Morning Headlines 10/7/15

Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Electronic Health Record Incentive Program—Stage 3 and Modifications to Meaningful Use in 2015 through 2017

CMS publishes an update addressing both MU3 and its proposed modification to Meaningful Use in 2015 through 2017. The updated rules set the 2015 MU reporting period at 90-days, and makes MU3 optional in 2017, but mandatory in 2018.

The Joint HIT Standards and Policy Committee meeting

John Halamka, MD and CIO of BIDMC, reports that every major EHR vendor CEO met in Salt Lake City last week, where they discussed data sharing and agreed to  “objective measures we can use to quantify interoperability.” Halamka says that details of the meeting and the agreement will follow in the coming weeks.

Transparent Ratings on Usability and Security to Transform 8 Information Technology (TRUST IT) Act of 2015

HELP committee members Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduce legislation that would establish an EHR 5-star rating system and also require that EHR vendors file an attestation stating that they do not engage in information blocking.

Orion Health Awarded Defense Healthcare Management System Modernization Program Subcontract

Orion Health is added to the Leidos-Cerner DoD contract. Orion’s Rhapsody integration engine will be used to connect Cerner Millennium with civilian facilities.