Morning Headlines 10/3/16

By The Numbers: Our Progress In Digitizing Health Care

National Coordinator for Health IT Vindell Washington, MD and his predecessor Karen DeSalvo publish an article in Health Affairs looking back on the health IT achievements that the last seven years have brought.

Ochsner’s David Carmouche: Population Health and Top-Quality Care

The president of 25-hospital Oschsner Health System (LA) discusses how EHRs and disease registries are being used to help the organization target and engage with at risk populations as it moves away from fee-for-service reimbursement.

About the SPRINT Data Analysis Challenge

NEJM announces a data analytics contest in which contestants are asked to analyzed a data set of clinical trials data in search of new scientific or clinical discovery.

The terrorist inside my husband’s brain

Robin William’s wife publishes an article in the Journal of the American Academy of Neurology about Lewy body disease, the debilitating condition that led to her husband’s 2014 suicide.

Morning Headlines 9/30/16

My Vision for Universal, Quality, Affordable Health Care

Using NEJM as a podium, Hilary Clinton outlines her plans for improving healthcare, which includes improving ACA, working to “integrate our fragmented healthcare delivery systems,” and helping to increase research and innovation.

HITRUST Becomes First Healthcare Information Sharing Organization Connected to DHS Automated Indicator Sharing Program

Health Information Trust Alliance begins exchanging bi-directional cyber threat alerts with the Department of Homeland Security.

AARP, HHS Announce Winners of Challenge to Redesign the Medical Bill for Patients

HHS announces the winner of its “A Bill You Can Understand” design challenge. The challenge awarded two prizes, one for the bill that is easiest to understand, and another for the design that best improves the overall approach to the medical billing system.

Morning Headlines 9/29/16

FDA Approves First ‘Artificial Pancreas’ for Diabetes

The FDA approves Medtronic’s artificial pancreas that automatically monitors a patient’s blood sugar levels and then administers the appropriate insulin dose.

Aetna to Transform Members’ Consumer Health Experience Using iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch

Aetna announces plans to offer an Apple Watch subsidy through large employers and select individual customers to ramp up its wellness and care management programs, and will provide its own 50,000 employees Apple Watches free of charge.

Fixing electronic health records is good. Adding scribes is even better

In a STAT editorial, an emergency medicine resident at the University of Virginia discusses the impact working with a scribe has on job satisfaction.

AMA Survey Finds Physicians Enthusiastic About Digital Health Innovation

An AMA survey of 1,300 physicians finds broad-based optimism for digital health innovations, but note that liability coverage, data privacy, workflow integration, and improved ease of use are all issues that need to be overcome before digital health tools will deliver at full capacity.

Morning Headlines 9/28/16

InstaMed Announces $50 Million Investment From Carrick Capital Partners

InstaMed announces a $50 million investment from Carrick Capital Partners, which it says will be used to “drive the growth of the InstaMed Network, accelerate go-to-market strategy, and drive further innovation in healthcare payments technology.” The new round brings InstaMed’s total funding to $126 million since its 2004 formation.

Technology and Health Care: The View From HHS

HHS CTO Susannah Fox discusses the future of innovation in healthcare and HHS in a Wall Street Journal interview.

EHR Contracts Untangled

ONC publishes a guide on EHR contracting for providers.

Former Tuomey CEO to personally pay $1 million to settle False Claims Act case

Former Tuomey Healthcare (SC) CEO Ralph Cox will personally pay a $1 million fine to settle Stark Law allegations that he illegally compensated doctors in exchange for unnecessary patient referrals to the hospital.

Morning Headlines 9/27/16

GAO slams HHS in health IT cybersecurity report

The GAO releases a “scathing” report on cybersecurity preparedness in health information technology, recommending that HHS “update its guidance for protecting electronic health information to address key security elements, improve technical assistance it provides to covered entities, follow up on corrective actions, and establish metrics for gauging the effectiveness of its audit program.”

Medical Record Mix-Ups a Common Problem, Study Finds

The Wall Street Journal reports on an ECRI Institute study on wrong-patient medical errors, of which 7,613 cases were identified between January 2013 and July 2015. The report calls for an increased use of barcode scanners and patient pictures embedded within the EHR, but stops short of calling for a national patient identifier.

A New Tool to Help Health Care Providers Get the Most Out of their Health IT

ONC releases its Health IT Playbook, a web-based manual that updates the Patient Engagement Playbook for Providers, offering guidance on a wide variety of health IT products and topics.

ACO Spillover Effects: An Opportunity Not to Be Missed

A NEJM study investigates what impact ACOs might be having on non-ACO patients being treated by the network.

Morning Headlines 9/26/16

GE Healthcare Aims to Fund up to $50M for Global Health Startups

GE launches a healthcare-focused accelerator with $50 million in funding.

Our Decision to Exit the ACA Marketplace

BCBS of Nebraska announces that it will exit the state’s health insurance exchange, citing the $140 million in marketplace-related losses it has suffered thus far.

Remote Alaska port clinic goes modern with telemedicine

Providence Alaska Medical Center (AK) begins offering telehealth critical care consults to a clinic in Unalaska, the remote town that is home to Dutch Harbor, one of Alaska’s busiest fishing ports.

HIPAA settlement illustrates the importance of reviewing and updating, as necessary, business associate agreements

Care New England Health System pays $400,000 to settle HIPAA violations after OCR discovered, while investigating a lost backup tape, that it had hadn’t updated its business associate agreement with Woman & Infants Hospital (RI) since 2005.

Morning Headlines 9/23/16

Epic Systems’ ‘wonderland’ includes humanitarian pursuits

A local paper covers Epic’s annual user group meeting, which drew a crowd of 18,000 attendees.

Digital Hospital resulted in “significant adverse impacts” upon patient safety in Cairns

In Australia, the entire board of Cairns Hospital resigns following an unpopular and over budget Cerner rollout. A staff survey included complaints that the system was “convoluted and time consuming, with significant adverse impacts on patient safety and care.”

Mamba Ransomware Encrypts Computer Hard Drives, Rather Than Data

A new ransomware called Mamba now encrypts the entire infected hard drive, rather than just specific files.

New board headed by McNeil

In England, the newly formed Digital Delivery Board will be overseen by NHS England’s new chief clinical information officer Keith McNeil.

Morning Headlines 9/22/16

Mixed reactions to CMS tool predicting impact of MACRA on providers’ bottom line

During an HHS Advisory Panel on Outreach and Education, CMS agreed to developing an online tool that will help providers estimate the impact choosing either the MIPS or APM track of MACRA will have on revenue.

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan Pledge $3 Billion to Fighting Disease

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announce that they will invest $3 billion over the next decade on projects that align with an overall goal of preventing, curing, or managing all diseases by the end of the century.

athenahealth Works with CDC and other Specialty Societies to Combat Opioid Abuse

Athenahealth launches a data visualization dashboard trending data related to the nation’s opioid epidemic.

Anthem, Cigna Have Accused Each Other of Merger Breach

A legal filing by the Justice Department reveals that both Anthem and Cigna are accusing one another of violating the terms of their merger agreement. The Justice Department is suing to block the merger on anti-trust grounds.

Morning Headlines 9/21/16

Doctor will see you now – on his webcam: Patient safety fears as GPs pay private firms to give consultations via computer

In England, private doctors are combating long wait times by offering telehealth visits paid for by the NHS.

McAfee Labs Threats Report

McAfee says that ransomware hackers target hospitals because they oversee a perfect intersection of “legacy systems and medical devices with weak security, plus the life and death need for immediate access to information.”

FDA launches competition to spur innovative technologies to help reduce opioid overdose deaths

The FDA launches a developer challenge to encourage the development of an app that would help fight the growing opioid epidemic by connecting “ those experiencing an overdose with the potentially life-saving antidote.”

WebMD CEO Departs By ‘Mutual Agreement’ With Company

WebMD announces that it will replace its CEO David Schlanger with its president since 2013, Steven Zatz.

Morning Headlines 9/20/16

Centralized Repository for Public Health Agencies and Clinical Data Registry Reporting

CMS announces that it will develop a public health centralized data repository to help EP, EH and critical health hospitals find entities that accept electronic public health data.

LabMD warns FTC decision creates overbroad data-security power

Defunct clinical laboratory LabMD continues its fight against the FTC, saying that the agency is exercising unauthorized regulatory powers by leveling civil penalties against businesses it feels have inadequate data security policies.

Biden outlines a lifelong role in cancer research, but not in a Clinton White House

In a STAT interview, Vice President Joe Biden says that he will dedicate his career to cancer research once he leaves office.

High-level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance

The UN will convene a one-day meeting on antimicrobial resistant super bugs to discuss potential government roles in addressing the issue and  to develop “strong national, regional, and international political commitment” to combat the growing threat.

Morning Headlines 9/19/16

Operations Returning to Normal at ARH Facilities as Computer Systems Go Back Online

Appalachian Regional Healthcare (KY and WV) reports that its networks are back up after a cyberattack left the health system running on downtime procedures for the last three weeks.

Community Health Said to Explore Options Including Sale

Community Health System’s shares climbed 16 percent on rumors that the 158-hospital health system is looking for a buyer.

Cambridge trust sets outsourced commodity IT services market-test

In England, Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust looks to outsource its IT infrastructure, service desk, and security services in a seven-year, $182 million request for proposal.

HHS takes steps to provide more information about clinical trials to the public

Drug and medical device companies will be required to publish all NIH-funded clinical trial results to ClinicalTrials.gov beginning in January 2017.

Morning Headlines 9/16/16

HHS awards over $87 million for health centers’ IT enhancements

HHS announces $87 million authorized within ACA to help  health centers in the US implement EHRs and transition to value-based reimbursement programs.

Library of Evidence to Aid Radiology Imaging Decisions, Curb Wasteful Tests

Harvard Medical School launches a free clinical decision support system designed to help doctors chose appropriate imaging tests for each patient. The system will integrate with EHR systems so that the evidence is presented to clinicians within existing workflows.

Eight Senators Introduce Emergency, One-Year Legislation Allowing States to Offer Americans More Health Insurance Options Next Year

HELP Committee Senators, including HELP chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduce a one-year emergency bill that would expand purchasing options for consumers that rely on public insurance exchanges for health insurance and waive the mandate penalty for those that did not buy insurance.

25 CIO pay packages revealed

NetworkWorld profiles the 25 highest paid CIOs, with Walgreens CIO Tim Theriault topping the list at $13.6 million and former Kaiser Permanente CIO Philip Fasano listed third in his new role at AIG, where he earns $8.4 million.

Morning Headlines 9/15/16

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey Stepping Down as President and CEO of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey announces that after 14 years running the $10 billion private research foundation, she will retire.

US healthcare chain unveils UK plan for private hospital overlooking Buckingham Palace

Cleveland Clinic files plans to build a 205-bed private hospital in London’s upscale West End.

49 states plus DC reduce avoidable hospital readmissions

CMS releases new data on the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program showing that readmission rates fell by eight percent nationally. Other than Vermont, all states and Washington DC reported readmission decreases.

Slavitt says high premium increases are result of one-time effects

Acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt defends the increased premiums on ACA insurance exchanges by saying they are likely a one-time adjustment resulting from the end of risk adjustment payments.

Morning Headlines 9/14/16

Atos to acquire Anthelio Healthcare Solutions

French consulting firm Atos acquires Anthelio Healthcare Solutions for $275 million.

HIMSS launches international buddy programme to support NHS Digital Exemplars

HIMSS offers to match the 12 NHS hospitals recently selected to establish themselves as digital health “exemplar” with US hospitals capable of offering guidance and relevant expertise.

Electronic Capabilities for Patient Engagement among U.S. Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals: 2012-2015

ONC reports that 95 percent of US hospitals allow patients to electronically view their health information, while only 69 percent offer patients the ability to electronically view, download, or transmit their health information.

The Mobile Doc

Apple releases iOS 10, which includes HealthKit support for C-CDA, which will let patients download their medical records into HealthKit and share parts of that information with other apps. Duke Health (NC) reports that it has already updated its patient portal to support the new functionality.

Morning Headlines 9/13/16

Feds support Teladoc challenge to Texas telemedicine rules

The DoJ and FTC are backing Teladoc in the telehealth vendor’s legal battles with the Texas Medical Board, saying that the board’s restrictive telemedicine rules are anticompetitive and were not appropriately reviewed.

Patient Engagement Survey: Far to Go to Meaningful Participation

Survey responses from the NEJM Catalyst Insights Council Survey on the Patient Engagement finds that 70 percent of health systems are making some effort to improve patient engagement, with most reporting that patient portals are the most effective tool at their disposal.

CMS just announced new flexibility for providers under MACRA. Here’s how to think about it.

The Advisory Board’s Eric Cragun, Senior Director of Health Policy shares his thoughts on the recently announced multi-track timeline options that will be available under MACRA.

Digital Health Startup EverlyWell Announces Public Launch at TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield, World’s Premier Startup Launch Competition

As Theranos falls from grace, TechCrunch profiles EverlyWell, another consumer-foucsed startup intent on disrupting the lab testing business.

Morning Headlines 9/12/16

New plans to expand the use of digital technology across the NHS

The NHS names 12 health IT “global exemplars” that will receive $13 million in health IT funding to establish best practices and a new digital health academy.

ARH continues to dodge questions on computer breach

Appalachian Regional Healthcare (WV) responds to a local paper covering its ransomware-related computer outage by sending a legal notice explaining that if the paper continued to “deliberately publish statements which defame ARH, or cast it in a false light, we will have no other recourse but to consult with our attorneys in WV, to determine appropriate legal action."

The Ethics of Behavioral Health Information Technology

A JAMA article argues that flagging emergency department frequent fliers with special icons in EHR software is unethical and clinically inappropriate because it could influence the initial interaction in a way that might lead to biased diagnostic judgment.

Morning Headlines 9/9/16

Plans for the Quality Payment Program in 2017: Pick Your Pace

CMS announces four different timeline options for participating in the MACRA Quality Payment Program, each of which will allow providers to avoid penalties, and many of which would include positive payment adjustments.

Making IT work: harnessing the power of health information technology to improve care in England

In England, Bob Watcher, MD co-authors a Department of Health report on moving the NHS forward with health IT adoption.

DeepMind’s first NHS health app faces more regulatory bumps

Google’s AI company DeepMind will suspend the use of an acute kidney injury detection app that it co-developed with the NHS until the software is approved by the UK’s medical device oversight regulatory agencies.

Arizona’s Pinal County Gains Health-Law Exchange Insurer

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona has agreed to offer public exchange plans in Pinal County, which will prevent the county from being the first with no ACA plans available to its residents.