Policy & Regulation


The highly regulated health care industry must contend with an ever-changing array of mandates from the state and federal governments. In this section, stories cover a broad range of laws that affect privacy and security of health information, the use of medical devices, and initiatives requiring data reporting for quality purposes. In addition, health care reform topics such as accountable care organizations and health insurance exchanges are covered here.


AHRQ Seeks Improvements to I.T. Workflow Toolkit

Joseph Goedert | May 21
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reminds ambulatory practices of the availability of its free Workflow Assessment for Health IT Toolkit and is working to make it more useful to small- and mid-size physician practices.
EHR
Group Practices
Health Info Exchange

The Perils of Perfunctory Medicine

Greg Gillespie | May 21
I recently took my four-year-old son into the dentist for a teeth cleaning, and the first thing that happened, per usual, is that a technician came into the room and said it was time for X-rays. That’s just a given during a trip to the dentist; has been since I was a kid and had to be dragged to the dentist in chains (just hated getting my teethed cleaned, almost as much as I disliked brushing them, or so I’m told).
Consumer Health
Decision Support
Hardware
Health Info Exchange
Medical Imaging

MGMA: Plan Identifier Not as Easy as Envisioned

Joseph Goedert | May 18
Implementation of a national health plan identifier under the Affordable Care Act, while a worthwhile effort, is not a slam-dunk process, the Medical Group Management Association contends.
Coding
Group Practices
Hospitals
Electronic Data Interchange
Payers
Revenue Cycle & Payments
Revenue Cycle Management

CAHPS Survey Coming to Home/Community Care

Joseph Goedert | May 18
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is taking steps to add home and community care services to the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems suite of surveys to assess patient satisfaction with providers and payers.
Consumer Health
Group Practices
Hospitals
Payers

FCC Considers New Medical Wireless Spectrum

Joseph Goedert | May 18
The Federal Communications Commission on May 24 will vote on adoption of final rules to allocate wireless communication spectrum for operating Medical Body Area Networks, or MBANs. The FCC had issued proposed rules in mid-2009.
Mobile Technology
Consumer Health
Disease Management
Group Practices
Hospitals

Utah I.T. Director Resigns Following Breach

Joseph Goedert | May 17
Almost seven weeks after a major data breach, the director of Utah’s Department of Technology Services has resigned and the governor has personally apologized to state residents for not adequately protecting their information.
Comments (1)
Data Security
EHR
Payers
Consumer Health
Stimulus

HHS Consolidates Data to Measure Health System Performance

Joseph Goedert | May 17
A new Web-based research application from the Department of Health and Human Services will aid consumers, provider organizations and policymakers in accessing data to monitor and measure performance of the health care system.
Decision Support
Data Repositories
Group Practices
Hospitals
Consumer Health
Web Technology
Payers

MGMA: Extend Medicare eRX Deadlines

Joseph Goedert | May 16
The Medical Group Management Association is asking federal officials to extend the Medicare e-prescribing program’s reporting and hardship exemption request deadlines of June 30, saying the requirements are confusing and unfair.
Group Practices
Electronic Data Interchange
EHR
Medication Management

More States Get Insurance Exchange Grants

Joseph Goedert | May 16
The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a total of $181 million in grants to assist six states in establishing health insurance exchanges under authority of the Affordable Care Act.
Payers
Consumer Health
Health Info Exchange

3M Health Data Dictionary Going Open Source

Joseph Goedert | May 16
3M Health Information Systems will release a public version of its Healthcare Data Dictionary as open source software, making it free and available worldwide.
Systems Integration
Vendor News
Coding
Hospitals
Group Practices
Payers
EHR

ONC Expands to Prioritize Clinical, Consumer Views

Joseph Goedert | May 16
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has expanded with two new offices.
Consumer Health
EHR
Health Info Exchange
Stimulus
Group Practices
Hospitals

Trying to Put the R.I.P. on ICD-10

Greg Gillespie | May 16
So the American Medical Association is asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to ease off the pedal a bit on ICD-10. Pushing the deadline back by two years would be a good start, according to the AMA, but just a start.
EHR
Coding
Group Practices
Hospitals
Payers

Why ACOs Will Be Different

Gary Baldwin | May 15
Two presenters at the Health 2.0 conference in Boston assert that, unlike the managed care payment models of the past, accountable care organizations have a much better chance of success.
Revenue Cycle & Payments
Revenue Cycle Management
Disease Management
Chronic Care
Health Info Exchange
EHR
Group Practices
Hospitals
Payers

AMA: Postpone ICD-10 At Least Two Years

Joseph Goedert | May 14
The ICD-10 compliance date should, at minimum, be pushed back two years to Oct. 1, 2015, the American Medical Association contends in a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Comments (1)
Coding
Electronic Data Interchange
EHR
Group Practices
Hospitals
Payers
Revenue Cycle Management

AHIMA Summit Focuses on Long-Term Care

Joseph Goedert | May 14
The American Health Information Management Association will host the 2012 Long-Term and Post-Acute Care Health IT Summit, June 18-19 in Baltimore.
Document Management
Chronic Care
EHR
Group Practices
Hospitals
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