Morning Headlines 7/14/14

WellPoint CEO: Insurer readies for technology wave

Joseph Swedish, CEO of the insurance company WellPoint, says in an interview that he will drive the company to adopt new technologies to reduce health costs, including telehealth, workplace health kiosks, and participation on insurance exchanges.

Verona’s Epic Systems adding employees

Epic adds 600 employees since February, bringing its total to 7,400. Epic has seen tremendous growth in the past three years when, in June 2011, the company’s head count sat at just 4,200.

Duke Medicine’s Big Data Plan to Improve Population Health

Ex-NASA Geospatial Scientist Sohayla Pruittan launches Duke Medicines new location-centric population health platform that will analyze health trends down to individual neighborhoods. She says, “When we visually map a population and a health issue, we want to give an understanding about why something is happening in a neighborhood. Are there certain socioeconomic factors that are contributing? Do they not have access to certain things? Do they have too much access to certain things like fast food restaurants?”

Key statistics for Summary Care Records

In England, the Health & Social Care Information Centre announces that nearly 41 million Summary Care Records have been generated by 5,454 practice offices thus far.

Morning Headlines 7/11/14

HIT Policy Committee DRAFT Summary of the June 10, 2014 Virtual Meeting

During Tuesday’s HIT Policy Committee meeting, CMS reported that only 972 providers and 10 hospitals have attested for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use.

Cerner ups campus cost to $4.45B, will seek $110M TIF bump

Cerner increases the budget on its new Kansas City campus by $160 million, to $4.45 billion, and is asking the local and state government to cover $110 million of that through tax breaks.

The Experience of Young Adults on HealthCare.gov: Suggestions for Improvement

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine concludes that Healthcare.gov’s user interface was perceived as confusing and unintuitive by millennials.

Moody’s Assigns AA3 To Providence Health & Services Series 2014B Bonds; Outlook Stable

Moody’s gives Providence Health’s bonds a strong, stable Aa3 rating, something that is not always the case for health systems in the midst of an Epic implementation. The rating notes, “PHS has nearly completed its system-wide implementation of the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system. Implementation has spanned many years, and has occupied a significant portion of the system’s capital budget. Outsized operating expenses related to Epic have suppressed margins but are now expected to reach a steady state going forward.”

Morning Headlines 7/10/14

RWJF Project Tracks Impact of Reform on Hospital Utilization

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announces a new surveillance program called the Hospital ACA Monitoring Project designed in collaboration with state hospital associations  to measure the impact that the Affordable Care Act has on hospital utilization.

Electronic Health Records: Fiscal Year 2013 Expenditure Plan Lacks Key Information Needed to Inform Future Funding Decisions

The DoD and VA have failed a GAO audit of their integrated EHR plans, satisfying just one of the six areas evaluated. When Congress approved the 2013 VA and DoD EHR budget requests, a provision was added preventing more than 25 percent of the funds from being distributed unless the GAO confirmed that the departments were on track with their plans.

2014 Most Wired

2014 Most Wired Hospital’s list has been published, an effort collectively undertaken by the American Hospital Association, CHIME, McKesson, AT&T, and H&HN.

Morning Headlines 7/9/14

Siemens Said to Explore Sale of Hospital IT Business

Bloomberg reports that Siemens is soliciting buyers for its health IT business unit, valued at $1.4 billion, so that it can focus on its energy and industrial units.

What Looks Like Overcharging By Your Hospital Might Not Be

A study finds that Medicare reimbursement rates at hospitals using EHRs are comparable to those still working on paper, contrary to earlier allegations suggesting that EHRs were driving up reimbursement by promoting copy and paste fraud. Critics point out that the study only analyzed inpatient records, and fails to address the original fraud allegations which were focused on ED reimbursements.

Critics worry health IT regulatory plan is already outdated

The public comments period closes on the FDASIA’s recently proposed health IT regulatory framework. The comments offered a mix of both criticism and support from various industry groups. The ONC’s policy advisory committee today moved immediately forward in a vote to endorse the framework.

Vials of Smallpox Virus Found in Unapproved Maryland Lab

Six vials of the smallpox virus, thought to be misplaced remnants from a 1950’s research lab, were found abandoned in an FDA lab in Maryland this week and are now undergoing testing to determine if they are still active. Smallpox samples are now considered so dangerous that only two labs in the world are authorized to store the pathogen, a CDC lab in Atlanta, and a VECTOR Institute lab in Russia.

Morning Headlines 7/8/14

Proposed policy and payment changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for Calendar Year 2015

CMS’s proposed 2015 Medicare physician fee schedule expands reimbursable telehelath services, adds language requiring 2014 Edition EHR adoption for physicians providing chronic disease management, and introduces a bonus structure to the ACO program that further incentivizes quality improvements.

‘VistA for NHS’ ready for trusts

Responding to the NHS’s call for more open source EHR solutions, General Dynamics and Medsphere team up to introduce an anglicized version of the VA’s VistA EHR in England. The team has been at work since the end of 2013 and is now prospecting for its first UK customers.

Scientists threaten to boycott €1.2bn Human Brain Project

In Europe, 130 prominent neuroscientists are threatening to boycott the $2 billion Human Brain Project funded by the European Commission because they say that the project’s scope is too narrow and limits research topics to those that support HBP’s goal of mapping the human nervous system and creating a computer model of the human brain.

ONC 2014 Edition Test Method

The ONC has updated the test procedures and test data used by vendors when seeking 2014 Edition EHR certification. The changes address automated measure calculation and automated numerator recording for measures that have percentage-based thresholds.

Morning Headlines 7/7/14

Fireside chat with Google co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin sit down with VC legend Vinod Khosla at the annual Khosla Ventures CEO Summit. The three discuss a wide range of topics, including health IT, of which Sergey Brin says, “Generally, health is just so heavily regulated. It’s just a painful business to be in. It’s just not necessarily how I want to spend my time. Even though we do have some health projects, and we’ll be doing that to a certain extent. But I think the regulatory burden in the U.S. is so high that think it would dissuade a lot of entrepreneurs.”

Triangle hospitals go Epic with multimillion-dollar software

A Raleigh-Durham, NC paper looks back on the Epic migrations at the area’s three largest academic hospitals.

How webcams in Syria’s bombarded hospitals offer a lifeline for war victims

Physicians in the US, Canada, England, and Saudi Arabia are providing telehealth support to ICU units in war torn Syrian hospitals. 50 percent of Syria’s physicians have fled, leaving behind overcrowded ICU’s with no physicians.

Morning Headlines 7/3/14

Big cyber hack of health records is ‘only a matter of time’

A Politico report interviews IT security experts who fear that health IT is primed for a massive cyberattack on par with the recent headline grabbing attacks on Target and Yahoo. Experts say that medical records are worth far more on the black market than credit card data, and the infastructure protecting the data is far more vulnerable  to attack.

Veterans Affairs Selects ASM Research to Modernize Electronic Health Records

Accenture signs a three-year $162 million VA contract to support and enhance VistA. Accenture will provide workflow analysis, software development, implementation, and end-user training. The project will address interoperability and data security, and will provide an enhanced web-based user interface to the Computerized Patient Record System used by VA clinicians.

Executive Insights on Healthcare Technology Safety, 2014 Report

The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation has teamed up with the ECRI institute to publish a healthcare technology safety report. The 2014 edition, its inaugural report, focuses on alarm systems, Luer connectors, cybersecurity, batteries, and recalls.

Morning Headlines 7/1/14

 Medical Boards Draft Plan to Ease Path to Out-of-State and Online Treatment

State medical board from across the country have unveiled draft legislation that will ease licensure restrictions that are currently preventing doctors from treating patients that live in other states, a change that proponents of telehealth have been lobbying for for some time.

American Medical Association and the Medical Group Management Association Letter to CMS

AMA and MGMA send a joint letter to CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner asking for a 30-day extension to the MU Stage 2 hardship exception application deadline, which is currently set for July 1. ONC recently proposed changes relaxing EHR certification standards for the 2014 attestation period, but those changes have not been finalized. The changes would allow providers to use 2011 certified products and 2013 criteria for the 2014 period. Providers are asking that the hardship application deadline be extended so that they can wait to see if these changes are approved and finalized before applying for a hardship exception.

Digital Health Funding: Midyear Review 2014

Rock Health notes, via its mid-year digital health funding report, that digital health startup funding has reached $2.3 billion for the year, already surpassing the total funding levels seen at the close of 2013.

Morning Headlines 6/30/14

Report Finds Health Unit of V.A. Needs Overhaul

A review of the Veterans Health Administration conducted by Rob Nabors, deputy chief of staff to President Obama, finds that VA leadership “is not prepared to deliver effective day-to-day management.” The report says that inept managers and a corrosive and non-transparent culture across the system have eroded the VHA’s ability to accomplish its mission. Nabors concluded by recommending that the VHA be completely restructured with a focus on transparency and accountability.

Obama to nominate former Proctor & Gamble CEO as Veterans Affairs secretary

In related news, former Proctor & Gamble CEO Bob McDonald will be nominated to take over as the secretary of the VA. McDonald graduated from West Point and then spent five years in the Army before getting out and moving into the corporate world. He was ousted from Proctor & Gamble last year, after a 33-year career, following a string of disappointing quarters that drove stock prices down and eventually attracted activist investor pressure.

Cerner is going after a huge government contract

Cerner announces that it will partner with Leidos (formerly SAIC) and Accenture in its bid for the DoD EHR contract.

Are Meaningful Use Stage 2 certified EHRs ready for interoperability? Findings from the SMART C-CDA Collaborative

A JAMIA study finds that many Meaningful Use Stage 2 certified EHR vendors have failed to properly implemented the interoperability standards outlined within the MU2 Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (C-CDA) specifications. Researchers found 615 errors within 91 sample C-CDA documents provided from 21 different certified EHR platforms.

Morning Headlines 6/26/14

Four to six teams expected to bid on Defense health record effort

FCW predicts that a total of just four to six teams will compete for the upcoming DoD EHR contract, with three already being identified as: Epic/IBM, CSC/Allscripts/HP, and VA/Vista.

A medical first: Quadriplegic man controls arm using a chip implanted in his brain

A quadriplegic man has regained muscle control of his arm through the help of a computer chip implanted in his brain that captures and transmits commands to an electrode-packed sleeve worn around his arm. One researcher explains “It’s much like a heart bypass, but instead of bypassing blood, we’re actually bypassing electrical signals. We’re taking those signals from the brain, going around the injury, and actually going directly to the muscles."

Verizon Expands Access to Medical Care for Patients, With ‘Verizon Virtual Visits’

Verizon introduces a HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform that it will market to health systems, payers, and employers.

Morning Headlines 6/24/14

An analysis of electronic health record-related patient safety concerns

A study published in JAMIA analyzes 100 EHR-related patient safety investigations conducted within the VA between 2009 and 2013 and find that 74 stemmed from unsafe technology, while another 25 stemmed from unsafe use of technology. The study points to poorly designed clinical screens within the EHR as the most common technology failure, followed by: improperly configured software introduced to the live environment after a system upgrade; multi-system interfaces introducing erroneous data into the patient chart; and hidden dependencies within the systems triggering unwanted changes to patient care, such as medications being automatically discontinued in the background because a patient was transferred from an outpatient to an inpatient status. The study also warned that “EHR-related safety concerns involving both unsafe technology and unsafe use of technology persist long after go-live.”

Massachusetts paying $35M to end contract

Massachusetts will pay CGI Group, the contractor responsible for its failed health insurance exchange, $35 million to conclude the contract and part ways.

$800,000 HIPAA settlement in medical records dumping case

Parkview Health System agrees to pay a $800,000 HIPAA settlement after inadvertently leaving 71 boxes of patient medical records unsecured in a local physician’s driveway. Employees were trying to deliver the medical records to a local physician’s house, but when they arrived and found no one home, they stacked the boxes in his driveway and left.

Morning Headlines 6/23/14

Secretary Burwell announces steps to bolster management and accountability ahead of the 2015 open enrollment period

Incoming HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell reorganizes the Healthcare.gov management team in preparation for the 2014 open enrollment period, beginning in October.

Evidence based medicine: a movement in crisis?

BMJ publishes an article calling out evidence-based medicine practices as being laden with unintended, negative consequences. The article cites an overabundance of evidence, particularly evidence that does not result in meaningful quality gains, as well as the pharmaceutical industries heavy handed influence on research, and evidence-based medicine’s inability to cope with patients with comorbidities.

Medical Device Data Systems, Medical Image Storage Devices, and Medical Image Communications Devices – Draft Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff

The FDA publishes draft guidance confirming that it will not enforce regulations on Medical Device Data Systems, which are define as hardware or software products that transfer, store, convert, or display medical device data.

New Technology Helps Vets Navigate the Medical Quagmire

The Huffington Post profiles BlueButton, calling it a means for veterans to download all of their VA and DoD medical records so that they can skip the unacceptable waiting lines at the VA and seek care elsewhere.

Morning Headlines 6/19/14

Launching Aledade

Former National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari, MD, announces today that he is launching a new startup dedicated to helping primary care physicians form ACOs. The new venture is backed with a $4.5 million seed investment from Venrock.

What should Congress do to help medical innovation?

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a roundtable meeting next Tuesday to discuss the implications data-driven population health programs have on individual patient privacy rights.

Oregon takes steps toward lawsuit over defunct health exchange website

Oregon is reportedly preparing to file a lawsuit against Oracle Corp over its failed $134 million health insurance exchange.

FDA Proposes Rules for Listing Risks on Social Media

The FDA has issued long awaited regulatory guidelines for drug manufacturers and medical device makers that use social media for marketing purposes.

Morning Headlines 6/18/14

Nuance Communications Explores Possible Sale

Nuance executives are reportedly looking to sell the speech recognition company and are actively holding meetings with potential suitors, including Samsung. Activist investor Carl Icahn, who has amassed a 19 percent stake in the company and is now the single largest shareholder, is likely pushing for the sale through his two recently placed board representatives.

Digital woes hamper Alexian Brothers’ shift to new Medicaid program

Alexian Brothers cancels its plans to form an ACO, saying that connecting the various ambulatory EHRs within its market would be too difficult to manage.

Medtronic buys Covidien for $42.9 billion

Medical device maker Medtronic buys rival Covidien for $42.9 billion, a 29 percent premium over the company’s closing stock price Friday. The deal will allow Medtronic to move its headquarters to Ireland, where it will enjoy a 12.5 percent corporate tax rate, far lower than the 35 percent federal tax rate in the US.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, 2014 Update: How the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally

A Commonwealth Fund study finds that the US has the most expensive health system in the world, but underperforms compared to other countries on most quality, access, efficiency, and equity measures.

Morning Headlines 6/17/14

VA Seeks Proposals for New Scheduling Technology

The VA will issue an RFP for commercial scheduling software to replace its existing VistA scheduling system which, in the fallout of the VA waitlist scandal, has been heavily criticized as being outdated and unfit for use.

Major medical records breaches pass 1,000 milestone as enforcement ramps up

The HHS “Wall of Shame”, which lists all organizations that have had major data breaches, passes the 1,000 breach mark this month. One in 10 US residents is estimated to have had their health data compromised as a result of major data breaches.

Google Wants To Collect Your Health Data With ‘Google Fit’

Google will return to the consumer health space with a new Android-based platform called Google Fit. Google Fit captures health data from activity trackers and medical devices and consolidates it into a centralized platform. The move comes despite Google’s past failures in the consumer health space. Google launched Google Health in 2008, a service with a remarkably similar business model, only to shutter it in 2011 due to an overwhelming lack of consumer interest. The unveil pf Google Fit will take place during next week’s Google I/O developer conference.

ACA triggers big drop in Minnesota’s uninsured rate

The uninsured rate has dropped 41 percent in Minnesota, to below five percent, since September’s ACA enrollment period began. Research lead Julie Sonier said, “We have never seen anything like the change that we have seen between last fall and May 1st of this year.”

Morning Headlines 6/16/14

Cumberland Consulting Group Acquires Cipe Consulting Group

Nashville,TN-based Cumberland Consulting Group acquires Cipe Consulting Group, a Seattle-based firm that specialized in EHR and Revenue Cycle projects.

Is Meaningful Use Becoming the Next ICD10?

Eric Boehme, associate director of informatics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, questions the future of the EHR Incentive Program after MU Stage 2 is delayed, ONC National Coordinator, Farzad Mostashari, CMS Administrator, Marilyn Tavenner, and the HSS Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius all resign, and ONC’s stimulus funding begins to dry up.

Lack of input, training created problems with Athens Regional electronic records system

A local paper reports that two Cerner VP’s and the hospital’s own CMO are blaming the IT department at Athens Regional Health System for its failed $31 million implementation, saying that IT-led installs are atypical and that the clinicians that would ultimately be the primary end users should have made many of the decisions that were being made by IT leadership.

Beware Bad Data About Hospitals

Johns Hopkins’ patient safety expert Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD publishes an editorial on the unregulated and often confusing state of hospital quality data.

Morning Headlines 6/13/14

ONC’s Chief Privacy Officer Tenders Resignation

Joy Pitts, the ONC’s first Chief Privacy Officer, resigns after four years of service.

Healthcare authentication software provider Imprivata sets terms for $75 million IPO

Imprivata reports that it will raise $75 million in its upcoming IPO by offering 5 million shares at a price of $14 to $16 per share.

KeyBanc Downgrades Computer Programs and Systems (CPSI) to Underweight

Analysts downgrade CPSI stock due to increased small market competition. Healthland is seen as a stronger market presence, and Epic is encroaching on the territory through its Community Connect program.

NHS waiting list passes 3m for first time in six years

In England, the NHS appointment wait list has passed 3 million patients for the first time in six years, though it managed to meet its goal of providing 90 percent of patients with appointments within 18 weeks.