EHRs

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT said it can harness data it already has to help providers make better electronic health record purchasing decisions.

Centra Health announced on Thursday that it will deploy Cerner Millennium on both the clinical and business sides, including revenue cycle and patient health management. Centra will also implement HealtheIntent, Cerner’s population health management platform. In addition, Cerner will support Centra’s growing health plan, which covers more than 45,000 individuals. With five hospitals and 50 ambulatory and long-term facilities, the Centra is one of the largest healthcare systems in central Virginia.   [Also: How satisfied are you with your EHR? Satisfaction Survey results] “As one of the leading care providers in our area of the country, it is essential that Centra continues to influence the health of not only our patients, but also our community as a whole,” CEO E.W. Tibbs Jr., said in a statement. Financial terms of the deal were not revealed. Twitter: @Bernie_HITN Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook and LinkedIn

Greenway Health CEO Tee Green revealed on Wednesday that he is handing the chief executive role at the EHR company he co-founded over to Scott Zimmerman. Green will continue full-time as executive chairman, according to the company, including a focus on innovation as the company is working to transform itself from an electronic health record and practice management vendor into a population health and revenue cycle specialist. Before taking the helm of Greenway, Zimmerman was president of Televox, which provides patient engagement communications tools. Zimmerman also has worked at Boston Scientific, GE Healthcare and Merck during his career. “It’s a privilege to be working alongside the Greenway Health team to support caregivers in this time of change,” Zimmerman said in a statement. “It’s exciting to be a part of an organization working to deliver the technology, people and processes that can impact the clinical excellence and financial success of our customers. I am looking forward to doing everything I can to help further that mission.” Zimmerman’s appointment marks the second C-level announcement in recent months. In December 2015, Greenway named Robert Ellis as its new chief financial officer. Ellis came from Vista Equity Partners, where he was a managing director. Twitter: @SullyHIT Email the writer: tom.sullivan@himssmedia.com Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook and LinkedIn

U.S. Senators and Representatives introduced a bill on Wednesday that would reduce the meaningful use reporting period from a full year to 90 days – and do so in 2016, a move pressed by healthcare organizations across the country. Sens. Rob Portman and Michael Bennet and Reps. Renee Ellmers, Tom Price, Bobby Rush and Ron Kind introduced bipartisan legislation. CHIME, the Medical Group Management Association, the National Rural Health Association, the Federation of American Hospitals and physician groups, not only support the bill, but have also pressed lawmakers for it. Many of the organizations wrote CMS on March 15, asking for a 90-day reporting period for 2016. [Also: Healthcare providers press CMS for 90-day meaningful use reporting] “A preliminary yet critical step to facilitate increased provider success, we respectfully request CMS adopt for the 2016 reporting year the same 90-day reporting period policy for participants in the Meaningful Use program that was offered in 2015,” they wrote to CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt. CMS required a full year reporting period last year, but later reduced the requirement to 90 days in a rule that also reduced the number of meaningful use, Stage 2 requirements. Twitter: @Bernie_HITN Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook and LinkedIn

The Act to Prevent Opiate Abuse by Strengthening the Controlled Substance Prescription Monitoring Program also sets a cap on number of days for opioid prescriptions and requires doctors to undergo addiction treatment every two years.

Claiming that it was "startled" by VA officials' recent testimony, the committee put strict conditions on full funding that a Senate committee already approved.

National Coordinator Karen DeSalvo, MD, is stepping away from the co-chair role on the ONC Health IT Policy Committee. Kathleen Blake, MD, vice president of performance improvement at the American Medical Association, will replace DeSalvo, according to Politico, which reported the announcement was made Tuesday at the joint meeting of the Health IT Policy and Standards Committees. Blake will serve alongside DeSalvo's current co-chair, Paul Tang, MD, chief innovation and technology officer at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Tang is also the head of ONC's meaningful use workgroup.  [Also: How satisfied are you with your EHR? Satisfaction Survey results]  DeSalvo currently serves as both National Coordinator for Health IT and Acting Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services. She's been with ONC since January 2014. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell brought DeSalvo to HHS in October 2014 to help coordinate the federal government respond to the Ebola outbreak – touting her public health qualifications after having served as New Orleans Health Commissioner in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. In May 2015, President Barack Obama appointed DeSalvo HHS Acting Assistant Secretary for Health. If she gets a Senate confirmation hearing and is approved, she would step down from the National Coordinator post at ONC.   Twitter: SullyHIT Email the writer: tom.sullivan@himssmedia.com Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook and LinkedIn

Big screens in every hospital unit show quality and safety indicators for doctors, nurses, patients and family members. Children’s has reduced urinary tract infections while improving medication safety and time to treatment.

A U.S. district court jury in Wisconsin has found in Epic Systems' favor, awarding the EHR giant $940 million in damages in its trade secrets lawsuit against Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy Services. The massive settlement seems likely to be reduced on appeal.

The bill gives the Veterans Affairs money to digitize claims processing, advance telemedicine, and modernize its electronic health record software, but only once it proves interoperability with the DoD and private sector.