The 6th Annual Iowa e-Health Summit is set for Thursday, August 5, at The Meadows Events and Conference Center. The event is sponsored by IFMC, the Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (HITREC) for Iowa. The theme of the Summit is Meaningful Use - Not If, When? and will focus on the national meaningful use initiative. The Summit will also highlight the clinical value, current status and statewide vision for e-health initiatives to improve health care for Iowans.

As previously reported, the American Osteopathic Association joined with the American Medical Association last month to file a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to challenge application of the “Red Flags Rule” to physicians. After the lawsuit was filed, the FTC, at the request of Congress, announced it would delay enforcement of the rule until 12/31/10. Now, the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia has issued a joint stipulation, which provides that the FTC will not pursue enforcement of the rule against physician members of the AOA and AMA until after the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, reviews a trial court decision about enforcement of the rule against law firms. In other words, if the FTC elects to pursue enforcement of “Red Flags” after 12/31/10, it still cannot enforce the rule against physicians until after the appellate court’s decision.