Morning Headlines 9/1/14

New CMS rule allows flexibility in certified EHR technology for 2014

CMS publishes a final rule that will delay the start of MU Stage 3 until 2017, but does little to help providers and hospitals still struggling to meet Stage 2 requirements.

Hundreds of blood tests to be re-checked after computer crash at hospital

In Ireland, Cork University Hospital will have to redraw and rerun hundreds of blood tests after an IT failure leads to the loss of the original test results.

More Data to Be Withheld from Database of Physician Payments

CMS reports that additional data will be withheld from the Open Payments platform set to go live September 30. Payment data stemming from research grants made by pharmaceutical companies to doctors through intermediaries, such as contract research organizations, will be suppressed until doctors have time to verify or dispute the reported payment data.

Morning Headlines 8/29/14

Apple prohibits HealthKit app developers from selling health data

Apple has updated its privacy policy to prohibit developers that connect to its HealthKit API from selling health data to marketers. The announcement comes on the heels of rumors that Apple will finally unveil the iWatch during its upcoming September 9 marketing event.

Google’s Smith Is Top Candidate for U.S. Chief Technology Officer

The VP of Google’s secretive X labs is rumored to be a top candidate for next US CTO position, replacing Todd Park who recently announced that he would be moving on.

Greenway has completed its implementation of Walgreen’s pharmacy EHR, the largest centralized pharmacy EHR system ever deployed.

Making Science Fiction a Science Reality: 10 Finalist Teams Selected For $10 Million Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE

Qualcomm has unveiled the final 10 teams in its $10 million tricorder XPRIZE competition.

Morning Headlines 8/28/14

Medtronic Buys NGC Medical To Expand Hospital-Services Offerings

Medtronic acquires Italian-based hospital services firm NGC Medical for $350 million. NGC Medical will be integrated into Medtronic’s hospital managed-services business.

Federal auditors sought documents related to troubled Md. health exchange launch

Auditos from HHS’s Office of the Inspector General are investigating the now fired Noridian Healthcare Solutions over fraud allegations surrounding the failed health insurance exchange it was contracted to develop for Maryland.

NIH issues finalized policy on genomic data sharing

The National Institutes of Health issues its final policy on genomic data sharing. The new policy will apply to all NIH-funded projects that generate genetic data.

Twitter helps Chicago find sources of food poisoning

Health officials within the Chicago Department of Public Health are using aggregated Twitter feed data to identify restaurants causing food poisoning in the city.

Morning Headlines 8/27/14

DoD Takes Next Step in Modernizing Electronic Health Records

The Defense Department issues an $11 billion RFP for its next generation EHR. The RFP calls for initial field testing by the end of 2016.

There’s finally someone in charge of HealthCare.gov

CMS names Kevin Counihan to the newly created CEO of Healthcare.gov position. Counihan was previously the chief executive of Connecticut’s largely successful health insurance exchange.

VA Takes Next Step to Modernize Scheduling System

The VA announces that it will issue an RFP for a new medical appointment scheduling system by the end of September, one of many corrective actions being put in place following the VA’s recent off-the-books scheduling scandal.

In Indiana, state government tries using big data project to reduce infant mortality

Indiana will spend $9.1 million to implement SAP’s data analytics platform with goals of reducing its infant mortality rate from 7.7 to 6.89 deaths per 1,000 births.

Morning Headlines 8/26/14

Assessing The Financial Impact Of 4.5 Million Stolen Health Records

Forbes looks back on prior data breaches to calculate the likely true cost that Community Health System will incur as a result of its recent 4.5 million-record data breach, pegging the total cost at between $75 million and $150 million.

No proof deaths caused by delay in care, VA says

After completing its assessment of scheduling improprieties at the Phoenix VA Health System, a VA inspector general’s report concludes that there is no evidence that the unethical delays in care directly contributed to preventable veterans deaths.

EMR Market Share by the Numbers: The Cerner/Siemens Acquisition, Part I

In the first of a two-part piece, KLAS covers the Cerner/Siemens acquisition and what it might mean for Cerner’s market share in the years ahead.

Morning Headlines 8/25/14

U.S. CTO stepping down

Todd Park steps down as US CTO after two-and-a-half years in the position and will transfer to a new White House staff position where he will lead a team responsible for recruiting technology leaders from Silicon Valley to work on government projects.

Usability and Impact of a Computerized Clinical Decision Support Intervention

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Health System test CDS alerts designed to boost timely urinary catheter removals and found that customized CDS alerts are far more effective, and result in more significant improvements to patient outcomes, than basic CDS alerts provided by EHR vendors.

Oregon: State Sues Over Health Website

Oregon files its anticipated lawsuit against Oracle over the state’s failed health insurance exchange website, which Oracle was contracted to develop and deploy.

Patient Portals. Patient Engagement: The Holy Grail of Meaningful Use

Peer60 publishes a report that trends patient portal engagement rates by hospital size, patient portal vendor, and local population sizes.

Morning Headlines 8/15/14

Keys to HIT Success: Results from the 2014 Survey on ACOs

A survey of 62 ACOs finds that most operate with a basic health IT infrastructure comprised of an EHR with clinical decision support features, a data warehouse, and a disease registry. Most do not use population health systems, referral management systems, or telehealth platforms and more than 90 percent reported having concerns with the cost and return on investment potential of health IT solutions.

Update: 8/14/14 – Intermittent EHR access restored

Practice Fusion’s cloud-based EHR went down Tuesday and Wednesday, leaving customers unable to access their schedules or patient charts. Practice Fusion reported that the problem was likely caused by a “global internet brown-out,” citing a recent Fox News report as evidence.

The Meaningful Use Stage 2 Finish Line

John Halamka, MD and CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, reports that the hospital will attest for Stage 2 by the September 30 deadline, but that they are struggling to meet the 10 percent transition of care threshold because there are not enough practices ready to receive CCDs electronically.

HHS on the hunt for HealthCare.gov emails Issa wants

HHS has spent 23,000 staff hours trying to recover deleted emails from CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner’s email account in response to Congressional investigations into the failed Healthcare.gov rollout. Tavenner, whose email address is public, receives between 10,000 and 12,000 emails a month.

Morning Headlines 8/14/14

Health Policy Brief: Interoperability

“Health Affairs” discusses the state of health data interoperability in the US given the nation’s $26 billion investment in health IT adoption.

Norton Healthcare stabilizes as EHR expenses fall

Five-hospital Norton Healthcare (KY) returns to a net positive revenue after two years of posting losses brought on by its system-wide Epic implementation. With the implementation complete, overhead costs have dropped and Norton’s revenue has climbed 4.7 percent.

Secretary Burwell further strengthens HHS management team

HHS welcomes Kevin Thurm as its new senior counselor. Thurm worked with HHS under the Clinton administration, and most recently worked at Citigroup as a senior executive overseeing corporate compliance.

Morning Headlines 8/13/14

Dallas County gets futuristic general hospital

A local paper highlights some of the technology being installed at Dallas-based Parkland Memorial Hospital, a $1.3 billion “digital hospital” set to open in May 2015.

The new No. 1 private-sector employer

Cerner has grown to become the top private sector employer in Kansas City, driven by a hiring spree that added 1,500 new hires in the past year.

Apple prepares Healthkit rollout amid tangled regulatory web

Apple is reportedly in discussions with Allscripts, Johns Hopkins, Mount Sinai, and Cleveland Clinic as it continues recruiting new digital health partners ahead of its upcoming HealthKit rollout.

Telemedicine could yield $6B per year in savings

A new study claims that adopting telemedicine as the primary means of treating certain non-urgent conditions could theoretically save US employers $6 billion annually.

Morning Headlines 8/12/14

Nuance fourth-quarter forecast misses expectations

Nuance downwardly revises its Q4 earnings forecast to $500 million or $0.24 per share, well below analyst expectations of $0.34 per share, driving stock prices down 10 percent in after hours trading.

White House launches ‘U.S. Digital Service,’ with HealthCare.gov fixer at the helm

The White House launches a new program, the US Digital Service, that will recruit the “country’s brightest digital talent” to providing strategic guidance on major IT projects like Healthcare.gov and iEHR. The department will be run by Mikey Dickerson, the engineer credited with saving Healthcare.gov.

Lawsuit Filed After Doctor Diagnosed Homosexuality as "Chronic Condition"

A Los Angeles man is suing his primary care provider for documenting “homosexual behavior” as a chronic condition in his medical record, and for subsequently failing to remove it when a compliant was made. The practice was given a year to remove the entry, but reported in a court document that “due to the highly complex software used in creating an electronic medical record,” the code could not be completely removed.

Morning Headlines 8/11/14

Massachusetts will keep state-based health website

Massachusetts officials have announced that the state will move forward with a plan to rebuild its failed health insurance exchange, rather than migrating to the federal exchange.

Oracle Sues Oregon Over Health Insurance Exchange

After overseeing the development of the worst-performing health insurance exchange in the country, now-fired Oracle Corp. is suing the state of Oregon for $23 million plus interest that it claims it was owed but never paid.

Google Fit Preview SDK now available

Google unveils the developer kit for its recently announced health data aggregator service, Google Fit.

Morning Headlines 8/8/14

Allscripts announces second quarter 2014 results

Allscripts reports Q2 results: a nine percent increase in quarterly bookings drove revenue up two percent, to $354 million. Adjusted EPS EPS $0.09 vs. $0.05, meeting analyst expectations.

More Than Half of US Hospitals Have At Least A Basic EHR, But Stage 2 Criteria Remain Challenging For Most

A Health Affairs study finds that only 5.8 percent of hospitals are currently able to meet all of the MU Stage 2 criteria.

Walgreens stock smacked after tax inversion out

Walgreens acquires overseas pharmacy chain Alliance Boots in a move many assumed would be followed by a tax-dodging transfer of its headquarters out of country. Instead, Walgreens announced that it would keep its headquarters in the US, leading to a 14 percent drop in its stock price.

Health Information Technology in the United States: Progress and Challenges Ahead, 2014

RWJF publishes a report on the EHR incentive program and the state of EHR adoption across the US.

Morning Headlines 8/7/14

Practice Fusion buys startup Ringadoc in telemedicine play

Practice Fusion acquires Ringadoc, an after-hours call routing system that it says will play a vital role in its plans to roll out a full telehealth platform for its customers. Financial terms were not disclosed.

ONC lays down 10-year interoperability plan milestones

ONC interoperability manager Erica Galvez outlines details from the office’s 10-year interoperability plan during Wednesday’s HIT Policy Committee meeting.

M*Modal Partners with athenahealth to Empower Physicians with Speech-Based Clinical Documentation

MModal joins athenahealth’s More Disruption Please program, bringing natural language processing functionality to athenahealth’s customer base.

UW Health, five other providers enter statewide partnership

In Wisconsin, six health systems representing 44 hospitals, all of which run Epic, have created a state-wide partnership that will share emerging best practices around IT, research, care management, and patient experience. The new partnership is also launching its own insurance plan backed by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield’s Blue Priority network.

Morning Headlines 8/6/14

Cerner to Acquire Siemens Health Services for $1.3 Billion

Cerner announces that it will acquire the health IT division of Siemens for $1.3 billion, confirming rumors that have been circulating since late April.

Premier, Inc. continues growth trajectory with acquisition of Hospira’s TheraDoc

Premier announces that it will acquire TheraDoc, Hospira’s clinical surveillance business, for $117 million in cash. Hospira acquired the business themselves in 2009 for an undisclosed sum.

MModal Completes Financial Restructuring, Emerges from Chapter 11

After nearly five months, MModal officially emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reducing its debt by 55 percent in the process.

New California Not-for-Profit to Operate Statewide, Next-Generation Health Information Exchange

California will launch a state-wide HIE, founded through $80 million in seed funding from Blue Shield of California and Anthem Blue Cross. The funding will sustain the exchange for its first three years of operations, after which it will charge subscription fees to providers and insurers to fund continued operations.

Morning Headlines 8/5/14

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s Oversight of the Testing and Certification of Electronic Health Records

An OIG investigation finds that the ONC’s EHR testing and certification standards do not test EHR security features enough to adequately ensure that patient information is protected.

State will replace CGI, health exchange vendor

Vermont is the next to join a growing list of states that have fired CGI as their primary health insurance exchange firm. Starting in September, development responsibilities will be handed over to Optum as part of a $5.7 million deal.

Actionable Recommendations in the Bright Futures Child Health Supervision Guidelines

A new study published in Applied Clinical Informatics finds that only 20 percent of the preventative health care guidelines followed by US pediatricians are defined in a way that would allow them to be integrated into EHR clinical decision support tools.

DeSalvo says providers, hospitals on track for EHR Stage 2

With just 10 eligible hospitals attesting for Stage 2 MU thus far, national coordinator Karen DeSalvo, MD, reports “We know from past experience with meaningful-use Stage 1, for example, that people wait to attest until the eleventh hour,” adding “It seems on track with where we expect it to be, and we’re watching it closely.”

Morning Headlines 8/4/14

Kaiser Permanente, Johns Hopkins Medicine Announce Enhanced Strategic Collaboration

Johns Hopkins and Kaiser Permanente announce a partnership that will focus on “sharing evidence-based best practices, advancing population health programs, collaborating on education and research endeavors, and exploring how the organizations can work together to create better health care models.”

Berwick believes he has a healthy chance in race for governor

Democratic candidate for Massachusetts governor Donald Berwick, MD, says in a recent interview that healthcare costs, which make up 42 percent of the state’s budget, “are just eating the state alive.” He is calling for a single-payer health care system instead.

Hospital wants back CEO charged in scheme to steal $158 million

Riverside Hospital (TX) is asking a local judge to allow one of its healthcare administrators, recently charged with $158 million in Medicare fraud, to return to work at the hospital as an unpaid consultant where he would help them address their financial issues.

Morning Headlines 8/1/14

Deadline for ICD-10 allows health care industry ample time to prepare for change

CMS confirms in a press release that the ICD-10 switchover will take place on October 1, 2015.

When ‘Hacktivists’ Target Your Hospital

In a New England Journal of Medicine article, Boston Children’s Hospital SVP/CIO Daniel Nigrin, MD discusses his experiences defending the hospital’s network against cyberattacks from the hacker group Anonymous. The group was retaliating over a very public child custody dispute between a Boston Children’s physician and a child’s parents.

McKesson adjusted profit, sales rise above expectations

McKesson reports Q1 results: profit dropped slightly to $425 million, but revenue and sales were both up significantly, EPS $2.49 vs. $2.11, beating expectations.

Novant Health to roll out electronic medical records system at Triad hospitals this weekend

Novant Health will go live with Epic across four of its NC-based hospitals this weekend. The go-live is part of a $600 million system-wide transition and follows its successful install across 300 physician offices last year.