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By: Dom Nicastro and Janice Simmons, for HealthLeaders Media, December 31, 2009
CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Improvement Technology have released two anxiously awaited regulations providing both the definition of "meaningful use" for electronic health records and the standards to improve the efficiency of health information technology used nationwide by hospitals and physicians.
By: Janice Simmons, for HealthLeaders Media, January 4, 2010
Hospital and provider groups are leveling criticism against the two long-awaited proposed regulations released last week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Improvement Technology to fund expansion of health information technology. Hospitals have "serious concerns that the new health information technology rules severely limit hospitals' ability to access federal financing for health information technology that is used to improve patient care," American Hospital Association Executive Vice President Rick Pollack said.
By: Janice Simmons, for HealthLeaders Media, January 4, 2010
Despite changes in the laws, some hospitals may have been receiving supplemental payments from states for uncompensated costs of care for uninsured and Medicaid patients—better known as disproportionate share hospital payments—that was far higher than what they should be paid, according to a new General Accountability Office report.
By: Dom Nicastro, for HealthLeaders Media, December 31, 2009
In light of new federal laws and regulations in the past year and a compliance date looming in February, HIPAA officers should add one more "to-do" to their checklist: Comply with HIPAA's internal sanction regulation.
By: David LaHoda, for HealthLeaders Media, January 4, 2010
OSHA recently solidified leadership for the agency and has provided a clearer picture of the regulatory horizon. David Michaels, PhD, MPH, assumed his position as head of OSHA when the Senate confirmed his nomination as assistant secretary of Labor for occupational safety and health. Nominated by President Barack Obama on June 28, the Senate acted on the nomination December 3. Agency watchers assumed that any work on new, and perhaps controversial, standards, would await the establishment of a permanent director.
By: Philip Betbeze, for HealthLeaders Media, December 31, 2009
Even if the media feeding frenzy moves on from healthcare, some legacies, like the recent increase in Medicare fraud enforcement, aren't so easily jettisoned.
By: Elyas Bakhtiari, for HealthLeaders Media, December 31, 2009
In 2010, providers should start getting a clearer picture about the future of healthcare. Adapting and preparing for these changes will be the big challenge for the coming year.
By: Janice Simmons, for HealthLeaders Media, December 31, 2009
This past year brought to the forefront new ways we can provide—and yes, even pay for—quality healthcare.