Morning Headlines 2/20/14

About-face: CMS to conduct ICD-10 end-to-end testing

CMS reverses its original position on ICD-10 testing, announcing that it will conduct end-to-end testing with a group of chosen practices prior to the October 1 switchover.

QUEST: High-performing hospitals: 5-year collaborative findings

Premier Inc. claims that its 350 hospital members have collectively prevented 136,000 deaths and saved $11.6 billion over the last five years by setting aggressive quality improvement goals and benchmarking against top performers.

Mostashari to join Get Real Health board

Farzad Mostashari, MD accepts a position on the board of Get Real Health, a PHR developer from Rockville, MD.

Triple-S fined $6.8M for HIPAA issue

A San Juan, PR-based insurance company is hit with a $6.8 million in fines from federal, state, and local agencies all stemming from a HIPAA violation that was triggered when the hospital sent out 13,000 letters with Medicare numbers visible from the outside. It was the organization’s second large breach, it failed to notify affected patients within the 60-day window, and it submitted vague and incomplete responses during the investigation.

Morning Headlines 2/19/14

SANS-Norse Report Reveals that Cyberattacks Are Causing an Epidemic of Compromises at Healthcare Organization

A investigation of network security within the healthcare industry finds that 94 percent of healthcare organizations have been cyberattacked. Small practices are the most common target, but hospitals, payers, and pharmaceutical organizations have all been breached.

Analysis Of Duplicative CT Scans Shows Conservative Cost Savings Of $1.3 Million To Western New York Health System

In Western New York, the regional HIE is credited with saving $1.3 million during its first six months in operation, based on a measured reduction in CT scans.

Paying Doctors to Shun Hospitals

Bloomberg Business reports that of the 367 active ACOs in operation, more than half are practice-based and do not include a hospital. One ACO executive explained "Hospitals, they want to do your robotic surgeries, your heart catheterizations, your PET scans, your MRIs — all the expensive items. We actually felt that hospitals were part of the problem.”

Cerner Corporation (CERN) Hits New Lifetime High Today

Cerner stock hit a lifetime high of $61.43 today. Shares are up 6.3 percent year-to-date.

Morning Headlines 2/18/14

The Reliability of Teledermatology to Triage Inpatient Dermatology Consultations

A study published in JAMA finds that practice-based dermatologists can effectively provide dermatology consults for inpatients at local hospitals via a remote connection. The study found that remote dermatologists concurred with in person dermatologists 95 percent of the time when recommending a biopsy. The study also found that remote dermatologists were generally the more conservative of the two groups when differences in opinion surfaced.

Medical Device Reporting: Electronic Submission Requirements

The FDA posts a final rule to the Federal Register stating that all adverse events stemming from medical devices are to be reported in an electronic format moving forward rather than on paper.

Seven Leading Health Organizations Join Optum Labs Research Collaborative

Optum Labs, a big-data healthcare collaborative created by UnitedHealth Group and the Mayo Clinic, adds seven new partners to its program including: Tufts Medical Center, Boston University School of Public Health, and Pfizer Inc. The mission of the group is to uncover insights that result in improved outcomes and reduced costs.

HIMSS Analytics Honors 51 Clinics of Northeast Georgia Physicians Group with Stage 7 Ambulatory Awards

HIMSS recognizes 51 clinics within the Northeast Georgia Physicians Group with its Stage 7 Ambulatory Award. The clinics integrate with the Northeast Georgia Health System on a multi-vendor platform and perform data analytics that provides population health analytics, predictive alerting, and identifies care gaps to be addressed during each encounter.

Morning Headlines 2/17/14

How VA is driving telemedicine

In 2013, the VA used its increasingly popular telehealth platform to deliver care for 600,000 veterans, accounting for a total of 1.7 million episodes of care.

Researchers develop smartglasses that help surgeons see cancerous cells

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are testing smartglasses that help surgeons as they remove cancer tumors by highlighting the affected cells with a glowing blue pigment. Researchers hope the glasses will help surgeons remove all cancer cells during the first surgery, reducing the need for secondary procedures.

New hospital to open without state-of-the-art medical record system

In Vermont, state legislators are disappointed its new 25-bed state-run psychiatric hospital will open without a modern EHR in place after project planners were unable to come to a deal to enhance its incumbent EHR system. Planners also tried but were unable to reach an agreement with Fletcher Allen Health System which offered a hosted Epic system at an upfront cost of $3 million and $600,000 annual maintenance. The state will issue an RFP for a new system which is not expected to go live until at least a year after the hospital opens.

The Valley Hospital Moves Forward with MEDITECH’s 6.1 EHR

The Valley Hospital (NJ) decides to upgrade from Meditech Magic to 6.1 instead of choosing other finalist Epic, giving the company a win in a bed size (450) that usually goes to Epic or Cerner.

Morning Headlines 2/14/14

RECs surpassed their goals to increase EHR adoption

As the Regional Extension Center program turns four years old, ONC posts a HealthIT.gov blog suggesting that they have "far exceeded" their goal of supporting 100,000 physicians with their health IT adoption goals.

25 Highest Rated Companies Hiring Interns in 2014; Facebook Debuts at #1

Epic is the fifth-best company to intern for according to a Glassdoor survey of US companies.

House Members Urge HHS To Overhaul Medicare Audit System

A group of 111 lawmakers urges HHS director Kathleen Sebelius to fix the Medicare claims audit system, citing a backlog of 460,000 claims and other institutional issues.

Morning Headlines 2/13/14

The Cost of Implementing ICD‐10 for Physician Practices

A study published by the American Medical Association predicts that ICD-10 conversion costs will end up at least three times higher than originally predicted, with a typical medium size practice investing $200,000 – $800,000. The study includes the cost of purchasing or upgrading an EHR system.

Creators Still in Demand on Health Care Website

The federal government is negotiating with CGI, the now notorious Healthcare.gov contractor, for several months of continued technical support while its replacement, Accenture, gets up and running. Meanwhile, Accenture is aggressively recruiting the CGI employees who had worked on the Healthcare.gov project.

Congressional panel investigates stimulus funds after TX hospital boss indicted

Representative Michael Burgess (TX) has launched an inquiry into the audit process in place for the EHR Incentive Program after last weeks news that the former CIO of Shelby Regional Medical Center defrauded CMS of $800,000 by attesting to MU without actually implementing and using the necessary technologies.

Top HIE vendors of 2014 named

Black Book names the top HIE vendors of 2014, with Covisint, ICA, Cerner, Allscripts, and Infor all taking top spots in their respective segments.

Morning Headlines 2/12/14

Physician outcry on EHR functionality, cost will shake the health information technology sector

Medical Economics publishes a survey of 1,000 US physicians in which 45 percent of respondents say patient care is worse since implementing an EHR and 79 percent of respondents report that they do not believe that EHRs have been worth the resources, cost, and effort of adopting them.

Medical Information Technology, Inc: Investor Insert

Meditech reports that it will delay its Q3 SEC filing while it sorts out a revenue recognition issue that goes back more than a decade, but that its auditors just now caught. The company says that customers will not be affected and that, other than possibly hiring new auditors, its future plans remain the same.

Behind the ballooning medical e-records cost

A local news outlet covers Hawaii Health Systems Corporations struggling Siemens implementation. The behind-schedule project was originally budgeted to cost $50 million, but is now projected to cost $109 million.

Welcome to the NIST EHR-Randomizer application

CMS and ONC launch a new web-based tool called the EHR randomizer that will allow providers to demonstrate cross-vendor health information exchange capabilities required in MU2.

Morning Headlines 2/11/14

Why the EHR Market Is Poised for Disruption

An EHR market analysis from CIO.com concludes that both the inpatient and ambulatory EHR market’s are poised for disruption and consolidation.

Key number in today’s Castlight IPO filing

Castlight Health discloses its financial performance in an updated IPO filing, revealing multi-million dollar net losses during each of the past two years. The new financial data raises into question Castlight’s hope of a $2 billion public valuation.

EHR-based screening program for AAA cuts the number of at-risk men by more than half

A study conducted by researchers at Kaiser Permanente finds that by implementing EHR-based clinical alerts, abdominal aortic aneurysm screening rates can be significantly improved. The alerts prompted providers to order a screening anytime an unscreened 65-75 year-old male with a history of smoking was seen. The alerts led to a system-wide reduction of unscreened patients from 51.74 percent to 20.26 percent.

Stage 3 MU now in the making

The ONC’s MU workgroup will submit its draft recommendations for Stage 3 on February 14th.

Morning Headlines 2/10/14

athenahealth Management Discusses Q4 2013 Results – Earnings Call Transcript

athenahealth holds its Q4 earnings call, during which CEO Jon Bush discusses plans to start marketing products to hospitals, and outlines future projects for integrating services with Epocrates.

Leading Pharmacies and Retailers Join Blue Button Initiative

The BlueButton+ network grows to include data from a number of major retail pharmacies including Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, and Kroger.

CMS extends 2013 EHR attestation deadline for EPs, certain hospitals

CMS extends Meaningful Use 2013 attestation for EPs by one month. The new deadline is March 31, 2014.

Morning Headlines 2/7/14

athenahealth, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2013 Results

athenahealth reports Q4 and full year 2013 results: $595 million total annual revenue, representing a 41 percent increase year-over-year. A Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.57 vs. $0.29 beat analysts estimates and drove shares up 19 percent in after hours trading.

Former TX hospital CFO charged with health care fraud in Tyler court

The former CFO of Shelby Regional Medical Center (TX) has been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with health care fraud violations for falsely attesting to Stage 1 Meaningful Use.

Army, Air Force Tap Goodwill Industries to Scan and Send Records to VA

The Army and Air Force have contracted with Goodwill Industries to begin scanning and transmitting copies of departing service members’ medical records to the VA.

Gov sees fix for failed Mass. health care website

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick apologizes to residents over the states problematic health insurance exchange website. Development of the site was managed by CGI Group, the same company that was responsible for Healthcare.gov.

Morning Headlines 2/6/14

New MGMA research: industry coordination lagging; less than 10 percent of physician practices ready for ICD-10

According to a new study from MGMA, less than 10 percent of physician practices have made significant progress on their transition to ICD-10.

EHR incentive payments soar beyond $19 billion

$19 billion in EHR incentive payments have been distributed thus far, with 88 percent of all eligible hospitals and 78 percent of eligible providers having received a share.

Innovative Collaboration to Address Shared Challenges in Health Care

Kaiser Permanente and the VA have announced that they will pool resources and develop best practices for key emerging fields such as genomics, population health, and telehealth.

A.G. Schneiderman Applauds Success Of New York’s Innovative Program To Prevent Prescription Drug Abuse

A law in New York that requires pharmacists to update on online database anytime a narcotic prescription is filled, and then requires physicians to check the database prior to issuing new prescriptions to patients, is being credited with reducing "doctor shopping" by 75 percent. The same law mandates state-wide e-prescribing by March 2015.

Morning Headlines 2/5/14

Castlight Health Files $2 Billion IPO

Castlight Health, a health benefits management vendor working to increase cost transparency with web-based consumer tools, has filed IPO registration paperwork with the SEC for a stock offering expected to reach a $2 billion valuation. Castlight was founded by athenahealth co-founder and current US CTO Todd Park.

Imprivata Confidentially Submits Registration Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for Initial Public Offering of Its Common Stock

Imprivata, a KLAS leading for Single Sign-on solutions vendor, confidentially files IPO registration papers. A press release from the company reports that they will execute the stock offering once the SEC has finished its review.

2013 Healthcare Provider Innovation Survey

A recent HIMSS survey measuring the state of innovation within provider organizations finds that cost reduction is the focal point of innovation initiatives for most respondents. With EHR optimization in full swing, providers are now reportedly making progress implementing systems for population health management, patient follow-up, predictive analytics, clinical decision support, and care coordination.

Cerner Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2013 Results

Cerner announces Q4 and 2013 year end results: Full year bookings were $3.77 billion, up 20 percent from 2012. Adjusted Q4 EPS $0.39 vs $034, meeting analyst expectations.

Morning Headlines 2/4/14

HHS strengthens patients’ right to access lab test reports

HHS announces changes to both HIPAA and the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 that will result in patients being able to access their laboratory results directly from the lab, rather than from the doctor that ordered the tests.

Can Healthcare IT (HIT) Deliver Value? (Part II)

David Levin, CMIO of Cleveland Clinic, discusses the ROI of health IT projects and concludes that health IT project planning tends to focus on building ideal workflows rather than realizing cost reductions or outcomes improvements. He says “if you don’t know where you expect to achieve value and you don’t have a specific plan to get there, you probably won’t.”

Health information for more than 40,000 Unity members missing

Researchers at University of Wisconsin lose an unencrypted hard drive containing the personal information of 40,000 Unity health insurance customers. The researchers had the hard drive because they were working with Unity on a benefits analysis project.

Exploring the Value of Health IT on HIMSS14 Exhibition Floor

HIMSS releases new details on the HIMSS14 Exhibit hall. New exhibits include: a startup showcase hall for first-time HIMSS exhibitors, an Intelligent Medical Home model demonstrating home monitoring solutions and real-time data exchange between the medical home and a mock hospital unit, and a revamped interoperability demonstration.

Morning Headlines 2/3/14

Castlight Health files secretly for IPO

Castlight Health, a web-based healthcare benefits management platform, files for an initial public offering. The company was founded by Todd Park, former US CTO and Athenahealth co-founder, in 2008 and is rumored to be seeking a $2 billion valuation.

Athenahealth accepts incentives deal, picks Austin for expansion

Athenahealth finalizes plans to open offices in Austin, TX after agreeing to a 10-year $670,000 incentives package offered by the City of Austin and a $5 million in incentive package from the State of Texas.

iWatch + iOS 8: Apple sets out to redefine mobile health, fitness tracking

Apple will introduce a new core health and fitness app in its next iOS release. The app will reportedly track activity, calories burned, vitals, hydration levels, and blood glucose levels. While current iPhone’s do not have the hardware necessary to capture some of the metrics reported, like blood glucose, there have been persistent rumors suggesting that the iWatch may introduce this hardware.

Morning Headlines 1/31/14

DoD Healthcare Management Systems Modernization (DHMSM): Draft Request for Proposal

The DoD publishes an open solicitation for a new EHR that will replace all of its existing legacy systems. The usability testing scenario’s outlined within the proposal describe a medic calling up evidence-based guidelines and documenting care while providing emergency treatment to a wounded marine in the field. Subsequent scenarios describe field surgeons using the system to coordinate care delivery once the Marine arrives back at the forward operating base, then medications being administered by nurses during an air medevac to a larger hospital in the US, and finally the transfer of care from the DoD to a VA rehabilitation facility. The last scenario requires vendors demonstrate the exchange of medication lists and narrative care summaries between DoD/VA facilities.

Thousands of providers rank healthcare software and services in annual Best in KLAS report

athenaHealth dethrones Epic from the top spot on the Best in KLAS 2013: Software and Service report. Epic had held the number one position for the past eight years.

eHealth Exchange Survey Reveals Dramatic Increases in Participation and Online Transactions

The eHealth Exchange, a non-profit, public-private HIE collaborative, reports that its membership has grown to include 800 hospitals, 6,000 mid-to-large medical groups, 800 dialysis centers, and 850 retail pharmacies.

Hospital’s new IT system ‘has increased waiting times and led to lost patient data’

In England, staff at Croydon University Hospital are blaming their recent Cerner go-live for increased waiting times and lost patient information. The university’s director of quality maintains that the implementation of Cerner went well in technical terms, but members of the board were not convinced and are insisting that "patient care has definitely suffered."

Morning Headlines 1/30/14

CCHIT Announces New Strategic Direction With Global Focus

CCHIT announces that it will exit the EHR certification business. The company will pivot to a consulting model that will offer services to both hospitals and HIT vendors.

Former Allscripts CPA charged with insider trading

Steven Dombrowski, former Allscripts director of corporate audits, has been indicted on 16 insider trading charges. Federal prosecutors allege that in Q1 2012, Dombrowski opened a trading account in his wife’s name, and then made $286,000 short selling Allscript stock.

Proposed Law Would Give US Chief Technology Officer Oversight Of Major IT Projects

Representatives Anna Eshoo and Gerry Connolly introduce a bill that will require the federal CTO to review all major IT project undertaken by the federal government. The CTO’s office will have the authority to manage, or co-manage, the project on behalf of the initiating agency. The bill was drafted in response to charges that CMS lacked the technical expertise to properly manage the Healthcare.gov project itself.

U-M Kellogg Eye Center performs first two retinal prosthesis implants in U.S. since FDA approval

Surgeons at the University of Michigan implant the first FDA-approved prosthetic retina which is expected to restore enough vision for the otherwise blind recipients to be able to see objects, light, and people standing before them.

Morning Headlines 1/29/14

Vista Evolution Workgroup Coordinators Sources Sought Notice

The VA is soliciting a vendor to lead the VistA Evolution Workgroup, an initiative that will update the VistA EHR platform and incorporate interoperability standards defined by the joint DoD/VA Interagency Program Office, which oversees all work done on the long awaited iEHR program. With proposals due by February 6, interested vendors have been given just nine days to prepare and submit their proposals.

Analytics Startup Health Catalyst Nets $41 Million

Data warehousing and visualization startup Health Catalyst raises a $41 million Series C investment round which the company will use the funds to develop 200 new analytics tools designed to help customers zero in on inefficiencies and evaluate care variances.

Hearst Corporation Announces Formation of Hearst Health

Hearst Corporation, parent company of First Databank, Zynx Health, MCG, Homecare Homebase, and Map of Medicine, announces a new brand called Hearst Health that will encompass all of its health IT businesses. Hearst will also launch a new innovation lab and a venture capital portfolio as part of the business unit.

TigerText Caps Record Year with $21 Million Series B Investment to Accelerate Market Penetration

TigerText raises a $21 million Series B for its healthcare focused secure messaging platform that delivers HIPAA compliant text messages which automatically delete after a pre-defined period of time.