Seggern) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:58:06 GMT

In an H1N1 influenza update on June 10, 2009, the World Health Organization reports that 74 countries have officially noted cases of influenza A (H1N1) and141 deaths have occurred. The WHO web page on Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response provides a map and cumulative case indicator for H1N1 as well as a chart for officially reported numbers of cases.
The May 29, 2009 issue of Weekly Epidemiological Record, titled, "Conditions for assessing the severity of an influenza pandemic," discusses the pandemic phase indicator and notes that severity varies not only country to country and in different populations, but also as the event unfolds. Current information (6-9-09) about the spread of H1N1 is contained in the transcript of an interview with Dr Keiji Fukuda, Assistant Director-General ad Interim for Health Security and Environment at the World Health Organization.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services also provides an update on H1N1.