September 24, 2012 David Raths
blog
The HIPAA Omnibus Rule's publication has been held up several times already, leaving healthcare attorneys and compliance specialists to speculate about the cause of the delay. Speaking at the Washington, D.C., Health Privacy Summit meeting in June, National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari, M.D., said the final HIPAA Omnibus Rule would be released by the end of the summer.
September 7, 2012 John DeGaspari
blog
How is the meaningful use Stage 2 final rule being received now that providers are taking a closer look at the mandates? In many ways the perception of the challenges has a lot to do with the provider’s resources and the progress it has already made.
September 6, 2012 Mark Hagland
article
A committee impaneled by the Institute of Medicine has produced a report aimed at pushing the healthcare industry towards continuous performance improvement and continuous learning. And Paul Tang, M.D., speaks with HCI’s Mark Hagland about the implications for today’s healthcare leaders.
September 4, 2012 David Raths
blog
Other state-level HIE organizations have struggled with sustainability. Now it's Kansas' turn.
August 29, 2012 Joe Marion
blog
I have been reading several posts attempting to interpret the impact of the final ruling for ARRA/MU Stage 2, and the absence of imaging. As best I can conclude, the “image” of imaging is one of total confusion!
August 28, 2012 John DeGaspari
article
Initial reactions to the meaningful use Stage 2 final rule released last week by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have overall been fairly positive, but also point to significant challenges. While CMS has raised the bar in several important areas, it also showed some flexibility by lowering the thresholds and moderating reporting periods. Yet experts interviewed this week also note that the new mandates may pose special challenges for small, critical access hospitals and large medical groups.
August 28, 2012 Jennifer Prestigiacomo and David Raths
article
Many in the industry are mostly positive about the changes that were made in the final rule of meaningful use Stage 2, which the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued last Thursday, Aug. 23. As HCI Senior Contributing Editor David Raths detailed in his Aug. 24 blog, there have been several key changes and innovations in the final rule. To illustrate these images, HCI has put together a pictorial view of the major changes seen in the final rule.
August 27, 2012 Jennifer Prestigiacomo and Mark Hagland
article
Industry reaction has been largely positive toward the final rule for Stage 2 meaningful use, but many acknowledge that even though there is relief in the timeline, many requirements will still be challenging to meet. Clinical quality measure reporting still remains daunting for many providers.
August 27, 2012 Mark Hagland
article
With greater policy certainty assured by the Supreme Court’s affirmation of the constitutionality of healthcare reform this summer, industry pioneers are beginning to shape the new healthcare, and moving forward on a broad range of population health-based concepts. The strategic challenges—and opportunities—for healthcare IT leaders can’t be overstated.
August 24, 2012 David Raths
blog
CMS followed Health IT Policy Committee in stressing the importance of making health information readily available to patients after a visit.
July 24, 2012 David Raths
blog
Ninety-eight percent of Denmark's general practitioners and all pharmacies and hospitals use a national health data network, as do 74 percent of specialists, according to a recent Accenture study. A national e-health portal acts as a single access point to healthcare services for both citizens and health professionals.
July 12, 2012
news
ONC created the Direct – Laboratory Reporting Workgroup to address the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) requirements for the reporting of clinical laboratory results using Direct Project standards and specifications. The workgroup determined that any electronic reporting method must provide accurate, reliable, confidential and timely delivery of laboratory results from the performing laboratory to the final report destination to meet CLIA requirements. To accomplish this, implementations of Direct specifications must provide the sending laboratory with positive notification of delivery success or failure in a manner consistent with other methods of electronic result delivery currently in use by accredited clinical laboratories.
