Stimulus

Monday, May 21, 2012

Stimulus

This section includes coverage of the federal government’s EHR incentive program for health care providers under the meaningful use umbrella. Topics include: EHR certification news, incentive attestation updates and lessons learned from medical groups and hospitals seeking to participate.

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.

Data Security

EHR

Payers

Policy & Regulation

Consumer Health

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

Policy & Regulation

Group Practices

Hospitals

HIT Policy Committee Seeks Consumer Advocate

Joseph Goedert | May 14

A consumer advocate position is open on the HIT Policy Committee, comprising stakeholders who advise federal officials on the nation’s strategy for widespread use of health information technology.

Data Security

EHR

Group Practices

Hospitals

Policy & Regulation

Health Info Exchange

ONC Makes Programs Data Available Via Dashboard

Joseph Goedert | May 10

The Office of the National Coordinator for HIT has introduced on its Web site a dashboard of summary information on all of the office’s programs.

EHR

Policy & Regulation

Rep. Ellmers to CMS: Exempt Small Practice and Elderly Docs from Meaningful Use

Joseph Goedert | May 10

Hundreds of public comments on the proposed Stage 2 electronic health records meaningful use rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services now are online at regulations.gov, by entering CMS-2012-0022 in the search box.

EHR

Group Practices

Hospitals

Payers

Policy & Regulation

Coalition to CMS: Increase Stage 2 Focus on Data Exchange

Joseph Goedert | May 09

A coalition of stakeholders is asking federal officials to take bold steps to increase health information exchange under the Stage 2 meaningful use program.

EHR

Group Practices

Hospitals

Payers

Policy & Regulation

HIMSS: Limit Clinical Quality Measures in Stage 2

Joseph Goedert | May 09

The release date for clinical quality measure specifications under the proposed Stage 2 meaningful use criteria does not provide enough lead time for review, development and certification efforts by vendors, and implementation by providers, according to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.

EHR

Group Practices

Hospitals

Payers

Policy & Regulation

Stage 2 Crunch Time Comes for CMS

Joseph Goedert | May 09

Industry stakeholders have filed comment letters on the proposed Stage 2 electronic health records meaningful use criteria, and now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will start to digest it all.

Hospitals

Group Practices

Payers

Policy & Regulation

EHR

RWJ Foundation: Don’t Skimp Stage 2 Criteria for Patient Engagement

Joseph Goedert | May 08

There is much in the proposed Stage 2 meaningful use criteria that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation likes. But when it comes to patient engagement, the health care philanthropy and research firm wants the criteria enhanced.

Consumer Health

EHR

Group Practices

Hospitals

Payers

Policy & Regulation

NCQA: Stage 2 Needs Better Alignment with Other Initiatives

Joseph Goedert | May 08

The National Committee for Quality Assurance, an accreditation firm, is recommending that federal officials tweak proposed Stage 2 EHR meaningful use requirements for group reporting of core and menu objectives.

EHR

Group Practices

Hospitals

Payers

Policy & Regulation

New Privacy/Security Guidance from ONC

Joseph Goedert | May 08

The Office of the National Coordinator for HIT Office of the Chief Privacy Officer has issued an instructional guide to help health care professionals integrate privacy and security into clinical practice.

Data Security

Policy & Regulation

Group Practices

Hospitals

Consumer Groups: Set a Higher Bar for Stage 2

Joseph Goedert | May 08

Twenty-one consumer organizations are urging federal officials not to just stand firm on proposed criteria for Stage 2 electronic health records meaningful use criteria, but to go further in a final rule.

EHR

Group Practices

Payers

Hospitals

Policy & Regulation

HIT Training Curriculum Available to Public

Joseph Goedert | May 07

Five universities in April 2010 received a total of $10 million in federal grants from the HITECH Act to develop curriculum for health information technology training programs at a network of community colleges nationwide.

EHR

Policy & Regulation

Group Practices

Hospitals

Payers

EHR Vendors Association Wants Grace Period on EHR Upgrades

Joseph Goedert | May 07

The HIMSS Electronic Health Records Association is urging federal officials to enable providers still in Stage 1 meaningful use in 2014 to continue to use Stage 1 certified EHR technology rather than switching to the proposed updated 2014 Edition of certified EHRs.

EHR

Group Practices

Hospitals

Vendor News

Policy & Regulation

Forensics: An Important Tool When Data is Compromised

Joseph Goedert | May 03

When a health care organization has a data breach, or a pending malpractice, fraud case or disaster, there is a need for a software-supported process that can get answers about where data went and what happened to it.

Data Security

EHR

Hospitals

Group Practices

Payers

Policy & Regulation

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