Government & Policy
A new unit by HL7 and AIRA aims to create a national forum to target and solve challenges facing immunization-related healthcare interoperability projects.
The news that someone slipped a provision into the Sustainable Growth Rate patch legislation that will once again delay the transition to ICD-10 is disappointing, and symptomatic of the seemingly unreliable relationship that exists between providers, technology vendors and the government.
Industry observers and insiders alike were a bit surprised that the American Medical Association did not appear overjoyed with the prospect of ICD-10 being pushed back. But, the organization had its reasons.
Perhaps if the Senate had voted down the doc pay patch, regrouped, come back with another stab at permanent SGR repeal, someone would have noticed Section 212 saying that HHS cannot mandate ICD-10 as the standard code set before Oct. 1, 2014, in effect delaying the deadline by another year.
The U.S. Senate voted to pass the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, which both pushes back the compliance deadline for ICD-10 and preserves the pay rate for doctors treating Medicare patients. Before those officially take hold, however, President Barack Obama has to sign the bill into law.
The American Health Information Management Association, the organization made up of professionals who manage healthcare information, is urging controls on the copy-and-paste functionality in electronic health record systems.
The American Health Information Management Association is urging controls on the copy-and-paste functionality in electronic health record systems. The use of copy-and-paste should be permitted only when such "strong technology and administrative controls," are in place, the organization wrote in a position statement.
ICD-10 has been the butt of countless jokes during the last several months but none so surprising as the latest one-liner. Only this isn't funny. Whether you're hoping President Obama gets a chance to sign the provision pushing ICD-10 back within the SGR fix into law, or crossing fingers that the Senate kills it come Monday, no matter.
In the morning, the U.S. House postponed the vote on delaying ICD-10 to 2015 and on a temporary fix to how doctors are paid, but by afternoon, House members came back around and voted to pass the bill. It now goes to the Senate.
Under the guise of the already contentious SGR fix, Congress is girding to vote on a bill Thursday that would delay ICD-10. AHIMA has written a letter, urging Congress to stay the course to the Oct. 1 deadline.