February 17, 2012
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a recent announcement said number of hospitals using health information technology (IT) has more than doubled in the last two years. She also announced new data showing nearly 2,000 hospitals and more than 41,000 doctors have received $3.1 billion in incentive payments for ensuring meaningful use of health IT, particularly certified Electronic Health Records (EHR).
February 17, 2012
The Chicago-based Healthcare Information Management and System Society (HIMSS) has come out in favor of maintaining the original ICD-10 implementation deadline of Oct. 1, 2013. The industry association said it conducted provider-based research which suggests that most of the larger providers are taking the necessary steps to be ready for ICD-10 by CMS’ existing regulatory time frame.
February 17, 2012
The Advisory Board Company, a global research, technology, and consulting firm based out of Washington, D.C., announced Aneesh Chopra, former U.S. Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is returning to the company as senior advisor of healthcare technology strategy for the company. Chopra will consult with member hospitals on integral technology and open data issues, as well as contribute to the company's business development and strategic planning efforts.
February 16, 2012
A recent survey commissioned by the Washington D.C.-based National Partnership for Women & Families and directed by Alan Westin, Ph.D., professor emeritus at Columbia University indicated consumers look at the adoption of electronic health records as a positive thing, but still worry about their data being breached.
February 16, 2012
On the heels of its annual industry-wide gathering, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has announced it will take control of the mHealth (mobile health) Summit, which was previously run by the Foundation for National Institutes of Health (FNIH).
February 16, 2012
According to a survey commissioned by the Eden Prairie, Minn.-based analytic research firm Optum Institute for Sustainable Health (the Optum Institute), healthcare CIOs are concerned about growing costs and burdens related to lack of interoperability between systems, and incomplete data available through health information exchanges
February 16, 2012
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen G. Sebelius has announced that U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will postpone the date by which certain health care entities have to comply with International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition diagnosis and procedure codes (ICD-10).
February 15, 2012
According to a study from Reston, Va.-based consulting firm Accenture, the United States is a leader in healthcare information technology use and adoption by physicians. The study looked at eight countries including Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain and the United States, also shows that the United States is one of the few countries in which healthcare IT penetration is nearly equal among primary physicians and specialists.
February 15, 2012
Salt Lake City-based Medicity, a health information exchange (HIE) software provider, says it saw acceleration in the number of HIEs being formed in the second half of 2011. The company says it signed a record number of HIE contracts in 2011, with 43 health information exchanges (HIEs) contracting for its solutions, including 22 new ones.
February 15, 2012
In response to the recent announcement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Marilyn Tavenner that she would “reexamine” the ICD-10 implementation timeframe through a rulemaking process, the Chicago-based American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) encouraged the healthcare community to continue to prepare for the ICD-10 transition and not delay or suspend efforts to meet the ICD-10 current compliance deadline of Oct. 1, 2013.
February 14, 2012
Even though they are geographically on opposite sides of the country, the states of Virginia and Hawaii have a lot of recent similarities when it comes to healthcare IT. Primarily, both states recently announced advancements to their health information exchanges (HIEs).
February 14, 2012
According to various media reports, Marilyn Tavenner, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), told the attendees at an American Medical Association (AMA) conference that the agency is considering delaying the ICD-10 implementation.
February 13, 2012
The Barrington, Ill.-based healthcare IT division of General Electric Co. (GE) and Microsoft Corp (Redmond, Wash.) has announced the name of their joint 50-50 healthcare IT venture, Caradigm. The two companies say Caradigm will be aimed driving a paradigm shift in the delivery of care by enabling health systems and professionals to use real-time, system wide intelligence to improve healthcare quality and the patient experience.
February 13, 2012
According to the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology, more than two-thirds (71 percent) of the complete electronic health records (EHRs) of providers and hospitals that have successfully attested to federal Meaningful Use criteria and qualified for incentives through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are dually certified under both the ONC-ATCB and the CCHIT Certified program. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) says approximately 22,000 eligible providers and hospitals with complete EHRs have successfully attested.
February 10, 2012
The Washington, D.C.-based National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) recently released the results of a survey to the attendees of its NeHC University recent program on health information exchanges (HIEs), called, "Introduction to the HIE Landscape." NeHC says the results of the survey will determine the development of future NeHC University programs and provide valuable insight into key issues and challenges facing the world of HIE.
