Policy & Legislation

 
Sen. Baucus says ACA to be 'appreciated down the road'
April 24, 2013 |
Kaiser Health News www.kaiserhealthnews.org

Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat, will continue focusing on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, among other top priorities, until he retires in 2014.
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Report quantifies EHR benefits for Canadian docs
April 23, 2013 |
Anthony Brino
While only a bit more than half of Canadian primary care doctors have adopted EHRs so far, the benefits since adoption started growing in 2006 are estimated at close to $1.3 billion, from reduced administration and duplicate testing.
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Asia-Pac governments fueling HIT
April 23, 2013 |
Mike Miliard
Regulations and incentives are driving adoption of electronic health records in Asia-Pacific countries. Much like the U.S., however, they are encountering issues with interoperability and medical professionals' technology skills.
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HHS seeks input on HIPAA and gun background checks
April 23, 2013 |
Anthony Brino
Amid concerns over gun violence, HHS's Office of Civil Rights is trying to clarify HIPAA's role in reporting individuals with mental illness deemed potentially dangerous to the national background check system, while seeking input on current practices.
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CHIME to HHS: Extend certification to HIE
April 22, 2013 |
Erin McCann
Building on the success of its meaningful use program to include health information exchange technologies would drive interoperability, CHIME contends.
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4 HIX elements states should consider now
April 22, 2013 |
Will Saunders
State governments have a big job ahead in educating the public during the next several months as marketplaces are established. Many citizens will need hand-holding to understand the best healthcare option for them.
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HHS creates workgroup to focus on patient safety
April 22, 2013 |
Bernie Monegain
New group includes representatives from the FCC, FDA and ONC as well as experts on consumers, payers and providers.
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Bipartisan Policy Center urges payment reform toward patient-centered care
April 19, 2013 |
Tom Sullivan
A new report recommends myriad ways to reform payment, taxes, HIT and other programs essentially en route to more efficient and effective care delivery, with the goal of $560 billion worth of deficit reduction in the coming decade.
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Commentary: When HIPAA and states collide
April 19, 2013 |
Anthony Brino
Associate Editor Anthony Brino explains how a recent Florida ruling demonstrates that state and federal statutes can conflict, even when they share the same goals.
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Why the CDC wants to modernize its pathogen, sequencing informatics
April 19, 2013 |
Anthony Brino
In its 2014 budget proposal, the CDC is seeking $40 million to modernize its infectious disease informatics and sequencing tools. As antibiotic-resistant bacteria grow and new pathogens like H7N9 evolve, the CDC sees the new systems as a long-term investment.
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ACA fosters 'fertile time for healthcare investments'
April 18, 2013 |
Mary Mosquera
President Obama's health reform law is "driving strong demand for innovation," according to a new report that also identifies areas of particular interest to investors.
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Both parties oppose Obama's Medicare budget cuts
April 18, 2013 |
Kaiser Health News www.kaiserhealthnews.org

Democrat and Republican Senators alike took aim at President Obama's proposed budget for 2014, and the reductions to Medicare within. One even likened it to Lizzie Borden.
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Scoping the politics of healthcare in 2013 and beyond
December 31, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
We’re bidding Political Malpractice adieu while ramping up our coverage of the political wrangling around health reform in the year ahead. And there will be plenty.
California: Not quite wired yet
December 31, 2012 |
Jeff Rowe
A recent report from the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) suggests that policymakers and stakeholders have a ways to go before those funds will be put to their best use.
ICD-10 Testing: CMS seeks input on defining end-to-end testing
December 28, 2012 |
Carl Natale
To avoid the problems encountered during the HIPAA 5010 transaction, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is developing a comprehensive end-to-end testing program for the ICD-10 transition.
Health IT Standards Predictions for 2013
December 20, 2012 |
Keith W. Boone
Yesterday I talked about where I'd been last year. Today I'm going to cover where I think things are headed in the US (at least for me).
CTA on HIT TLAs for HIE and HIX
December 19, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
Since even some analysts are still confused, the time to agree that HIE does not stand for health insurance exchange is upon us.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
December 13, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
ONC's annual meetup, Privacy & Security Forum, mHealth Summit and the industrial revolution ... it's This Week in Government Health IT.
OCR releases HIPAA privacy rule guidance
November 30, 2012 |
David Harlow
Just two and a half years after hosting a workshop on the HIPAA Privacy Rule's de-identification standard, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has issued its "Guidance Regarding Methods for De-identification of Protected Health Information in Accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule."
ICD-101: Learning ICD-10 codes a little at a time
November 26, 2012 |
Carl Natale
A lot of the literature on ICD-10 coding highlights how different it is from ICD-9 codes. This scares the beejesus out of a lot of healthcare professionals.
Why we don't need more health IT standards
November 16, 2012 |
Keith W. Boone
Standards development is not where the pace needs to increase. Rather, it's adoption and deployment that need to be happening more quickly.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
November 16, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
The campaigns long shadow over the elections. What would have happened to meaningful use and ONC had Romney won? HIX delay. And DoD, VA efforts to improve care for their patients.
Is meaningful use delivering meaningful results?
November 14, 2012 |
Brian Ahier
Brian Ahier reports on the Congressional hearing examining health information technology standards and interoperability.
Editor's Desk: T.W.I.G. Notes
November 9, 2012 |
Tom Sullivan
The ACA lives but expect changes, just not for EHRs to get easier. How HackensackUMC prepped its mobile ED for nor'easter, Top 10 nursing informatics governance focus areas, and the fate of ACOs.