Mostashari, Tavenner Reference New York Times Coverage Fumble in their Remarks at HIMSS13 Events

With regard to the successful leveraging of healthcare IT that has already taken place in the past few years, Tavenner said, “There’s been a lot of work that’s gone on, and all of us can tell stories of how we’ve benefited. I want to thank each of you in this room for the work that you’ve done to make this possible. And there have been challenges. It hasn’t always been smooth. Yes, there are articles and yes there are hearings, but we continue to make progress. More than 190,000, or almost one-third of eligible professionals, and almost one-third of the nation’s hospitals, have received payments,” she noted. In addition, she reported that, as of the end of January 2013, over $11.7 billion has been paid out to over 210,000 providers under HITECH. What’s more, she noted, “More than 40 percent of all primary care physicians are working with regional extension centers; over half of all rural PCPs and nearly 70 percent of federally qualified health centers are doing so.”

And she went on to reiterate in detail some of the elements of the morning’s announcement, including the announcement of the goals of getting 50 percent of physicians using EHRs by the end of 2013, and 80 percent of eligible hospitals receiving meaningful use incentive payments by the same point in time; increasing the government’s emphasis on interoperability; enhancing the effective use of EHRs through initiatives like Blue Button; implementing Stage 2 of meaningful use; and underscoring program integrity.