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CHIME is urging HHS to extend the concept of certification to the health information exchange marketplace to advance interoperability and improve data flow. In comments submitted Thursday in response to a request for information (RFI) from CMS and ONC, CHIME pushed for a strategy that enables local flexibility, while leading stakeholders in the development of […]
CMS announced the proposed rule for Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements for EHR incentive programs today during a session led by National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari at the HIMSS conference in Las Vegas. The proposed requirements were posted to the Federal Register and are expected to be published next week. The final rule […]
The start-up investment required to establish and sustain an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) is considerably higher — $11.6 to $26.1 million — than the $1.8 million estimated by CMS in its proposed rule for launch and one year of ongoing operations, according to a study by the American Hospital Association. Caroline Steinberg, VP of Health […]
If ever the expression “the devil’s in the details” was called for, it’s around meaningful use. In fact, the words seem tailor made for the program. That much was made crystal clear during testimony last week by those who’ve made inroads toward meeting requirements which sometimes behave like slippery eels when grasped. Read the rest […]
As part of an effort to clear up lingering questions about its program to financially reward Meaningful Users of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) held a session of its Education Series for Providers, specifically, this time, for hospitals. But while the session provided much detail around many aspects of the program, the Q&A after it resulted in a few “we’ll have to get back to you” answers from CMS representatives.
After working for more than a year to develop its Meaningful Use and Certification rules, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) are focused on ensuring healthcare providers know how to enroll in the soon-to-be-launched incentive program. In a “free training” session held […]
Much of what will become Meaningful Use Stage 2 can be found in the recently released Stage 1, according to comments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Tony Trenkle, who spoke during this month’s HIT Policy Committee meeting. Meaningful Use Stage 2, he said, will expand on Stage 1 by making the current “menu” set part of future core requirements. Trenkle, director of the CMS Office of e-Health Standards and Services, said the organization also wanted to get certain administrative requirements — which were included in the NPRM but dropped from the final regulation— along higher CPOE levels, into Stage 2.
Over the past year, John Glaser, Ph.D., has been eating and breathing Meaningful Use and Certification even more than his HITECH-focused CIO colleagues. That’s because while Glaser has kept up his role as VP & CIO at Partners HealthCare on a part-time basis, he’s also been winging down to D.C. every week to fulfill his […]
The merits of working with the FDA to help ONC craft an EMR certification program that addresses both pre- and post-market HIT patient safety issues were discussed at the HIT Policy Committee Workgroup on Certification and Adoption meeting held this week. On one side of the debate, HIT Software Entrepreneur and Workgroup Co-Chair Paul Egerman argued that the FDA could bring some significant value to the table in crafting a program.
A new Interim Final Rule from the DEA’s Department of Justice on Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances specifies the guidelines healthcare providers will need to follow in order to electronically prescribe controlled substances. Since the DEA published the NPRM; ONC, CMS, AHRQ and other HHS staff “have worked closely with DEA to develop the policies […]
