Healthcare IT News | Meaningful use, EHRs, ICD-10, HIE, NHIN, policy, big data and more

Health IT adoption doubles from 2012 May 22, 2013 | Erin McCann, Associate Editor

meaningful use of electronic health records

Represents a 'tipping point' for industry, Sebelius says

More than half of all eligible providers nationwide have received federal incentive payments for demonstrating meaningful use of electronic health records, rates that have more than doubled since last year alone, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Wednesday. More

May22

Better care not always better business May 21, 2013 | Erin McCann, Associate Editor

Healthcare not incentivized to eliminate profitable procedures that may not benefit patients

Transparency is a touchy subject in healthcare. It's one of the last market strongholds desperately clutching to its principles of secrecy, and it won't go down without a fight. But many experts say this stands as one of many reasons the industry continues to drag its feet in the innovation arena. More

May21

9 'Cs' lead to accountable care May 20, 2013 | Jeff Rowe, Contributing Writer

Lumeris CMIO puts forth steps to population management

There are buzz phrases, and then there are buzz phrases. And if there's one phrase that has permeated the healthcare sector more thoroughly than all the others, it's probably "accountable care." But what exactly does it mean? Or, more to the point for healthcare providers, how do you know when you're actually providing it? More

May20

URAC standards put to the test May 17, 2013 | Bernie Monegain, Editor

Beta users try out new clinical integration measures

Several organized physician groups are beta testing URAC's new clinical integration accreditation program standards. The independent standards organization created the new program to serve as a road map for health providers to achieve clinical integration and accountable care. By earning URAC accreditation, providers will demonstrate they are delivering improved patient care and reducing costs. More

May17

Senate confirms Tavenner as CMS chief May 16, 2013 | Tom Sullivan, Editor, Government Health IT

Response from healthcare stakeholders upbeat

Marilyn Tavenner's confirmation as official administrator of CMS immediately drew positive reactions from nearly every corner of the industry and government, as several healthcare stakeholders reacted to the 91-7 landslide Senate vote that took place late Wednesday. Tavenner is the first administrator in nine years to receive Senate confirmation. More

May16

Millennials fancy healthcare, tech jobs May 15, 2013 | Bernie Monegain, Editor

Eight healthcare organizations landed on list of 25 choice places to work

Healthcare and technology jobs have the most appeal to Generation Y, according to the sixth annual Millennial Career Survey, published May 13 by the National Society of High School Scholars, an international honor society organization based in Atlanta. More

May15

Mostashari urges healthcare change May 14, 2013 | Tom Sullivan, Editor, Government Health IT

ONC chief offers three inspirations for transformation

"It's systems that let ordinary people do extraordinary things," national coordinator for health IT Farzad Mostashari, MD said during a Health IT Policy Committee meeting talk that vice chair Paul Tang described immediately afterward as "inspiring and challenging." More

May14

UPMC data centers go green with wind May 13, 2013 | Mike Miliard, Managing Editor

Credits equivalent to 15,400,000 kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity

UPMC announced May 12 that it is the first health system in Pennsylvania to commit to the purchase of wind power energy credits equal to its data facilities' annual energy usage. More

May13

5 questions with ATA president Ed Brown May 10, 2013 | Bernie Monegain, Editor

'Telemedicine must be a part of all healthcare initiatives'

American Telemedicine Association President-Elect Ed Brown, MD is the founder and CEO of Ontario Telemedicine Network in Canada. Healthcare IT News caught up with him at the recent ATA conference in Austin, Texas, to talk with him about the state of telemedicine and what he envisions it will be in the coming years. More

May10

Hospitals show scant progress on safety May 09, 2013 | Bernie Monegain, Editor

Leapfrog scores 780 hospitals 'A' and 16 hospitals 'F'

An update to the Hospital Safety Score that assigns grades "A" through "F" to more than 2,500 hospitals in the United States shows they have made only incremental progress in addressing errors, accidents, injuries and infections that kill or hurt their patients. The Leapfrog Group, a hospital watchdog group, conducts the surveys. More

May09

Today’s Headlines

EHR mastery proves elusive for many Panelists on deck in Boston for the recent Health IT Summit session titled "EHR Data: A Touchstone for Quality Care" had plenty of diverging facets to share on the topic of EHR integration... More	Healthland acquires American HealthTech Healthland, which develops information technology for rural hospitals and care facilities, announced Tuesday its acquisition of Jackson, Miss.-based American HealthTech, which specializes in... More
DoD to go to market for its EHR Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has notified the Department of Defense that it will look for an electronic health record system available on the commercial market rather than develop its own based... More	Providers cite ECG integration woes Healthcare providers and industry IT professionals have expressed concern over their ECG technology's lack of bidirectional communication and poor interoperability with electronic medical record... More
EHRA critiques GOP's MU 'reboot' plan One month after six Republican Senators published a white paper calling for a new approach to the federal meaningful use incentive program, the HIMSS Electronic Health Record Association, has drafted... More	All Maine hospitals commit to HIE Maine's HealthInfoNet, a nonprofit that operates the statewide health information exchange, announced that all acute care hospitals are now under contract to connect to the query-based HIE.... More