Bernie Monegain
Citing the crush of an increasing workload and dwindling government funding, the Office of the National Coordinator has proposed a health IT user fee that would be imposed on health IT vendors who certify their products through the ONC Health IT Certification Program.
In the new world of healthcare -- one that is focused on collaboration, accountability, providing better care and cutting costs -- Aetna executives view the insurer's newly minted Healthagen division, unveiled last month at HIMSS13, as an indispensible piece of getting things right.
Dubbing it "the next great American project," President Barack Obama announced the launch of the BRAIN Initiative, aimed at unlocking the many mysteries of the brain. The $100 million "to get the project off the ground" comes from the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the National Science Foundation, and is part of the budget the president will send to Congress next week.
Making good on its promise, Health Level Seven International's primary standards and other intellectual property are now available to license at no cost. The decision represents HL7's commitment to the betterment of healthcare worldwide by ensuring that all stakeholders have equal access to its HIT standards, officials said.
Eighty-two percent of U.S. doctors responding to a recent survey indicate they want patients to actively participate in their own healthcare by updating their electronic health records. However, only 31 percent said they believed a patient should have full access to his or her own record.
Sharing data has saved 92,000 lives and $9.1 billion over four and a half years, according to Premier healthcare alliance, which today released results of its QUEST collaborative, made up of 333 hospitals that are members of the alliance. Hospitals nationwide could save 950,000 lives and approximately $93 billion over five years by replicating performance boosting practices employed by QUEST.
Several witnesses from the health IT and mobile health industries are set to testify March 19 before the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The hearing will focus on medical devices and mobile app markets.
After 15 years at the helm of Allscripts, the EHR vendor he helped steer through years of growth and change, Glen Tullman is poised to join the ranks of serial entrepreneurs. He and Allscripts colleague Lee Shapiro, who served as president, have set their sights on starting a new company -- or maybe multiple companies -- in the mobile healthcare arena.
Interoperability was one of the most talked about topics throughout 2013 HIMSS Annual Conference and Exhibition this past week. Before heading to New Orleans for the event, Healthcare IT News asked ONC chief Farzad Mostashari, MD, for his take on interoperability, and what it would take to achieve it sooner rather than later.
Former President Bill Clinton’s talk March 6 at the 2013 HIMSS Annual Conference & Exhibition encompassed politics, economics, history, climate change, childhood obesity, health information technology, of course, and even the art of the deal.