Two of the area's most respected surgeons have left the University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital, taking 18 staffers with them to establish a new program at Florida Hospital Tampa. Dr. Alexander Rosemurgy, a fixture at Tampa General for 27 years, has gained a national reputation particularly for treating pancreatic cancer patients. Dr. Sharona Ross is an 11 year TGH veteran and USF faculty member who collaborated with Rosemurgy on dozens of pioneering research projects. The name of their new medical practice describes their specialties: Southeastern Center for Digestive Disorders and Pancreatic Cancer, Advanced Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery.
Utah's Medicaid program no longer pays hospitals to treat illnesses and injuries caused by poor care for patients, such as infections, on-site falls and surgeries on the wrong body part. Hospitals have had to report these "provider-preventable conditions" to the Utah Department of Health since July 2011, a requirement of federal health reform. They've disclosed 17 to date, most of them infections. But precisely how much taxpayer money was saved isn't known.
Preliminary results of a pilot project testing standardized reporting of public health information from electronic health records (EHRs) reveals that by using templates for clinical data, public health officials can improve the quality and coordination of care as they try to contain problems such as West Nile Virus, or outbreaks of whooping cough or flu. The pilot project is part of a three-year program in which IBM, the CDC, and the Public Health Data Standards Consortium (PHDSC) are collaborating on ways to make patient health data in EHRs quicker and easier for health officials to access.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released on Thursday the final requirements for stage 2 meaningful use, which aims to promote the implementation of electronic medical records among healthcare providers.
Make clear that stage two of the program will begin as early as 2014. No providers will be required to follow the Stage 2 requirements outlined today before 2014.
Outline the certification criteria for the certification of EHR technology, so eligible professionals and hospitals may be assured that the systems they use will work, help them meaningfully use health information technology, and qualify for incentive payments.
Modify the certification program to cut red tape and make the certification process more efficient.
Allow current “2011 Edition Certified EHR Technology” to be used until 2014.
Medicare, the popular healthcare program for the elderly that both political parties vow to rescue from financial ruin, will spend less money over the coming decade than previously expected, U.S. analysts said on Wednesday. In a report on the U.S. economy and budget, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reduced its spending forecasts for Medicare by $19 billion for 2012 and by $169 billion over the coming decade from earlier this year. Total Medicare spending is projected at $7.7 trillion for the 10 years ending in 2022. The change reflects lower spending growth for doctors, hospitals and prescription drugs since the U.S. economy fell into recession in 2007.
U.S. hospitals want to know what's going on with Medicaid. The American Hospital Association has asked Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, for clarification on Medicaid expansion. Expansion of state Medicaid programs, which cover low-income and disabled residents, is a provision of health care reform. But the U.S. Supreme Court on June 28 ruled that states aren’t required to change their Medicaid programs. Through a combination of Medicaid and a series of state health exchanges, the Affordable Care Act is designed to provide coverage for an additional 32 million Americans.