Government & Policy
Stage 2 meaningful use attestations have shown an uptick, but many providers still struggle. With the Flex-IT Act gaining traction in the House, Rep. Renee Ellmers and 28 fellow members of Congress have again called on HHS for a shorter reporting period. The AMA, meanwhile, is "appalled" that more than half of eligible providers will face penalties in 2015.
The government has divvied up more than $665 million to states for designing and testing ways to improve healthcare quality, accessibility and affordability. The awards will go to 28 states, three territories and the District of Columbia.
The Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative is a new national trade organization of HIEs, banding together to gain economies of scale, drive financial sustainability and raise awareness among healthcare organizations and legislators.
Quality care is top of mind for Maureen Bisognano, RN. It has been since she was a young nurse, and it became a true mission as she worked side by side with Donald Berwick, MD, at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Today, as president and CEO of IHI, Bisognano says she's "very encouraged" about its successes so far.
What's the healthcare C-suite planning for in the coming year? While everybody seems to have differing opinions, there's a consensus that 2015 will introduce a lot of changes, particularly in how providers and consumers interact.
Imagine technology as medicine -- a type of drug meant to heal diabetes, for example, or prevent strokes or heart failure. That's the concept Anand Iyer, president and CEO of WellDoc, explored Wednesday at the mHealth Summit in Washington.
While Stage 2 is proving challenging, at least to date, Stage 3 "is unlikely to push the envelope too far," said AMIA CEO Doug Fridsma, MD.
"I'd like to see a world where you get paid because you have good informaticians," said Doug Fridsma, MD, former chief scientist at ONC and now CEO of AMIA, speaking Wednesday at RSNA's 100th annual meeting in Chicago.
An estimated 50,000 lives were saved, 1.3 million fewer patients escaped harm and healthcare avoided $12 billion in spending. This according to a report released by the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this week.
"Bad actors" are the focus of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' initiative to ramp up oversight of providers and to save taxpayers money. CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner announced the new measures today.