Morning Headlines 5/17/13

HHS Secretary Sebelius announces Senate confirmation of Marilyn Tavenner

The US Senate today confirmed Marilyn Tavenner as the new CMS administrator, making her the first to be confirmed to the position in over nine years.

Hospital can’t afford EMR contract, Assembly rejects funding request

City assemblymen from Juneau, AK rejects an $8.5 million budget request to pay for an already-signed Cerner contract for Bartlett Regional Hospital, saying that they were never consulted on the contract prior to its signing and that the $1.15 million in annual maintenance fees is more than they are willing to pay.

Health Care Innovation Awards Round Two

CMS announces Round Two of the Health Care Innovation Awards which authorizes up to $1 billion in awards to help fund innovative projects that will help deliver better care at a lower cost.

Marin General Hospital nurses warn that new computer system is causing errors, call for time out

Unionized nurses at Marin General Hospital are asking administrators to put its Paragon CPOE implementation on hold until glitches can be ironed out, claiming, "Orders are being inadvertently passed to the wrong patients. People have gotten meds when they’ve been allergic to them. This is dangerous.”