August 20, 2013 Jeff Smith, Director of Public Policy at CHIME
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Twenty-eight Meaningful Use-savvy clinicians and healthcare professionals from 18 states will be helping other providers find IT success as part of a new initiative at the the Office of the National Coordinator. The inaugural class of ONC’s Health IT Fellows will “provide grassroots insight and…act as champions to their provider and practice community colleagues on a local and national scale,” a purpose statement for the program said.
August 19, 2013 Mark Hagland
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It was fascinating to read a recent account in the July/August issue of “Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare” about a Six Sigma project around improving perioperative outcomes and processes. Not only was the case study a worthwhile read in itself, it clearly had implications for healthcare IT leaders.
August 18, 2013 Mark Hagland
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The stringent requirements embedded in what is being called the HIPAA Final Omnibus Rule, as published by the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Health and Human Services on Jan. 25, are requiring compliance by next month with a whole new range of patient data privacy protection requirements. Kathryn Coburn of the Cooke, Kobrick & Wu law firm shares her perspectives on what healthcare IT leaders need to know.
August 16, 2013 John DeGaspari
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With open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace set to begin October 1, it’s worth taking a look at how informed the public is on state-operated insurance exchanges. The answer to that depends on the state where you live.
August 16, 2013 Gabriel Perna
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For cynics and critics, nine Pioneer ACOs dropping out of the program spells doom for the entire accountable care movement. While I understand that sentiment to some degree, I think people are willing to write their obituary far too soon
August 15, 2013 Gabriel Perna
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Anita Samarth, President of Clinovations, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm that works with the government, providers, and other health IT stakeholders, talks about the scope of different policy issues facing industry leaders in 2013 and beyond. This is part 1 of a three-part series.
August 15, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
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I wouldn't blame you if you were taken aback by the statistics seen earlier this month regarding hospital readmissions. Medical systems are supposed to be lowering readmissions in an effort to improve clinician accountability and patient safety all while cutting costs, and the statistics have told us that most have failed to do that. But taking a deeper look beyond the numbers will show you that the future is not so grim.
August 12, 2013 Mark Hagland
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A newly published survey of 1,200 physicians nationwide by athenahealth is revealing a mixed bag of opinions among doctors regarding how well electronic health records (EHRs) are working for them, with a range of views about the efficacy, cost-benefit analysis, and usability, of EHRs. Meanwhile, attitudes towards government involvement in healthcare have become more positive in the past year. But there remains concern over the transition to the ICD-10 coding system.
August 12, 2013 Gabriel Perna
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A busy week of health IT policy and politics played out during the first week of August. For Washington observers, the week was a perfect mix of relaxed Hill Staff, new policy recommendations and a changing of the guard at ONC.
August 7, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
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As the penalty for avoidable readmissions will continue to grow, one hospital has been proactive in connecting with outside care facilities to help lower its readmission rates—and the results have been impressive.
August 6, 2013 Mark Hagland
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The announcement from HHS on August 6 that Farzad Mostashari, M.D. was preparing to leave his position as National Coordinator for Health IT this fall was very surprising. What's important now is for the next National Coordinator to be as strategic and persuasive a leader as he has been.
August 6, 2013 Mark Hagland
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Upon the announcement on August 6 that Farzad Mostashari, M.D., was planning to leave his post as National coordinator for Health Information Technology, Russell P. Branzell, president and CEO of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) spoke exclusively with HCI's Mark Hagland regarding his perspectives of the Mostashari departure.