Morning Headlines 6/21/13

Cone Health to lay off 150 workers

Greensboro, NC-based Cone Health will lay off 150 workers, or about three percent of its workforce, to help cut $30 million from its annual budget. Terry Akin, Cone Health president and COO, said that its Epic implementation has been a big short-term expense.

Cerner Launches Pilot Program To Offer Personalized, Quality Care Aligned For Better Health 

Cerner launches a Kansas City area pilot program to test new health delivery model in which retail locations serve as patient access points. Nurses will perform wellness screenings and provide tailored patient education and recommendations.

New Technology in Place for Electronic Submission of Veterans’ Disability Claims

The VA has launched a new Web portal that will allow veterans to submit disability claims electronically. The system is integrated with the VA’s paperless claims processing system VBMS, creating a nearly paperless end-to-end process. Medical records are one of the few claims elements that will still need to be scanned or mailed on paper.

The Regional Extension Center Program in Texas Met the Scope of Services in Their Cooperative Agreements With the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

The Office of the Inspector General audits four Texas Regional Extension Centers that were cumulatively awarded more than $30 million in federal funds. The goal of the inspections was to verify that the RECs had meet the requirements outlined in their cooperative agreements with ONC. OIG auditors concluded that the REC programs had meet all requirements and were successful in supporting health IT adoption across their territories.