Morning Headlines 1/19/15

Official Who Led Medicare Through Insurance Shakeup Is Resigning

CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner resigns, telling staffers in an email that February will be her last month. Tavenner joined CMS in February 2010, just before President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, and went on to oversee the troubled rollout of Healthcare.gov in October 2013.

Electronic Medical Record Provides Dartmouth-Hitchcock Pathologists Powerful Tool to Push Best Practices in Transfusions

A new EHR alert implemented at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (NH) has significantly reduced the improper use of two-unit blood transfusions for non-bleeding patients.

ER visits still rising despite ACA

At ERs with traditionally high patient volumes, annual visits have only gone up since the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, with one physician speculating that “More people have insurance, but the cultural norm has been to wait until they’re sick to seek care. As they get educated, ER use will go down over a period of years.”

New Department of Biomedical Informatics

Harvard opens a new Department of Biomedical Informatics that will work to leverage new biomedical data streams to develop new methods for research and clinical care. The new department’s advisory board includes digital health pioneer, and Rock Health founder, Halle Tecco.

Morning Headlines 1/16/15

Google joins PwC’s Vista-based bid for military health records

Google will join PwC, General Dynamics, Medsphere, and DSS in their bid to install VistA as the DoD’s next EHR.

Whistleblower Lawsuit Calls Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong’s Healthcare Startup ‘Fraudulent’ And Dangerous

Two ex-employees of physician billionaire Patrick Soon Shiong’s startup NantHealth file a whistleblower suit alleging that the company is “engaged in a multitude of fraudulent activities.”

The new 10-year standard: Find a more accurate EHR total cost ownership

Becker’s Hospital Review calls for a change to the way total cost of ownership is calculated during EHR procurements, saying that five or seven year timelines are not long enough when in reality a successfully installed EHR won’t be replaced for ten years or longer.

Philips and MIT investigators collaborate to give researchers unprecedented access to critical care patient data

Philips is collaborating with MIT to provide researchers access to the de-identified medical records of 100,000 ICU patients that received care in one of Philips’s eICU centers.

Morning Headlines 1/15/15

Athenahealth Acquires RazorInsights

Athenahealth acquires RazorInsights, an inpatient EHR vendor that has been selling its cloud-based system in the critical access and community hospital market since its 2010 launch.

BT to Offer Medsphere’s OpenVista Electronic Health Record

Medsphere announces that it will partner with BT to begin offering hosted OpenVista systems.

GAO kicks off review of HIE performance

Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Mike Enzi (R-WY) have asked the General Accounting Office to evaluate the effectiveness of state health information exchanges as the federal government’s $600 million effort to support their implementation winds down.

Morning Headlines 1/14/15

Data Analytics Update: Health IT Policy Committee Meeting

At this week’s Health IT Policy Committee meeting, ONC reports that 77 percent of eligible hospitals and 56 percent of eligible providers scheduled to attest to Stage 2 Meaningful Use have done so. Hospitals still have a month left to attest, while providers have three months left.

Ellmers Reintroduces the Flex-IT Act

Congresswoman Renee Elmres (R- NC) reintroduce HR 270, the Flexibility in Health IT Reporting Act of 2015, a two-page bill that would reduce the Meaningful Use reporting period from 365 days to 90 days.

Clinical Documentation in the 21st Century: Executive Summary of a Policy Position Paper From the American College of Physicians

The Annals of Internal Medicine publishes a paper investigating the effect EHRs have had on the structure and usefulness of clinical notes, concluding that EHRs have real room for improvement, but that the primary driver of change in clinical notes has been the documentation requirements imposed to support an increasingly complex billing process.

Why We’re Picking Walmart And CVS Over Doctors’ Offices

The Huffington Post covers the rise of retail clinics, whose numbers have seen a sevenfold increase since 2007, driven largely by CVS and Walgreens.

Morning Headlines 1/13/15

FDA puts interoperability guidance on back burner

The FDA has published its list of priorities for 2015, which includes clarifying regulatory guidance on clinical decision support software, but does not include any short-term efforts to improve interoperability.

eLearning as good as traditional training for health professionals

Researchers at Imperial College in London, carrying out a study commissioned by the World Health Organization, review findings from 108 research studies and conclude that online learning is likely to be as effective as traditional education for training health professionals.

Health Poll: Data Privacy, Part 2

In a survey of 3,000 Americans conducted by Truven Health Analytics, only 53 percent of respondents report that they would be willing to anonymously share their medical data to support research.

Morning Headlines 1/12/15

HLM Venture Partners aiming at $150M for fourth investment fund

Boston, MA-based HLM Venture Partners raises its fourth funding round, a $150 million investment fund. While the new funds will likely be distributed across a wide variety of industries, HLM has a track record of investing in digital health.

Internists Suggest Congressional Actions to Improve American Healthcare

The American College of Physicians calls on Congress to: repeal the Medicare SRG formula, continue the current Medicare 10 percent primary care bonus, restore the Medicaid primary care pay parity program, and provide relief from “unrealistic Medicare meaningful use requirements for Electronic Health Records.” 

The Future of Medicine Is in Your Smartphone

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, digital health advocate Eric Topol, MD predicts that new smartphone-based medical technologies will improve care delivery and create a “radically altered” doctor-patient relationship.

Morning Headlines 1/9/15

Insider Selling: McKesson CEO Sells 77,100 Shares of Stock

McKesson stock hit a 52-week high of $215 this week, prompting CEO John Hammergren to sell 77,000 of his personal shares for a profit of $16 million.

NY State Ready to Deploy New Weapon in the Battle Against Prescription Drug Abuse

DrFirst reports that 80 percent of New York providers and 85 percent of New York hospitals are prepared for the states I-STOP deadline, at which point all prescriptions, including controlled substances, must be sent electronically. While 97 percent of the states pharmacies are setup to receive electronic prescriptions, only 58 percent are equipped with the additional security features required to receive controlled substance prescriptions electronically.

The BD Intelliport Medication Management System Receives Clearance from the Food and Drug Administration

BD Medical receives FDA clearance for a medication management system that focuses exclusively on IV bolus injections. The system verifies that the correct type and dose of medication are being administered, and checks for allergy conflicts at the point of administration, then it wirelessly records the medication administration in the EMR.

Morning Headlines 1/8/15

Stage 3 proposals go to OMB, hint at changes

ONC submits a notice regarding Stage 3 MU to the Office of Management and Budget that contains the following description of the yet-to-be-published rule: “Stage 3 will also propose changes to the reporting period, timelines, and structure of the program, including providing a single definition of meaningful use. These changes will provide a flexible, yet, clearer framework to ensure future sustainability of the EHR program and reduce confusion stemming from multiple stage requirements.” 

IBM, Epic already prepping for military EHR work

In pursuit of the DoD EHR contract, IBM and Epic announce the formation of an advisory group comprised of 17 medical informatics specialists, physicians, hospital administrators, and a former US Army Special Forces Major who lost his leg in combat and who will represent the patient perspective, detailing his experience transitioning from the Army’s care to the VA health system.

Avoiding Unintended Incentives In ACO Payment Models

An analysis of ACO shared savings reimbursement levels published in Health Affairs finds that the calculation used to establish benchmark spending level focuses too heavily on spending data from the year immediately preceding the transition to an ACO. Researchers suggest that this could encourage ACOs to ramp up their spending before transitioning to an ACO model so that benchmark costs are falsely inflated, resulting more substantial year-one savings.

Qualcomm announces new connected health collaboration with Walgreens

Walgreens partners with Qualcomm to bring medical device integration to its growing ecosystem of health applications.

Open Enrollment Week 7: December 27, 2014 – January 2, 2015

HHS reports that 6.6 million consumers have used the federal insurance marketplace to enroll in an insurance plan thus far, though many were automatically re-enrolled into their existing plans. The number does not include state-run marketplace enrollments. Open Enrollment ends on February 15.

Morning Headlines 1/7/15

Top 10 issues for physicians to watch in 2015

The American Medical Association says that it will spend 2015 fighting to remove “barriers to providing high-quality care” by lobbying for relaxed Meaningful Use rules, improved EHR usability, and improved interoperability.

Epic Systems draws on literature greats for its next expansion

Epic unveils the designs for five new buildings it will construct on its increasingly cramped Verona, WI campus, adding 500,000 square feet and 1,600 offices. The new building designs were inspired by children’s literature classics, like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “The Wizard of Oz..”

Allina Health and Health Catalyst Sign $100 Million Agreement Creating Model for System-wide Outcomes Improvement

Allina Health (MN) signs a 10-year,  $100 million deal with Health Catalyst to accelerate outcomes improvement across the organizations 12 hospitals and 90 clinics.

A Restraining Order Can Be Just A Videoconference Away

Domestic abuse patients being treated in the ED at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center (NJ) will have a new videoconferencing platform that will connect them with a local judge who will hear their case and issue a restraining order while they are still in the hospital.

Morning Headlines 1/6/15

Lexmark International to Buy Medical Imaging Company Claron

Lexmark acquires Claron Technology, a web-based medical image sharing platform, for $37 million. The company will be integrated into Lexmark’s content management software division.

U-M Hospitals’ Sue Schade named CIO of the Year

Sue Schade, CIO of University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers in Ann Arbor, is named CIO of the year by CHIME and HIMSS.

A Look Back at 2014

John Halamka, MD and CIO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, blogs about the major events that shaped 2014, both in health IT and on his small farm outside Boston, of which he quips “ I shovel manure because it is so different from my varied day jobs, although some debate that point.”

The remaining uninsured: Closing ACA gaps

While the Affordable Care Act has significantly reduced the uninsured rate in the US, 14 to 18 percent of the general public are still uninsured, despite the fact that most of the remaining uninsured qualify for one or more assistance programs.

Morning Headlines 1/5/15

Analytics-based U.S. tech firm Inovalon files for IPO

Inovalon Holdings, a data analytics vendor focused on healthcare, files a $500 million IPO.

Blue Cross starts health system payouts for value-based contracts

In Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield pays out $25 million to five hospitals that signed value-based reimbursement contracts in 2011 and 2012.

Wilmington doctor waits for NC Tracks payment

Physicians in North Carolina file a law suit against the state’s Department of Health and Human Services over billing issues that they claim led to doctors being paid lower Medicaid rates for services provided to Medicare patients. The payment problem stems from a custom software system developed by CSC at a cost of $484 million. The state DHHS has filed to dismiss the suit and refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem.

Adviser Guides Obama Into the Google Age

The New York Times profiles Megan Smith, the new White House chief technology officer, and her transition from a Google executive to a federal employee, where she now carries a BlackBerry and supports information systems that still partially rely on floppy disks.

Morning Headlines 12/31/14

CSC pays $190M to settle accounting fraud case with SEC

CSC will pay $190 million to settle fraud charges brought by the SEC.

The State HIE Program Four Years Later

ONC publishes a report on the state-level rollout of health information exchanges, the strategies and solutions they’re offering, and the problems they’re working through.

It’s ‘stupidity’ to install health IT without re-engineering workflow

Outgoing Geisinger Health System CEO Dr. Glenn Steele discusses reimbursement reform, health IT, and care management in a Modern Healthcare interview.

Is Athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush in a bubble?

Fortune profiles Jonathan Bush, CEO of athenahealth, and his More Disruption Please program. He explains, “The plan is we’re going to create and curate the health care Internet.”

Morning Headlines 12/30/14

Accenture wins $563M contract to continue with HealthCare.gov

Accenture signs a $563 million five-year contract extension with HHS to manage and continue developing healthcare.gov.

ICD-10 Testing Results and DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Registration Reminder

CMS reports that during its November ICD-10 open testing period more than 500 providers, suppliers, billing companies, and clearinghouses submitted test claims, resulting in a 76 percent claim acceptance rate. The test checked that claims had a valid diagnosis code, ICD-10 companion qualifier code, national provider identifier, and date of service, and returned an automated acceptance notification when all criteria were met.

Startup Health Insights Annual Report 2014: The Year Digital Health Broke Out

Startup Health reports that $6.5 billion in startup funding flowed into the digital health sector during 2014, a 125 percent increase over 2013.

The National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network: Clinical Data Research Networks (CDRN)—Phase II

PCORI will award $87 million to establish 13 clinical data research networks and $26 million to establish 22 patient-powered research networks as part of the second phase of its PCORnet project.

Morning Headlines 12/29/14

Cerner Corp (CERN): $65.71

Cerner stock closes at $65.71 Friday, an all time high for the company.

Disneyland trip, Beyonce tickets were ‘inappropriate gifts’ to official, judge rules

The government upholds a VA decision to fire the former director of the Phoenix VA Health System,  not because of the wait-time scandal that was discovered at her facility, but because she accepted “inappropriate gifts,” including an 8-night family vacation to Disneyland for herself and six of her family members, from a consulting firm whose core business is helping vendors secure lucrative government contracts from the VA.

Why It’s So Hard to Fix Medicare Fraud

The Wall Street Journal analyzes Medicare fraud detection, explaining that the problem is complicated by the fact that 45,000 new providers enroll in Medicare every month and CMS does not have the resources to verify that every one is legitimate.

Jeb Bush quits hospital chain before possible White House run

Jeb Bush resigns from his position on the board of directors at Tenet Healthcare in preparation for a widely-speculated run in the 2016 presidential elections. Tenet is a for-profit health system that has publically attributed strong financial gains to the rollout of Obamacare, legislation that Bush formally opposes.

Morning Headlines 12/24/14

AMN Healthcare Acquires Avantas

AMN Healthcare, a healthcare-focused staffing firm, acquires Avantas, which builds data analytics tools for optimizing staffing and scheduling.

Medicine Is About to Get Personal

TIME reports on direct-primary care provider Qliance Health, and their efforts to provide direct to consumer primary care for a flat monthly fee, and without involving insurance.

Health IT In Connecticut – Learning From Mistakes

A director from HITE-CT, Connecticut’s quasi-public organization tasked with building its health information exchange, explains that the organization was dissolved after “wasting $4.3 million in federal grants and four years, without accomplishing anything.”

Pennsylvania eHealth Partnership Authority Annual Report to the Governor and General Assembly

The organization responsible for Pennsylvania’s HIE reports that despite very lean staffing, finding a business model capable of delivering financial sustainability remains its biggest challenge.

Morning Headlines 12/23/14

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in Big Health Care Case on March 4

The Supreme Court will hear King v Burwell on March 4. The case argues that the Obama administration overstepped its authority by providing federal subsidies to Healthcare.gov users when the ACA’s language only authorized subsidy payments for insurance acquired through state-run exchanges.

89 ACOs will join Medicare Shared Savings Program in January

CMS announces that 89 new ACOs will join the Shared Savings Program effective January 1, 2015.

Accretive Health Provides Updated Timeline for Completion of Restatement

Accretive Health, a Chicago-based revenue cycle management company, will file its long overdue 2012 and 2013 year-end financial statements next week. The company will also publish restated 2011 statements.

Electronic Distribution of Prescribing Information for Human Prescription Drugs, Including Biological Products

A proposed rule by the FDA will require that pharmaceutical companies replace the paper-based prescription drug handouts written for doctors with electronic ones that can be updated in real-time.

Morning Headlines 12/22/14

HTC Global Services of Troy buys Troy-based CareTech

HTC Global Services acquires CareTech, a consulting firm that focuses on health IT consulting. Both companies are headquartered in Troy, MI.

Rep. Renee Ellmers Letter to HHS

House Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) and 29 other House representatives send a letter to HHS imploring Secretary Sylvia Burwell to reduce the MU Stage 2 reporting period from 365 days to 90 days.

Merge Healthcare Reaches New 12-Month High at $3.63

Merge shares reach a 52-week high, closing Friday at $3.63. Shares are up 54 percent year to date.

The NHS’s chaotic IT systems show no sign of recovery

The Guardian reports on health IT in the NHS, focusing on anecdotal tales from the recent troubled Epic implementation at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.