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Delivering Quality Health IT Industry & Government News, Insights and Trends that are Physician Focused and Patient Driven®!
In this month’s newsletter, our topics include:
EHR Adoption – The Stage Is Set For The Next Wave Of HIT Development
The nation’s health information technology system passed a major milestone last month when the government announced that more than half of all U.S. physicians now use electronic health records.
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Common Hurdles To A Successful EHR Implementation
If you were a healthcare provider and all you did was read press releases, you’d be tempted to think that transitioning to a new EHR involved little more than opening the package and plugging in the contents.
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Experts Believe Meaningful Stage 2 Penalties Could Be Difficult To Avoid
The difficulty between what it takes to achieve Stage 1 and Stage 2 is so great, it could easily catch some providers off guard, says Laura Kreofsky, principal advisor at Naperville, Ill.-based Impact Advisors, who specializes in meaningful use. There could be a fair amount of hospitals and eligible providers that will fall short of achieving meaningful use Stage 2, she warns.
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CMS Deputy Director Offers Tips On Avoiding EHR Incentive Payment Adjustments
Medicare eligible professionals (EPs) who do not demonstrate meaningful use for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program may be subject to a payment adjustment beginning Jan. 1, 2015.
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Is The Direct Exchange Protocol Going Global?
Secure messaging based on the Direct Protocol may eventually be applied globally because of international interest in health information exchange, some backers say.
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Deciphering HIPAA Omnibus Rule Breach Notification
Despite the new instructions on breach notification in the HIPAA Omnibus Rule, there’s still plenty of uncertainty about what constitutes a “compromise” of data that triggers notification, says privacy attorney Adam Greene.
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ECRI Offers Ten Ways To Cut Health IT Risks
ECRI Institute, an independent, nonprofit organization that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, has released a new report, Risk Managers’ 10 Strategies for Health IT Success.
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Proposed Changes To Lease Accounting And The Impact On Healthcare
You may have heard about a proposal that would change how leases are accounted for on corporate balance sheets. If your company leases or finances equipment, you should be aware of how the proposal could change the way you account for leases, how it potentially impacts your business, and what you can do make your voice heard on the proposal.
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Monthly HHS & CMS Update:
CMS Reports $14.6 Billion Meaningful Use Incentives Paid
As of the end of April, the federal government has paid out $14.6 billion in EHR incentive payments, according to Robert Anthony, deputy director of the HIT Initiative Group at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Office of E-Health Standards and Services.
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ONC Chief Says “No More ICD-10 Extensions”
Farzad Mostashari, MD, the national coordinator for healthcare IT, asserted today there would be no extension of the deadline for switching from the ICD-9 medical coding system to ICD-10. The deadline for conversion would remain Oct. 1, 2014, Mostashari said in a keynote delivered this morning at the HIMSS Media ICD-10 Forum in National Harbor, Md.
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ONC Releases Direct Exchange Security Guidance
New guidance from federal regulators is designed to ensure a more uniform approach to security and interoperability among organizations implementing the Direct secure messaging protocol for health information exchange. And that could help build trust among those sharing data.
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ONC Seek Input On mHealth Regulations
The ONC, FDA and Federal Communications Commission are seeking broad input from the healthcare and information technology industries on how the federal government should regulate health IT and mobile health technology in particular.
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NSTIC & ONC Work On Trusted Identity
Thirty-eight percent of adults think it would be easier to solve world peace than remember all their passwords – and many would rather undertake household chores such as scrubbing their toilet than even try.
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CMS Releases Charges For Outpatient Hospital Procedures
Less than a month after the CMS released data on what hospitals charge for inpatient procedures, the agency has released similar information about the prices hospitals submit and are paid on the outpatient side.
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