WASHINGTON – The past month has seen an overwhelming surge of emphasis on healthcare IT inside the beltway, as a host of agencies prepare to implement the vast changes initiated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services released their annual report May 13 on Medicare and Medicaid anti-fraud efforts, with leaders of both departments promising the success shown in the report is just the beginning of what the federal government has in store for busting fraud.
According to Attorney General Eric Holder, the Affordable Care Act provides not only $600 million over 10 years to boost fraud fighting efforts, but it includes the use of new sophisticated technology to sift through claims for fraudulent trends. Holder said HHS and DOJ will use the new technology to coordinate criminal data between federal agencies and local authorities to track fraud more easily.
Earlier last month, the government granted $220 million in stimulus package money for model healthcare IT communities, called Beacon Communities, expected to pave the way for others to follow.
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology David Blumenthal, MD, continues to put emphasis on the importance of these communities and the impact they will have on moving the Obama Administration's agenda forward for universal electronic health records within the next four years.
Meanwhile, all healthcare IT stakeholders are waiting with bated breath for the final meaningful use rule, expected to be released sometime this month by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Many healthcare organizations have argued the proposed rules are too staunch to achieve in time to reap the full bonus amounts available to healthcare providers under the stimulus package. At various meetings in Washington, however, the feds continue to promise this will be an ongoing process.
This will be the first in a series of regulations that will change over time, Blumenthal told hospital executives at the American Hospital Association conference in Washington earlier this spring. "We are listening and anxious to make this work for you," he added.
