Morning Headlines 11/30/12

Medicare Is Faulted on Shift to Electronic Records

A review by the Office of the Inspector General finds that Medicare is not adequately overseeing the Meaningful Use program, leaving it vulnerable to paying incentives to Eligible Providers and hospitals that have inaccurately claimed their compliance.

After All the Time and Money is Invested, Will e-Health Ever Deliver on its Promise?

A Toronto newspaper reviews Canada’s ambitious and expensive e-health program that still leaves it behind much of the industrial world, with 80 percent of physician practices still using paper charts.

MIT Media Spin-Out Ginger.io raises $6.5 Million Series A Round

The startup, which summarizes its smartphone-based population management tool as a “check engine” light for humans, raises its investment total to $8.2 million in a round led by Khosla Ventures.

Guidance Regarding Methods for De-identification of Protected Health Information in Accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA ) Privacy Rule

HHS issues a guide describing acceptable method for de-identifying patient information to comply with HIPAA’s privacy rule.

Hospitals Get New Grades on Safety

Leapfrog Group issues its second set of hospital grades on patient safety, with a significant number of hospitals moving two letter grades up or down due to new data and an adjusted methodology. One of the 25 hospitals that earned an F is Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, while Cleveland Clinic’s grade slipped from a C to a D.