How Health IT Can Build Patient Trust
Medicine is a two-way street; it works best when the patient and the provider trust each other, and can work together for the best outcome. While technology can enable those outcomes, when improperly used — consider the epidemic of patient data breaches — it can also raise some eyebrows and scare some people away from embracing it. We at Environmental Intelligence understand these concerns. We see technology offering a net gain on the road to improving patien-physician relationships and enhancing trust.
Read More | Back to Top
Senators Express Health IT Policy Concerns
Six Republican Senators are asking the healthcare community for input on “recalibrating” health information technology policy, arguing that there are several problems with the current trajectory of the meaningful use program.
Read More | Back to Top
OCR Audits Find Widespread Lack Of Understanding Of New HIPAA Data And Security Rules
Simply knowing all the rules could prevent many of the problems plaguing data security and privacy among healthcare providers and insurers.
Read More | Back to Top
HIPAA Omnibus Rule Will Bring More Enforcement
The HIPAA Privacy and Security final rule — also known as the HIPAA Omnibus Rule — became effective March 26. We predict enforcers will have a heyday with expanded ability to crack down on providers and their business associates.
Read More | Back to Top
Best Practices For Being OCR Audit Ready
Healthcare information security staffers rightly worry about OCR audits and want to prepare their facilities for an assessment. But how do you best measure the progress of your security program?
Read More | Back to Top
Health IT Key For Critical Patient Care Following Boston Bombing
As a Bostonian and an emergency physician, Jonathan Teich’s first instinct when the explosions shook the Boston Marathon on April 15 ordinarily would have been to rush to Brigham & Women’s Hospital to help treat the victims, many of whom had life-threatening injuries.
Read More | Back to Top
Incorporating Images Key To HIE Sustainability
Health information exchanges (HIEs) today are focusing on gathering and making “basic” information accessible at the point of care. Although access to textual data such as lab results and discharge summaries is of tremendous value to industry stakeholders, that alone is not and will not be enough to make HIEs sustainable.
Read More | Back to Top
New EHR Bill Would Help Struggling Providers Achieve Meaningful Use
A newly proposed bill garnering the support of several medical associations would establish exemptions and amend certain penalties for Medicare providers struggling to attest to meaningful use.
Read More | Back to Top
CMS To Assess Quality Measures
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is partnering with Cambridge, Mass.-based analytics firm GNS Healthcare and Health Services Advisory Group to assess CMS quality measures.
Read More | Back to Top
CMS Updates 2014 Meaningful Use Hospital CQMs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Tuesday, April 2nd, published an update for the 2014 Clinical Quality Measures for hospitals eligible for the meaningful use program. At the same time, CMS also issued corresponding specifications for electronic reporting and access to related data elements and value sets.
Read More | Back to Top
CMS-ONC Session to Address EHR Billing Controversy
The controversy over the appropriate use of health information technology systems to streamline workflow while not fraudulently increasing healthcare claims will get a public airing early next month.
Read More | Back to Top
OCR To Solicit Feedback About HIPAA Compliance Audits
The top federal healthcare privacy and security regulator wants to know what officials from more than 100 organizations that have undergone privacy and security audits thought of the process and what can be done to improve it.
Read More | Back to Top
CMS Changes Course, Will Raise 2014 Medicare Advantage Payments
Under a withering barrage of pressure from the insurance industry, seniors groups and Congressional members from both sides of the aisle, CMS on Monday did an about face and significantly raised its 2014 growth percentage estimate for the Medicare Advantage program.
Read More | Back to Top
ONC Launches Second State Level MU Challenge
HHS has launched a second year of a friendly competition between the states and U.S. territories to give them incentives to promote the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology among their citizens and organizations.
Read More | Back to Top
