Morning Headlines 6/12/14

Q&A: Karen DeSalvo on Meaningful Use, ONC Reorg

National Coordinator for health IT Karen DeSalvo, MD, sits down with Scott Mace of HealthLeaders Media to discuss EHR usability, ONC’s restructure, and the future of Meaningful Use.

Group Of Electronic Health Record Vendors To Become Officially Interoperable

CommonWell, the EHR vendor interoperability alliance, will begin rolling out data sharing functionality to its customer base this summer.

AMDIS and CHIME Form Strategic Alliance to Further Adoption and Transformation of Health IT

CHIME and The Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems announce a strategic partnership in which AMDIS will serve as a physician informatics advisor for CHIME, while CHIME will serve as a health IT advisor for AMDIS.

Morning Headlines 6/11/14

IBM Joins Forces with Epic to Bid for Department of Defense Healthcare Management Systems Modernization Contract

IBM announces that it will partner with Epic in the pending DoD EHR vendor search, naming IBM CMIO Keith Salzman, MD, MPH and 22-year Army doc, as project lead.

Intermedix Corporation Acquires T-System’s Physician Billing Division

T-System sells its ED billing solution to Intermedix, stating in a press release that it would focus its efforts on ED clinical and coding workflow.

Taxpayers Face Big Medicare Tab for Unusual Doctor Billings

The Wall Street Journal analyzes CMS payment data and finds that 2,300 physician practices earned $500,000 or more by repeatedly billing for a single procedure. One doctor in California billed Medicare $2.3 million for a non-invasive cardiac procedure that he describes as “exercise while lying on your back.” Though he is not a cardiologist, his practice performed the procedure more times than all of the cardiologists at the Cleveland Clinic combined.

Alliance for Connected Care

The Alliance for Connected Care writes a letter to incoming HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell asking that she use her authority to relax telehealth reimbursement regulations.

Morning Headlines 6/10/14

Hospital Giant Uses Data to Vet Treatment Options

UPMC reports that it will expand its patient centered medical home program after the pilot program generated $15 million in savings over the course of a year.

FDA details high-level meeting with Apple: “Moral obligation to do more” with health, innovative sensors

Responding to a Freedom of Information Act request, the FDA publishes details on its meetings with Apple earlier this year, which focused on health apps and the regulation of sensor-laden consumer devices.

Why the New Obamacare Website Is Going to Work This Time

Wired covers the continued behind-the-scenes effort to rebuild Healthcare.gov, and the culture clash that develops when CMS bureaucrats are partnered with Silicon Valley temp workers to tackle a job with enormous political undertones.

Morning Headlines 6/9/14

Cleveland Clinic Chief Out of Running for V.A.

Dr Delos Cosgrove, CEO of Cleveland Clinic, has withdrawn his name from consideration as the next secretary of the VA.

Moody’s downgrades Lifespan Rhode Island Obligated Group (RI) to Baa2; outlook negative

Moody’s has downgraded Lifespan’s (RI) bond rating based on a "multi-year trend of declining operating performance," but notes that the rating could go up once it finishes its Epic implementation.

Global IT company launches Manchester base

Allscripts is opening a new office in Manchester, England where it will house 100 employees working to help build its UK presence.

Tech expert Stack chosen as next AMA president-elect

Modern Healthcare notes that Dr. Robert Wah, the incoming president of the AMA, is a health IT expert, as is his 2015 replacement Dr. Steven Stack.

Morning Headlines 6/6/14

Connecting Health and Care for the Nation: A 10-Year Vision to Achieve an Interoperable Health IT Infrastructure

ONC publishes a 10-year plan for delivering on nationwide health IT interoperability. The plans objectives are divided into three year, six year, and 10 year milestones and culminates with the realization of “a learning health system.”

Senate confirms Sylvia Mathews Burwell as new secretary of HHS

Sylvia Mathews is officially confirmed as the next secretary of HHS, replacing the departing Kathleen Sebelius.

Telehealth scheme set to be rolled out to 300,000 households

The NHS will distribute 300,000 iPads and iPhones to seniors with chronic diseases to support a new telehealth initiative that’s earlier pilot project resulted in a 70 percent reduction in hospital admissions.

eCQM Library: Annual Updates

CMS publishes its annual update to the electronic clinical quality measures for eligible provider. Reporting on the measures is required for providers participating in Meaningful Use and the Physician Quality Reporting System, though providers are free to report on any eCQM version.

Morning Headlines 6/5/14

GOP questions health software regulator’s authority

Fred Upton (MI), Marsha Blackburn (TN), Joe Pitts (PA) and Greg Walden (OR) send a letter to Karen DeSalvo, MD, questioning the ONC’s authority to levy certification fees on EHR vendors, as its 2014 budgetary documents suggest it will.

Grand Jury: Ventura County, Calif., Mishandled Electronic Health Records Transition

A California Grand Jury report finds hospital leadership at fault in Ventura County Health Care Agency’s troubled Cerner rollout, claiming the organization failed to hire a project manager or create an implementation project plan.

Proteus Digital Health raises $120M, names HP veteran as CFO

Proteus Digital Health, a startup building ingestible sensors that track medication adherence, raises a $120 million investment and names former HP CFO Steve Fieler as its CFO.

Economic Outlook, Spring 2014: Healthcare trends from the C-suite

A new Premier survey finds that only 59 percent of health executives are satisfied with their organization’s EHR system.

Morning Headlines 6/4/14

Cleveland Clinic CEO being considered for VA post

The White House has approached Toby Cosgrove, MD as a possible candidate to run the VA. Cosgrove is the CEO of Cleveland Clinic and a Vietnam War veteran.

Tucson area’s largest health network racks up nearly $30 million in losses

The University of Arizona Health Network has run $32 million over budget on its Epic implementation, which it attributes to a two-month go-live delay, and funding for additional training and support.

Sebelius: Open federal data here to stay

At Health Datapalooza, Kathleen Sebelius reports that HHS has released more than 1,000 datasets as part of its effort to open access to health data to the public.

Net Health buys ReDoc, expands into rehab market

Net Health acquires ReDoc, a Nashville-based EHR vendor focused on the physical, occupational, and speech therapy markets.

Morning Headlines 6/3/14

Health. An entirely new way to use your health and fitness information.

Apple unveils its long awaited health app, duly named "Health." The app centralizes health data from third-party fitness apps, activity trackers, and medical devices. Epic was named during the unveil as a partner that would help integrate the the app’s data with existing health IT infrastructures.

Successful Results from CMS ICD-10 Acknowledgement Testing Week

CMS reports that during its March ICD-10 testing week, 127,000 claims were submitted from 2,600 providers and that 89 percent were accepted, down from Medicare’s 95-98 percent average for ICD-9 claims, but still deemed a successful test week by CMS.

FDA launches openFDA to provide easy access to valuable FDA public data

The FDA is opening its database of adverse drug events and medication error reports as part of a new data sharing program called OpenFDA. The FDA hopes that researchers and software developers will use the data to create new consumer tools.

Morning Headlines 6/2/14

Pivoting for the Future

National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo, MD, publishes an internal memo Friday announcing an internal reorganization of the ONC. She explains, "This functional realignment will improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of ONC by combining similar functions, elevating critical priority functions, and providing a flatter and more accountable reporting structure. In addition, this realignment will support our focus on developing and implementing an interoperability roadmap, supporting care transformation, and establishing a framework to support appropriate use of health data to further meaningful consumer engagement, system-level quality and safety of care, improvements in the public’s health, and advancements in science."

UPMC: ID theft scam affects all 62,000 workers

After months of denying the extent of its employee records data breach, UCPM finally admits that all 62,000 of its employees were likely exposed. Employees are being offered free credit monitoring services to compensate. The breach has resulted in 800 fraudulent tax returns being filed thus far.

State won’t tap federal grants for new exchange

Maryland will build a new health insurance exchange to replace the one that the state was forced to abandon. Health Secretary Joshua M. Sharfstein reports that there is enough money left over from the federal funding provided to develop the original site to pay for the $50 million replacement.

JRMC gets new records system

25-bed Jamestown Regional Medical Center (ND) goes live on its new Epic system which, through a partnership with Sanford Health, will replace HMS at a cost of $1.2 million.

Morning Headlines 5/30/14

Veterans Health Administration: Interim Report

The VA OIG releases an interim report on the patient waitlist improprieties at the Phoenix VA which confirms whistleblower accusations that scheduling delays were being hidden.  Rapid Response Teams that have been conducting unannounced inspections of VA’s across the nation have confirmed "that inappropriate scheduling practices are systemic throughout VHA." The report goes on to explain that senior managers within the VA receive bonuses and salary increases based in part on their hospital’s wait list performance.

Athens Regional chief information officer resigns

Athens Regional Medical Center’s struggling Cerner implementation claims its second victim as VP/CIO Gretchen Tegethoff resigns. Athens’ CEO stepped down last week.

Quality Systems, Inc. Reports Fiscal 2014 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Results

Quality Systems, the parent company of NextGen, reports its Q4 results: revenue reached $115.2 million for the quarter, up four percent. Net earnings climbed to $5.1 million, up from a net loss of $4.1 million during the same period last year. EPS $0.12 vs. $0.24, missing earnings estimates and pushing stock prices down four percent Thursday.

Fitch Affirms MetroHealth’s (OH) Revs at ‘A-‘; Outlook Revised to Stable

Fitch Ratings affirms the "A-" rating on MetroHealth’s outstanding debt, in part based on the organizations ability to remain profitable despite a challenging payor mix. MetroHealth managers attributes their success, in part, to its implementation of Epic.

Morning Headlines 5/29/14

I.R.S. Bars Employers From Dumping Workers Into Health Exchanges

The IRS issues a ruling clarifying that employers are still required to provide health insurance for employees and cannot just give them a tax-free stipend and send them to the health insurance exchanges.

Trust your doctor, not Wikipedia, say scientists

A group of researchers compared clinical information about certain diseases published on Wikipedia with information published in peer-reviewed journals and found that Wikipedia articles on medical conditions have erroneous information 90 percent of the time.

Federal pain research database launched

The NIH, AHRQ, CDC,and FDA have co-developed a database called the Interagency Pain Research Portfolio designed to centralize pain management research findings.

Big Data Offers Promise of Big Changes in Health Care, but Hurdles Remain

A report from the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation concludes that while big data projects may one day help transform healthcare, there are a host of real world challenges that are preventing meaningful cost reductions or improvements in care quality.

Morning Headlines 5/28/14

MGMA ACA Exchange Implementation Survey Report May 2014

In a survey of MGMA members, 90 percent report that they have already started seeing patients carrying insurance acquired through an ACA insurance exchange. 56 percent reported no change in their practice’s patient population size as of yet, but nearly half expect to see at least a slight increase in patient volumes by the end of the year.

Bidding opens for £240m health data sharing cash

In England, the NHS unveils a new $400 million grant pool to support local health data sharing projects. To qualify, hospitals must submit a business case that includes documentation on how the proposed project will generate at least a fifty percent return on investment.

Cerner will buy up to $317 million of its shares

Cerner’s board approves a $100 million increase to its share buyback plan, pushing the upper threshold of the approved buyback plan to $317 million.

Morning Headlines 5/27/14

Veterans Allowed More Care at Non-VA Facilities Amid Criticism of Agency

Following weeks of turmoil over the length of time veterans are waiting to get VA appointments, the VA unveils a new program that will allow some veterans to skip the waiting line altogether and seek routine care at non-VA facilities.

Insurers Once on the Fence Plan to Join Health Exchanges in ’15

The successful 2014 enrollment period for Healthcare.gov, which drew eight million subscribers, has sparked the interest of insurers. Several major payers that had stayed away from the marketplace thus far, including Cigna and UnitedHealth Group, have indicated that they will sell plans over the exchanges next year, while others like Harvard Pilgrim, are announcing that they will expand their current presence on the marketplaces to include new plans and coverage in new states.

Morning Headlines 5/26/14

At Cerner’s annual meeting, executives express confidence

At a shareholder meeting in Kansas City, Cerner CEO Neal Patterson reports that, since 2010, the company has doubled its contract win rate. He reported that he is optimistic about the company’s interoperability initiatives and its population health consulting services.

Thaw resigns as Athens Regional CEO

Athens Regional Health System (GA) CEO James Thaw has resigned following a difficult Cerner implementation. The news comes after an internal letter critical of the new system was leaked to the media. The letter was written by physician leadership at Athens, and cites "medication errors … orders being lost or overlooked … (emergency department) patients leaving after long waits; and of an inpatient who wasn’t seen by a physician for (five) days."

Report reveals America’s top companies for pay and benefits

Epic is named the #5 company in America for companies with the best pay and benefits, falling behind Cosco, and other tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Adobe.

Why I Blew the Whistle on the V.A.

Sam Foote, MD, the whistleblower responsible for alerting authorities to the Phoenix VA waitlist improprieties writes an Op-Ed piece for the New York Times saying that he knew veterans were dying while waiting for appointments, and so he sent a letter to the VA about the secret waitlist in October 2013, and again in February 2014 but nothing was done, which is why he decided to go public.

Morning Headlines 5/23/14

Health Site Under Fire, Nevada Alters Path

Nevada will shut down its problematic health insurance exchange and sever ties with Xerox, the contractor responsible for its development. Nevada will rely on Healthcare.gov for next year’s enrollment period and then will evaluate whether it wants to spend more money developing a new state level exchange for the following year.

Finding the Missing Link for Big Biomedical Data

Harvard physicians publish a JAMA article suggesting that big data could accurately discern a picture of individual patient health if it were technically possible, and socially acceptable, to combine disparate data sources, such as EHR data, claims data, census data, social media data, and credit card transaction data, at the individual patient level.

U.S. Senate Drives a Stake Through Heart of Patent Reform

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) withdraws the widely supported Innovation Act, a much-needed patent reform bill, because of concerns that the bill went to far in removing patent protections and would end up hurting the businesses and academic research centers that rely on patents to protect genuine discoveries.

AHRQ: 2014 Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture

AHRQ surveys 653 US hospitals and finds that 81 percent report strong teamwork at the unit level, but 53 percent reported that important patient safety information was not always conveyed when patients were transferred to new units or during shift change. Only 55 percent reported that their hospital’s had adequate staff to deliver quality care. Small hospitals (6-24 beds) scored higher on the survey than large hospitals (400+ beds)

Morning Headlines 5/22/14

Surescripts: E-prescribing up, but still faces challenges

Surescripts reports that over one billion prescriptions were filed electronically in 2013, accounting for 58 percent of all eligible prescriptions and up 32 percent since 2012.

Ex-WellCare CEO Gets Three Years for Medicaid Scheme

Todd Farha, the ex-CEO of WellCare Health Plans, is sentenced to three-years in prison following a 2013 conviction for overseeing a scheme to defraud Florida’s Medicaid program for $40 million.

Federal investigators issue subpoena to Cover Oregon, Oregon Health Authority

The FBI has issued a subpoena seeking documents, memos, and emails between Cover Oregon and the Oregon Health Authority, the two organizations responsible for the rollout of Oregon’s botched $250 million health insurance exchange.

Introducing Insight, the nation’s largest real-time healthcare database

Practice Fusion launches a free, publicly available version of Insights, its analytics solution. The new platform was enhanced to provide de-identified health data to public health researchers, students, and the general public.

Morning Headlines 5/21/14

CMS rule to help providers make use of Certified EHR Technology

CMS and ONC publish a proposed rule that would extend MU stage 2 through 2016, explaining "By extending Stage 2, we are being receptive to stakeholder feedback to ensure providers can continue to meet meaningful use and keep momentum moving forward.”

Commonwealth Fund EHR Survey

A Commonwealth Fund survey finds that federally qualified health centers have increased adoption of EHRs by 133 percent since 2009, with nearly all centers now using EHRs and 76 percent qualifying for MU Stage 1 incentive payments.

Review recommends new name, direction for PCEHR

In Australia, a review of the floundering nationalized personal health record program concludes with a handful of recommendations aimed at bringing the project on track, including: changing the name from personally controlled electronic health record to My Health Record, pivoting from an opt-in enrollment process to an opt-out process, a redesign of the PHR layout that would make it more usable for clinicians, and the dismantling of the organization responsible for rolling out the PCEHR program and replacing it with a new organization comprised of clinicians, vendors, and bureaucrats.