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.
February 10, 2012
The Indianapolis-based Indiana Health Information Exchange, Inc. (IHIE) has come to an agreement with AT&T to expand the HIE. AT&T’s Healthcare Community Online's Clinical Message Exchange will allow IHIE to connect more hospitals and facilities to its exchange. IHIE says it is doing this to ramp up what it is already the “nation’s largest health information exchange.”
February 9, 2012
A new survey from the Washington, D.C.-based multi-stakeholder HIT organization, eHealth Initiative says that better training programs and the Office of the National Coordinator's (ONC) Workforce Development Program needs to fill the health information technology (HIT) employment gap.
February 9, 2012
According to final regulations for the Affordable Care Act, those in the market for health insurance will soon have clear, understandable and straightforward information on what health plans will cover, what limitations or conditions will apply, and what they will pay for services. The new rules were published by both the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Labor and Treasury.
February 8, 2012
Electronic prescribing, known as ePrescribing, is growing steadily in California and is potentially increasing the safety of the prescribing process, according to a new report from Cal eConnect, a non-profit which serves governance for California’s health information exchange (HIE). About 25 percent of the state’s physicians are sending prescriptions electronically, the report estimates, compared with three percent in 2007. At the same time, just 16 percent of eligible prescriptions are routed electronically, despite the fact that most community pharmacies are set up for ePrescribing.
February 8, 2012
HealthLevel Seven International, the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based organization responsible for the standards for interoperability of health information technology and America’s Blood Centers, the Washington D.C.-based association of independent community blood centers, announced that HL7 has published an implementation guide to extend the HL7 standard used by many hospitals into the blood center environment.
February 7, 2012
The Center for Integrated Health Solutions awarded the State of Maine and HealthInfoNet, which operates its statewide health information exchange (HIE), a $600,000 grant to help support electronic sharing of health records among behavioral health providers and general medical providers in Maine. The CIHS is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA). Maine was one of only five states to be selected along with Kentucky, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island.
February 7, 2012
IVANS, Inc. a national health information exchange based out of Stamford, Conn., announced results from a study that showed automating claims processes play a critical role in making the Medicare reimbursement process faster. According to the study, 39 percent of providers still use paper to submit claims to commercial payers, but less than one percent use paper for Medicare claims and only 11 percent still use paper for Medicaid claims.
February 7, 2012
The Charlotte-based Premier Healthcare Alliance's QUEST: High Performing Hospitals collaborative has expanded from 157 charter members to include 293 hospitals across 40 states, an 87 percent increase in participation since the project began.
February 6, 2012
Health Evolution Partners (HEP), a San Francisco-based global investing firm, and New York-based Verizon Enterprise Solutions have established a strategic relationship to encourage innovation and adoption of connected health information technologies that help drive patient care improvements and better manage costs.
February 6, 2012
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society has announced the recipients of its clinician IT leadership awards: Carol Bickford, PhD, RN-BC, CPHIMS, and Kathleen Smith, RN-BC, FHIMSS with the HIMSS Nursing Informatics Leadership Award and Russell Leftwich, MD with the HIMSS Physician IT Leadership Award.
February 3, 2012
The biggest initial public offering (IPO) news this week has of course been the announcement about Facebook going public. However, the popular social networking company isn’t the only one who is hitting the stock market. Greenway Medical Technologies, Inc., which provides an integrated, single-database electronic health record (EHR), practice management and interoperability software solution, recently announced it went public.
February 2, 2012
The Englewood, Colo.-based Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) has sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius regarding their concerns about the disruptions to payments as part of the federally mandated transition to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Version 5010 electronic transaction standard.
February 2, 2012
Anthelio, the Dallas-based independent provider of comprehensive healthcare information technology services and business process software for hospitals and other healthcare providers, and Healthland, the Minneapolis-based healthcare information technology software provider rural community and critical access hospitals have recently announced a new partner relationship. Under terms of the agreement, Anthelio will provide resources, expertise and scale to assist Healthland in migrating clients to Healthland’s EHR solution.
February 2, 2012
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has released a new report to help providers address areas of risk involved in planning and implementing ICD-10. The new HIMSS G7 report, ICD-10 Transformation: Five Critical Risk Mitigation Strategies, is the second G7 advisory report focused on ICD-10, and comes as providers must deal with the approaching Oct. 1, 2013 conversion deadline.
