Morning Headlines 7/23/13

HHS auditors target upcoding of Medicare bills via EHRs
 
Federal regulators conduct targeted audits of hospitals following months of speculation that EHR usage may be contributing to fraudulent upcoding.

A Better Online Diagnosis Before the Doctor Visit

The Wall Street Journal covers the online symptom checker market, including a website called Isabel that was able to suggest the correct diagnosis in 48 of 50 complex cases.

Colorado HIE enlists more hospitals

Colorado’s health information exchange now connects 50 percent of the state’s hospitals, including all of those with over 100 beds.

2013 First Half Trends Report – Healthcare Industry

A report on mergers and acquisitions within the healthcare / pharma information technology industry finds that deals are down 16 percent overall for the first half of 2013. However, transaction values are up 58 percent compared to the second half of 2012, from $5 billion to $8 billion.