HealthLeadersMedia.com - Tech News & Analysis

Senate Jobs Bill Expands EHR Incentive Eligibility

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:41:00 GMT

Many hospital-based physicians puzzled by their apparent exclusion from EHR meaningful use incentives may find some relief in a provision included the latest Senate jobs bill, "The American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010 (H.R. 4213)," which passed on Wednesday.

Pricey imaging pushes up health costs in Massachusetts

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:36:00 GMT

In just two years, spending on MRIs, mammograms, and other imaging tests climbed by at least $214 million in Massachusetts, helping to fuel a rise in the cost of outpatient hospital care, the Boston Globe reports. Consultants hired by the state found that the cost of imaging for privately insured residents increased 20% between 2006 and 2008, to $1.2 billion, as doctors ordered more scans and X-rays and hospitals demanded higher prices.

National eHealth Collaborative launches NHIN University

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:11:00 GMT

The National eHealth Collaborative has announced the creation of "NHIN University," a program designed to educate and engage healthcare IT stakeholders on efforts to develop the Nationwide Health Information Network. The inaugural semester of NHIN University will feature a series of free webinars intended to provide stakeholders with foundational knowledge about what the NHIN is, how it works, and the vital trust fabric that underpins the safe and secure exchange of health information, NeHC leaders told Healthcare IT News.

FBI director warns of rapidly expanding cyberterrorism threat

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:07:00 GMT

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III has warned that the cyberterrorism threat is "real and . . . rapidly expanding." Terrorists have shown "a clear interest" in pursuing hacking skills, he told security professionals at the RSA Conference in San Francisco. "They will either train their own recruits or hire outsiders, with an eye toward combining physical attacks with cyberattacks," he said.

More to HIMSS than EHRs: Four Technologies for Patients and Providers

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:37:00 GMT

Amidst the buzz about clinical data sharing and the accompanying alphabet soup of acronyms, it's easy to forget that the annual HIMSS conference is also a showcase for technology. Here are four products that impressed me.

Nonprofit Group Will Lead $3 Billion Meaningful Use Initiative in California

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:17:00 GMT

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named Cal eConnect as a new nonprofit organization that will help hospitals, physicians, clinics, and other providers purchase appropriate health information exchanges under meaningful use rules, and thereby capture more than $3 billion in stimulus funds over the next decade.

Physicians Worried Proposed Meaningful Use Will Decrease Productivity

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:30:00 GMT

An overwhelming number of physicians say changes that may be necessary to meet more than two dozen "meaningful use" criteria proposed in a Medicare electronic health record incentive rule would lead to decreased provider productivity, according to the Medical Group Management Association.

Blumenthal: ONC Shifting From HIT Policy to Implementation

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:16:00 GMT

In the near future, EHRs and other health information technology will be as accessible and important as the stethoscope, the operating room, or the exam table, said National Coordinator for Health Information Technology David Blumenthal, MD, at the HIMSS convention in Atlanta last week.

Florida couple again accused of stealing, selling patient records

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:34:00 GMT

Last year, Ruben E. Rodriguez and wife Maria Victoria Suarez were charged with running a scheme to pilfer patient records from Jackson Memorial Hospital to sell to lawyers for personal-injury claims. Now they have been indicted again for paying an ambulance-company employee to steal information on patients transported to Florida hospitals and healthcare clinics. In both federal cases, the couple are accused of brokering the stolen computer records of patients' names, addresses, telephone numbers, and medical diagnoses to several attorneys in exchange for kickback payments, the Miami Herald reports.

Five Ways Health IT Leaders Can Fight Medicare Fraud

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:22:00 GMT

Fair warning to health IT professionals: Harry Markopolos, the man who infamously warned the government that Bernie Madoff was up to something fishy, is setting his sights on Medicare fraud. Markopolos wants IT and other healthcare leaders to join him in the hunt for fraud. Here are five ways they can help.

Health IT Design That Keeps End-Users in Mind

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:56:00 GMT

As health IT increasingly becomes a part of clinicians' everyday jobs, it's important to consider their design. If HIT is not designed with the end-user or end-facility in mind, it may fail at facilitating patient safety.

Get Moving to Catch Early EHR Meaningful Use Incentives

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:30:00 GMT

Hospitals with electronic health records may be eligible for meaningful use incentives as early as October 2010, and physicians follow soon after. But waiting for the release of final rules on the incentive program and EHR certification before moving forward may not be wise.

HIT Leaders React to Proposed EHR Testing and Compliance Rule

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:14:00 GMT

Healthcare IT leaders are already praising some aspects of HHS' proposed rule for testing and certifying EHRs, praising the decision to eventually turn the certification process over to the private sector, a fast-track certification timeline, and the ability for organizations to eventually certify EHRs from multiple vendors.

Possible prostate case error at University of Pennsylvania hospital

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:48:00 GMT

The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania reported a possible radiation error involving the treatment of a man for prostate cancer. On Jan. 21, the patient underwent a prostate brachytherapy procedure to implant 65 radioactive seeds to kill cancer cells in the acorn-size gland. But when he returned for a follow-up scan Feb. 23, Penn doctors saw that the seeds were "outside the intended target." Penn has said it has a very small prostate brachytherapy program, and it's unclear how many patients the program has treated, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

AMA teams with UnitedHealth, Dell to push electronic health records

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:27:00 GMT

The American Medical Association has formed a partnership with UnitedHealth Group's Ingenix subsidiary to "help physicians adopt and implement electronic health records," the two groups said in a statement provided to the Chicago Tribune. As part of the deal, the AMA will offer Ingenix CareTracker, a Web-based medical record system, through its Web site. The AMA said Ingenix will be part of a larger platform being created on its site to help physicians develop new technologies to enhance their practices and improve their day-to-day work environment. The group said multiple options will be given to doctors beyond the Ingenix technology, the Tribune reports.

Concerns over metal on metal hip implants

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:14:00 GMT

Some of the nation's leading orthopedic surgeons have reduced or stopped use of a popular category of artificial hips amid concerns that the devices are causing severe tissue and bone damage in some patients, often requiring replacement surgery within a year or two.

Obama Asks Congress to Pass Health Reform Bill Soon

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:52:00 GMT

President Obama, saying it was neither "practical nor realistic" to go back to square one with healthcare reform as suggested by the GOP, is asking Congress to move ahead on healthcare—using a simple majority vote—and provide him with a bill that he could sign within the next few weeks.

Proposed EHR Certification Program Won't Inhibit Innovation, Says Blumenthal

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:23:00 GMT

When writing the interim final rule on standards and certification criteria for EHRs, the ONC strived to balance competing agendas, David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, the national coordinator for health information technology, said at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society 2010 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Atlanta.

HHS Releases Proposed Rule for EHR Certification

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:45:00 GMT

HHS has announced the release of the proposed rule for establishing certification programs for health information technology. The proposed rule describes the creation of a certification program for EHRs, as mandated by the HITECH Act.

Proposed HITECH Rule for Business Associates Will Come Soon, Says OCR Lawyer

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:53:00 GMT

An OCR lawyer tells HealthLeaders Media the HIPAA privacy and security enforcer will release a proposed rule regarding business associate provisions in HITECH "shortly." Adam H. Greene, Office of the General Counsel for OCR, said OCR's rulemaking will elaborate on the expected date of compliance surrounding the rule.