The State of Cloud Standards

As cloud computing adoption rates soar, standards groups see promise with establishing aligned interfaces, rules written into RFPs and SLAs, and harmonized government legislation.

Federal Grants Help HIEs Link Mental Health and Medical Providers

HealthInfoNet, the health information exchange for Maine, is one of five state HIEs to receive federal grants to facilitate the sharing of records between behavioral health and general medical providers.

eHealth Initiative Studies the I.T. of ACOs

A new report from stakeholder advocacy group eHealth Initiative explores the health information technology infrastructure needed to support accountable care organizations.

API Augments its Scheduling Portfolio with Concerro Buy

API Healthcare, a vendor of hospital workforce management software, has acquired Concerro, which sells hosted, Software-as-a-Service scheduling and staffing applications. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

McKesson Buys peerVue to Enhance Radiology Workflow

McKesson Corp. has acquired peerVue Inc., a vendor of radiology workflow management software, for an undisclosed sum.

Docs to Get $200 Million in Settlement for Underpaid Claims

In 2009, UnitedHealth Group agreed to settle for $350 million a lawsuit the American Medical Association filed charging the insurer with underpaying for out-of-network services. Now, a federal judge has issued rulings to release $200 million to settle claims that physicians filed against UnitedHealth.

Rule to Ease Consumer Understanding of Health Insurance Policies

Six federal agencies have issued a final rule requiring insurers to provide to consumers at the time of enrollment a plain-English summary of benefits and coverage, and a uniform glossary of terms.

Report: HIEs Need I.T. Help, but Shun HIT Workers from Fed’s Training Programs

Many health information exchanges lack staff with strong information technology skills, but are not likely to hire graduates of a government-funded health I.T. training program, according to a report.

Health I.T. Vendor Round-up: Greenway, SOAPware, eCareSoft, gloStream

Four electronic health records vendors have announced new initiatives in recent days.

Health I.T. Vendor Round-up: TigerText, MRO, meridianEMR, Anthelio

New funding, client wins, mobile computing initiatives and a consulting gig are among recent announcements from health information technology vendors.

New Content on HHS Consumer Web Sites

Two agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services have introduced new Web-based health management tools for consumers.

CSC Report Looks Ahead to Stage 2 Meaningful Use

A new report from Computer Sciences Corp. examines the lessons learned from attesters during Stage 1 of the electronic health records meaningful use program, and looks at criteria changes that could be in Stage 2.

AHIMA Readies its ICD-10 Summit

The American Health Information Management Association will again hold its annual ICD-10 Summit, April 16-17 in Baltimore.

HIPAA 6020 Put on Back Burner, for Now

Health care stakeholders struggling to comply with the HIPAA 5010 transaction sets need not worry about one thing-- the next-generation 6020 transactions are not coming to a theater near you any time soon.

Survey Ranks ‘Fairness’ of Payer Reimbursements

A survey from IVANS Inc., a transactions processing vendor, finds large numbers of its provider customers believe Medicare and Medicaid reimburse more fairly than commercial insurers, even though the government plans pay less.