Government & Policy

Based on CMS projections combined with an estimated risk rate, the numbers total a sum equal to the loan portfolio write-down by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This top line reimbursement risk could redistribute healthcare wealth enough to trigger bankruptcies, consolidations, mergers, and radical shifts in health IT companies and products.

Will accountable care organizations follow the lead of HIEs in analyzing data across participating providers, or surpass them?

Within the past month, 14 critical access hospitals have joined the Nebraska Health Information Initiative (NeHII), Nebraska's statewide health information exchange.

Rather than competing against each other, RECs and HIEs should be cooperating, and to mutual benefit.

Patrick Ward, CIO of CIRA, discusses implementing IT infrastructure to streamline physician workflow, earn a return on investment and enable the practice to participate in a health information exchange.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in September paid out $25 million to 1400 eligible providers and $61 million to 30 dually eligible hospitals under the meaningful use EHR incentive program, according to Robert Anthony from the CMS Office of E-Health Standards and Services.

A bill signed last week in California aims to greatly increase access to healthcare in rural areas by providing more telehealth services, through more providers, in more care settings.

LTC Geesey of the Army's MC4 unit discusses early successes, the telemedicine suite currently in development, and how the Army intends to embrace tablets, smartphones, and a hands-free EHR.

Migration to electronic medical records requires balancing benefits and challenges -- privacy, security, compliance, and fraud.

Examining the three approaches to ensuring the records public health agencies receive can be linked accurately to their Master Patient Index entries.