Morning Headlines 7/17/15

NantHealth Acquires Harris Healthcare Solutions

Healthcare billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiung, MD’s digital health startup NantHealth acquires Harris Healthcare Solutions, which sells a suite of health information exchange products, for an undisclosed sum.

The Sullivan Institute, WEDI, HIMSS, MGMA Unveil Pilot Design for Virtual Clipboard Initiative

The Sullivan Institute for Healthcare Innovation, along with HIMSS, WEDI, ONC, MGMA, and others, publish the results of the Virtual Clipboard Initiative, a collaborative effort aimed at developing a blueprint for a mobile app that would streamline the patient check-in process by automating the transfer of demographic, insurance, and clinical summary information.

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Announces New Identity Protection Services For Customers Nationwide

Blue Cross Blue Shield announces a nationwide initiative to offer customers with credit monitoring, fraud detection, and fraud resolution services by the start of 2016.

New London, Westerly hospitals to join Yale New Haven system

Lawrence + Memorial Hospital (CT) and Westerly Hospital (RI) will merge with the Yale New Haven Health System, implementing Epic across both sites as part of the deal.

Morning Headlines 7/16/15

Watchdog finds potential for fraud in Obamacare subsidies

A GAO report finds that 11 of 12 fake accounts it created to test HealthCare.gov were approved for subsidies last year, and all 11 were re-approved this year, meaning that in its two years of operation, administrators have not managed to remove any of the fake accounts.

CMS cutting-edge technology identifies and prevents $820 million in improper Medicare payments in first three years

CMS reports that its analytics-powered Fraud Prevention System has saved the government $820 million during its first three years in operation, including $454 million during 2014 alone, a 10 to one return on investment.

Former CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner will take AHIP helm

Marilyn Tavenner, the former head of CMS, will take on the role of president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans, the country’s leading insurance lobbying firm.

Morning Headlines 7/15/15

Making the Cut: Why choosing the right surgeon matters even more than you know

ProPublica publishes its Surgeon Scorecard, a comprehensive data visualization tool that displays surgeon-specific complication rates for eight elective procedures.

McKesson Executive Compensation Under Fire, Again

McKesson executives are fighting off another Teamster-sponsored shareholder proposal that would eliminate automatic payouts for top executives in the event of a change in control, including $142 million that would be due to CEO John Hammergren alone.

McCullough-Hyde takes ‘giant leap forward’

McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital (OH) implements Epic across its 45-bed facility for $9.5 million after affiliating with TriHealth.

Morning Headlines 7/14/15

AHA Voices Concerns With 21st Century Cures Act’s Interoperability Provisions

The AHA is lobbying against interoperability provisions included in the  21st Century Cures Act that the House recently passed. In a letter sent to Congress , AHA takes issues with Section 3001, which authorizes HHS to levy penalties against hospitals and providers engaged in “information blocking.”

Linking The Clinical Experience To Community Resources To Address Hunger In Colorado

Health Affairs publishes an article on a Colorado-based clinic-to-community initiative aimed at curbing nutritional deficiencies in the local population by incorporating hunger screenings into standard EHR workflows. Qualifying patients were then referred to a local food assistance program.

OPM Announces Steps to Protect Federal Workers and Others From Cyber Threats

The Office of Personnel Management reports that the personal information of 21.5 million military and civilian government workers was compromised during a May 2015 cyberattack on its federal background investigation system. The exposed information, impacting nearly all personnel that underwent a background investigation since 2000, includes Social Security numbers; residency and educational history; employment history; information about immediate family and other personal and business acquaintances; mental and physical health; fingerprints; and criminal and financial history.

Morning Headlines 7/13/15

HIPAA Settlement Highlights Importance of Safeguards When Using Internet Applications

St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center (MA) will pay $218,000 to settle a HIPAA violation after  staff members are found storing the medical documents of 498 patients on an unnamed internet-based file sharing application.

Modern Doctors’ House Calls: Skype Chat and Fast Diagnosis

The New York Times analyzes the growing popularity of telehealth services and the reluctant but increasing willingness of insurance companies to reimburse for them.

Derek Streat’s software could change the way we train and evaluate doctors

A University of Washington spinoff raises $2.5 million to build a crowd-sourcing platform for surgeons that evaluates the skill and technique of peers based on uploaded videos of performed procedures. The developers say that the platform will deliver objective reviews at a fraction of the cost of traditional peer-reviews.

Harvard researchers tested 23 online ‘symptom checkers.’ Most got failing grades. Here’s how they stack up.

Harvard researchers evaluate the accuracy of online symptom checkers, finding that an accurate diagnosis is only returned as the primary diagnosis 34 percent of the time, and only identifies the correct diagnosis within the first three results 51 percent of the time.

Morning Headlines 7/10/15

ICD-10 Medicare FFS Acknowledgement Testing: June 1 through 5, 2015

CMS reports that 90 percent of submitted claims were accepted during its latest round of ICD-10 acknowledgement testing. Most rejected claims were the result of errors within the submission, and no claims system issues were identified.

Obama nominates Slavitt as CMS administrator

Andrew Slavitt is nominated as the next CMS administrator, a position he has held on an interim basis since Marilyn Tavenner stepped down in February.

Theranos and Capital BlueCross Team Up to Provide Innovative, Low Cost, Accessible Lab Testing Services in Central Pennsylvania

Lab services vendor Theranos announces a partnership with BlueCross to offer lab tests at a cost 50 percent below Medicare reimbursement rates.

Gary Fingerhut out as Cleveland Clinic Innovations executive director

Cleveland Clinic Innovations Director Gary Fingerhut quits after the FBI discovers that he made inappropriate financial transactions related to a Cleveland Clinic spin-off company. 

Morning Headlines 7/9/15

Cerner to Replace Department of Defense’s Anatomic Pathology Laboratory Information System

The DoD selects Cerner as its next laboratory information system vendor, replacing its existing LIS applications across all Military Health System facilities.

Thompson, Harper, Black, Welch Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Expand Telehealth Services

US Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA) along with three co-sponsors introduces a bipartisan bill that would remove geographic barriers to telehealth services and increase the use of remote patient monitoring technologies for Medicare patients. The bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.

New Patient-Focused Commitments to Advance the President’s Precision Medicine Initiative

The White House publishes proposed research guidelines for its Precision Medicine Initiative, aimed at protecting patient privacy. Public comments are open until August 7. The announcement also highlights several new initiatives aimed at increasing patient awareness about their right to get digital copies of their medical records.

Why medical journals must make researchers share data from clinical trials

BMJ becomes just the second major medical journal to require research data sharing as a condition of publication, joining PLOS. The NIH, World Health Organization, and Cochrane Collaboration have called for de-identified patient data collected during clinical trials to be shared with the the larger research community, but information sharing is still an uncommon practice.

Morning Headlines 7/8/15

Checking on your doctor? Even feds’ database is flawed

CMS’s National Provider Identifier database, which was developed to provide patients with a way of researching physicians, is found to contain tens of thousands of errors and mismatched provider identification numbers. 

With $2.1B in digital health funding, first half of 2015 is keeping pace with 2014

Rock Health publishes its mid-year digital health funding report. Investments in health IT have mirrored the amounts seen in 2014, with an uptick in later stage funding rounds and M&A activity.

Delaying Certain Penalties Relating to Meaningful EHR Use By

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) proposes an amendment to the 21st Century Cures Act that would delay Meaningful Use penalties and rebate penalties already paid by eligible providers.

This Medical Charity Made $3.3 Billion From a Single Pill

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation nets $3.3 billion by selling its royalty rights to Kalydeco, the first drug approved to treat the underlying cause of CF.   The foundation had been funding CF drug research in exchange for a share of royalties on any treatments developed since the late 1990s.

Morning Headlines 7/7/15

CMS and AMA Announce Efforts to Help Providers Get Ready For ICD-10

AMA announces that after negotiating with CMS, the two have agreed on changes to the ICD-10 transition plan that will provide a one year grace period in which ICD-10 claims without the appropriate specificity documented will still be accepted.

Meaningful Use Program: Why it failed and how to save it

Niam Yaraghi, a Brookings Institute fellow in the institution’s Center for Technology Innovation, suggests that MU2 failed because clinicians were never presented with a compelling reason to fully embrace health IT. He proposes mandating efficiency improvements in hospitals and practices, and then granting providers the flexibility to adopt whatever IT solutions they need to achieve those goals.

Despite regulatory troubles, DNA testing firm 23andMe raises more money

Personal genetics vendor 23andMe raises $80 million of a planned $150 million Series E funding round, its first investment activity since 2012, before it ran into significant regulatory problems with the FDA.

$237 million Tuomey judgment upheld by federal appeals court

A federal appeals court upholds a $237 million False Claims Act verdict against Tuomey Healthcare System (SC), exceeding the hospital’s annual revenue. The fine stems from charges that in the early 2000’s Tuomey knowingly filed thousands of illegal claims worth $39 million to Medicare.

Happy Data Independence Day!

Former national coordinator for health IT Farzad Mostashari, MD launches #DataIndependenceDay, a call to action for the public to request electronic copies of their medical records and then share their experiences.

Morning Headlines 7/6/15

Theranos receives FDA clearance and review and validation of revolutionary finger stick technology, test, and associated test system

Palo Alto-based lab test vendor Theranos announces that it has secured FDA clearance for its testing process, which it says is cheaper, faster, and requires a smaller sample than traditional lab tests.

Aetna Agrees to Buy Humana for $34.1 Billion

Aetna will acquire Humana for $34.1 billion, or $230 a share, a 23 percent premium over Humana’s closing stock price on Thursday.

In Health Law, a Boon for Diet Clinics

The New York Times analyzes a component of the ACA that requires insurers to cover nutrition and obesity screenings and the effect the requirement is having on the for-profit weight loss industry.

Deadline confusion threatens EPAS rollout to new hospital

In Australia, the Royal Adelaide Hospital, a new 800-bed facility being constructed in South Australia, may fail to bring its Allscripts EHR implementation live prior to its scheduled 2016 opening because it mixed up its own go-live deadlines and has been struggling with clinical adoption issues.

Morning Headlines 7/2/15

Teladoc shares surge 50% in healthy IPO debut

Dallas-based telehealth vendor Teladoc raises $157 million in its IPO debut, valuing the company at $620 million. Stocks closed at $28.50, up 50 percent on its first day.

The Fatal Cost of Hospitals’ IT Ignorance

Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog Group, publishes a Wall Street Journal editorial suggesting that poor health IT implementations are plaguing US hospitals because the health care industry lags behind in technology and, as a result, hospital administrators lack the experience needed to successfully implement the new systems.

Doctors See Big Cybersecurity Risks, Compliance as Key for Hospitals

A survey of 272 physicians, administrators, and health IT professionals finds that physicians have a significantly lower opinion of their hospital’s ability to defend against a cyber attack than health IT professionals and administrators, and are far more likely to cite EHRs as the hospital’s primary vulnerability.

CMS: Hospitals can attest to first year of ‘meaningful use’ this summer

ONC will allow hospitals participating in Meaningful Use for the first time this year to attest this summer rather than waiting until January 1 as it had previously planned. 

Morning Headlines 7/1/15

Allscripts Takes $200M Equity Position in NantHealth and Expands Strategic Alliance to Enhance Precision Genomic Medicine at Point of Care

Allscripts invests $200 million in billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD’s startup NantHealth, taking 10 percent ownership of the company in return. At the same time, Soon-Shiong personally invests $100 million in Allscripts. The two have formed a partnerships to integrate and market their respective product offerings together.

Patient Use of Email, Facebook, and Physician Websites to Communicate with Physicians: A National Online Survey of Retail Pharmacy Users

CVS publishes findings from a study of customers with at least one chronic condition, finding that 37 percent reported contacting their physician by email within the last six-months.

Epic chosen as new electronic health record system for UC Irvine Health

UC Irvine Health (CA) announces that it will implement Epic as its next EHR.

Vietnamese 7th grader devises comprehensive, handy medical software

A seventh grader in Vietnam has coded a program designed to help doctors and medical students review the latest medical research for conditions they see regularly. The system includes 300 evidence-based treatment plans and is now being used at Hau Giang General Hospital’s Internal Medicine Faculty.

Morning Headlines 6/30/15

Source Data Capture From Electronic Health Records: Using Standardized Clinical Research Data

The FDA will host a demonstration day for vendors to showcase technology that will help it mine EHRs for automated clinical trial data capture.

Despite Threats, Senate Appropriations Bill Currently Remains Free of ICD-10 Delay Amendment

Though a number of competing bills have recently been introduced in Congress to delay or outright cancel the upcoming ICD-10 transition, AHIMA reports that the Senate Appropriations Bill remains free of any language that could derail the transition.

Improving prediction of fall risk among nursing home residents using electronic medical records

Researchers develop an algorithm that uses either EHR data or MDS 3.0 data to predict fall risk for patients in the nursing home setting, finding that EHR data was almost 10 percent more accurate at forecasting falls.

Texas medical fraud case screams for tighter auditing by feds

The Dallas Morning News looks back on the $18 million Meaningful Use attestation fraud scam that left the owner and CFO of Shelby Regional Medical Center (TX) in jail, citing it as a key example of why the program needs more stringent audits.

Morning Headlines 6/29/15

Indictment In UPMC Stolen Identity Scheme

A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh returned a 21-count indictment against a foreign suspect charged with filing 900 fraudulent tax returns using the information of UPMC employees, The employee’s data was compromised in a 2014 breach that impacted 62,000 employees.

State Of Software Security – Volume 6: Focus on Industry Verticals

A Veracode report finds that healthcare is poor at keeping up with security policy compliance, with 80 percent of tested healthcare applications containing cryptographic issues, and only 43 percent of known issues being corrected.

Electronic Health Records Come Under Fire in Ventura County, Calif.

The Ventura County (CA) civil grand jury says that the Ventura County Health Care Agency failed to adequately prepare for its $50 million implementation of Cerner across two hospitals and 40 clinics. The new system, which the director of the Health Care Agency says is working fine, reportedly caused frequent crashes and problems generating prescription labels.

Morning Headlines 6/26/15

Supreme Court saves Obamacare

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court rules in favor of preserving ACA subsidies for the six million users obtaining insurance through Healthcare.gov.

Arcadia Healthcare Solutions Acquires Leading Managed Care and ACO Implementation Provider Sage Technologies

Data aggregation and analytics firm Arcadia Healthcare Solutions acquires Sage Technologies, a company focused on helping provider groups transition from fee-for-service to value-based reimbursement models.

CVS Health Announces New Clinical Affiliations with Four Leading Health Care Organizations

CVS will use its Epic EHR to begin sharing visit and prescription information with four new clinical affiliates: Sutter Health (CA), Millennium Physician Group (FL) Bryan Health Connect (NE), and Mount Kisco Medical Group (NY).

HIStalk Practice Interviews Steven Stack, MD President, AMA

HIStalk’s own Jenn interview’s incoming AMA president Steven Stack, to discuss chronic disease management and prevention, improvements to medical education, and the impact EHRs and reimbursement reform is having on the provider community.

Morning Headlines 6/25/15

MDLIVE raises $50M from private equity firm

Telehealth vendor MDLive raises a $50 million investment round from private equity firm Bedford Funding.

Best Places to Work in IT 2015

Health IT was well represented on Computerworld’s “100 Best Places To Work In IT” list for 2015. The list included Cerner, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Intermountain Healthcare,  HCA, and a number of other health systems.

Mobile app improves rates of CPR in cardiac arrest cases, studies find

A New England Journal of Medicine study investigates a mobile app that alerts CPR trained individuals when someone nearby needs help by pulling information from 911 dispatch systems. In the study, the app increased the likelihood of heart attack patients receiving CPR by almost 15 percent.

Welcome to our Newest CommonWell General Members

CommonWell Health Alliance welcomes T-Systems, Caremerge, and HIEs from Michigan and Texas to its health data exchange platform.

Morning Headlines 6/24/15

Google Reveals Health-Tracking Wristband

Google X Labs has developed a health tracking wristband that monitors pulse, heart rhythm, sink temperature, and environmental conditions such as light exposure and noise levels. “Our intended use is for this to become a medical device that’s prescribed to patients or used for clinical trials,” says Andrew Conrad, head of the life sciences team within X Labs.

Less than 15% of Doctors Use RI Health Information Exchange

In Rhode Island, less than 15 percent of providers are using the state’s $25 million health information exchange, while 75 percent have yet to even setup their account.

Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management | 2015

Peer60 publishes a report on value-based payment models, with 36 percent of respondents reporting that they have already migrated to a new reimbursement model. Respondents expect that the changes will reduce capital spend, but only seven percent expect efficiency gains.

Beacon Hospital to become Ireland’s first paperless hospital

In Ireland, Beacon Hospital signs with EHR vendor Sláinte Healthcare in a deal worth $3.5 to $5 million USD. While a local paper predicts the deal will result in the first paperless hospital in Ireland, Sláinte’s CEO subtly clarifies, “It will scan historical charts and paper files as necessary.”