Morning Headlines 1/13/14

Obama administration to end contract with CGI Federal, company behind HealthCare.gov

CGI Federal, the Canadian contractor responsible for developing Healthcare.gov, will lose its contract for the job because of the failed rollout, and ineffective performance since. Accenture, who developed California’s insurance exchange, is expected to sign a one-year $90 million deal to take over responsibility for fixing the site.

NHS data move opt-out ‘damaging’

In England, the NHS is sending pamphlets to all households to educate the public on its care.data program after widespread public concerns over privacy resulted in an increase in opt-out requests. The care.data program connects NHS databases with private practice offices to help the government assess diseases, examine new drugs on the market, and identify infection outbreaks.

Quality Systems, Inc. Announces Expected Impairment in Its Hospital Solutions Division

QSII, parent company of NextGen, announces that it expects to record a loss on its Q3 financial reports once its Hospital Solutions Division completes a long-lived asset impairment analysis. The company could write down as much as $30 million depending on the results of the review.

IBM Set to Expand Watson’s Reach

In an effort to increase profitability of its Watson business unit, IBM announces that it will invest $1 billion in the project. The money will be used, in part, to expand its sales and marketing force, and to launch a $100 million VC fund aimed at kick starting Watson-based development efforts.

Morning Headlines 1/10/14

Merge Revises Previously Announced Subscription Backlog Totals

After an internal audit at Merge uncovers that 25 percent of its backlog contracts were fraudulently submitted by a salesperson attempting to collect unearned commissions, the company is forced to republish its previously reported subscription backlog. Merge stock prices have dropped 16 percent since Wednesday’s announcement.The salesperson has since resigned and offered to pay restitution, and incident has been reported to the US Attorney’s office.

Are drug companies using your health records to sell you stuff?

According to a Reuters report, pharmaceutical companies are partnering with freeware ambulatory EHR vendors to push medication ads into the exam room and, in some cases, are even emailing patients refill and vaccination reminders in the physicians name.

AHIMA: Board of Directors

AHIMA members elect Angela Kennedy, EdD, MBA, RHIA as president and chair of the board of directors. Kennedy is the chairman of the department of health informatics and information management at Louisiana Tech University.

Morning Headlines 1/9/14

The HIMSS Health IT Value Suite

HIMSS launches a platform designed to help hospitals substantiate the value of healthcare IT investments by collecting hundreds of case studies that demonstrate EHR related safety, quality, or financial improvement, and then creating a nice data visualization that lets you explore the information.

A Standard Model For Evaluating Return On Investment From Electronic Health Record Implementation

Citing a wealth of conflicting studies that base their findings on non-standardized research methodologies, the Institute of Medicine proposes a standard framework to help providers identify and quantify both the costs and benefits of EHR implementation.

FDA Wants to Leverage Electronic Medical Records to Probe for Adverse Events

The FDA is looking for contractors to help it begin mining EHR data for signs that a post-market drug may be causing unknown adverse events.

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Reaches Stage 7

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, an Epic hospital, earns HIMSS Stage 7 designation for both its hospital and 14 of its associated ambulatory offices. 2.2 percent of US hospitals and 1.2 percent of ambulatory practices have now achieved Stage 7 designation.

Morning Headlines 1/8/14

Governor Blames IBM For Minnesota’s Troubled Obamacare Website

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton blames IBM for the state’s health insurance exchange problems. IBM was not the main contractor of the $46 million website, but is taking the brunt of the blame because it provided the critical components that failed.

Providers Look For Next Level of Healthcare Analytics

KLAS evaluates the the healthcare analytics market, which it says has yet to deliver products that offer robust functionality while being easy to use.

Whidbey General Hospital billing system gets pricey

Coupeville, WA-based Whidbey General Hospital’s $7.5 million Meditech implementation caused billing issues that prevented claims from being sent out, leaving the hospital with just 2.5 days of cash on hand at one point.

House leader unveils exchange security act

Representative Joe Pitts (PA) will introduce The Health Exchange Security and Transparency Act, which would require that HHS notify individuals of any data breach on the health insurance exchanges within two business days.

Morning Headlines 1/7/14

IMS Health files for potential billion-dollar offering

IMS Health, a health care data analysis and consulting firm that works primarily in the pharmaceutical industry, filed initial IPO paperwork Thursday. Analysts estimate that the company should raise between $500 million and $1 billion with the offering.

McKesson Introduces Paragon Ambulatory Care Practice Management Solution

McKesson extends its Paragon HCIS footprint into the ambulatory space with a new practice management solution that promises scheduling, billing, registration, patient education, and health maintenance support along with an enterprise-wide integrated database and a unified look and feel.

Usability of EHRs remains a priority for ONC

Jacob Reider, MD, acting national coordinator for health IT publishes a blogpost calling for a renewed emphasis on EHR usability, saying "But as a physician who has used an EHR in my clinical life since 2001, I worry that some of the usability challenges that we early adopters tolerated “for now” (a decade ago) remain unresolved."

Senators press for EHR interoperability

Senators John Thune (SD) and Mike Enzi (WY) added an amendment to the recently passed short term budget deal that calls for meaningful EHR interoperability to be achieved by 2017. A separate, more specific, amendment was also added that directs HHS to adopt a common interoperability standard by 2017, as part of the rules for Meaningful Use Stage 3.

Morning Headlines 1/6/14

Biotech Firm: We Will 3D Print A Human Liver In 2014

Organovo, a San Diego-based biotech company, says it will produce functional 3D printed human livers by the end of 2014. The organs will be used for pharmaceutical testing, not implanting.

Online Doctor’s Notes a Hit with Patients, Study Shows

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine follows three hospitals as they go live with patient portals that include unedited physician notes. The year-long study found that 80 percent of participating patients had read their physician’s notes, and that "large majorities reported having better recall and understanding of their care plans and feeling more in control of their health care. Moreover, two thirds of patients who were taking medications reported improved adherence."

Computer failure adds to ambulance patients’ pain

In Australia, an ambulance service is seeking a government bailout after its electronic billing system malfunctioned and left it with $7.5 million in unbilled services.

Morning Headlines 1/3/14

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

Leon Rodriguez, director of the Office for Civil Rights of HHS, will be nominated to take over as the Department of Homeland Security’s director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Other new NC laws taking effect with the new year

In North Carolina, a law that took effect on January 1 requires that all hospitals connect with the North Carolina HIE and submit data on any services paid for by Medicaid.

Pentagon Kicks Off Procurement To Maintain Current Health Record Until 2018

The DoD initiates a procurement process that will allow it to stick with its existing EHR until 2018.

Cerner ‘seals the deal’ on $4.3 billion office plan at Bannister site

Cerner completes its purchase of a 237-acre property outside Kansas City where it will build a $4.3 billion campus over the next 10 years, eventually providing office space for 15,000 employees.

Digital Health Funding: A Year In Review

Health IT startups raised $1.9 billion in VC funding during 2013, a record breaking year and 39 percent increase over last year. Most money went to EHR vendors, big data startups, population health tools, wearable biosensors, and patient engagement platforms.

Morning Headlines 1/2/14

White Sulphur Springs hospital says company never installed health records system

Mountainview Medical Center (MT) is suing NextGen Healthcare Information Systems for failing to install a certified EHR by a contractually agreed upon install date of June 1, 2013. When the date passed, the NextGen and Mountainview agreed to a new delivery date of October 1 but, according to the lawsuit, the extra time did not resolve the underlying issues and no system was ever installed.

3 hospitals start new year at Stage 7

Hilo Medical Center (HI), Round Rock Hospital (TX), and White Health System (TX) are all named to the HIMSS stage 7 list. Round Rock and White Health’s ambulatory clinics received stage 7 ambulatory designation as well. Both run Epic across their networks, while Hilo is a Meditech 6 site.

Stocks of KC firms large, small did well in 2013

Cerner is profiled by the Kansas City Star newspaper in a year-end review of the city’s top performing businesses. Cerner shares grew 43 percent in 2013.

Morning Headlines 12/31/13

10 things to know about Karen DeSalvo

Karen DeSalvo, the new national coordinator for health IT, is profiled in a GovHealthIT article that reviews her past accomplishments and experiences.

Hospital patients can track care with bedside tablet computer

Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center is profiled by local media after piloting Epic’s myChart Bedside, a patient portal designed for patients currently admitted to the hospital. The app allows patients to see pictures and profiles of their care team, review their daily plan as well as lab results, and read or watch patient education material.

The December deluge: 1.1 million have enrolled on HealthCare.gov

Healthcare.gov turns in its best month to date, with 975,000 newly enrolled in December, for a total of 1.1 million since launch.

Dermatology practice settles potential HIPAA violations

A dermatology practice in MA pays $150k in fines to HHS over HIPAA violations after an unencrypted thumb drive with the ePHI of 2,200 patients get stolen from an employees car. Officials from HHS say this case marks the first time that a covered entity has been fined for not having implemented the breach notification provisions of the HITECH act.

Morning Headlines 12/30/13

PCORI Awards $93.5 Million to Develop National Network to Support More Efficient Patient-Centered Research

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute will invest $93 million in a new project aimed at developing a collaborative network of health systems, payers, and patient groups working together to conduct more efficient health research.

Use of a Text Message Program to Raise Type 2 Diabetes Risk Awareness and Promote Health Behavior Change (Part I): Assessment of Participant Reach and Adoption

A study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research designed to measure the participation and adoption rates of a text-based type 2 diabetes program finds that only 39 percent of enrolled participants completed the 14 week program, leading researchers to conclude that text-based programs may not be appropriate for everyone.

HIMSS Career Services to Focus on Veterans

HIMSS will launch a program aimed at introducing military veterans to " future careers in the health IT industry." The program, which was government funded, will be located on the exhibit floor at HIMSS14. Any military veterans that might be interested in the health IT industry need only get themselves down to the HIMSS conference, pay $575 for a single day conference pass, and then proceed to the “A Hero’s Welcome to Health IT” booth. Once there, they’ll meet other veterans that are working in health IT that will be able to answer questions for them, and they’ll learn about HIMSS entry-level certification exams.  

Morning Headlines 12/27/13

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Office of Inspector General (OIG) Extend Sunset Dates for Electronic Health Records (EHR) Subsidy Rules

CMS extends the sunset date on the Stark exception to December 31, 2021. The decision will allow hospitals to continue to finance EHR implementations for referring physician practices without breaking anti-kickback laws.

More partnerships between doctors and hospitals strengthen coordinated care for Medicare beneficiaries

123 new ACOs are announced, bringing the national total to 360.

MaineHealth increasing spending on software system that was involved with billing glitches

MaineHealth will increase the budget on its Epic install from $145 to $200 million. Bill Caron, president of MaineHealth, says that the health system underestimated the total cost of training all its staff on Epic, and acknowledges that it was a mistake to start the install at 600-bed Maine Medical Center, the systems largest hospital.  The additional funding will be used to provide end users additional Epic training.

EMR alert cuts sepsis deaths

Active surveillance alerts generated by the EHR at Mount Sinai Hospital (NY) have led to earlier detection of sepsis in its inpatient census, resulting in a 40 percent reduction in its sepsis mortality rate.

Morning Headlines 12/26/13

Technology, prevention will move health care costs down

In a USA Today article, David Blumenthal, MD, outlines a multi-pronged plan for reducing national healthcare costs.

Investing in the nation’s health

In a Washington Times op-ed piece, NIH director Francis Collins says that spending cuts on top of small annual budgets have weakened NIH’s ability to carry out its mission of turning scientific discoveries into better health. Still, he holds hope for the administrations BRIAN initiative, as well as the rise of big data.

The year in HIE: Public, private sectors prodded to interoperability

In a 2013 year end review, various developments in the HIE sector are discussed.

Morning Headlines 12/24/13

HIMSS Foundation and National eHealth Collaborative Merge

The board of directors from both the HIMSS Foundation and the National eHealth Collaborative have approved a merger of the two organizations, effective December 23. NeHC was created five years ago by HHS as an independent, non-profit organization that worked closely with the ONC to encourage effective use of health IT. The original five-year funding agreement from ONC ended in 2013.

Taking the EHR penalty: More doc offices may opt out

The financial incentive to continue along with Meaningful Use may not be strong enough to persuade eligible providers to adopt Stage 2 and 3 functionality, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians, whose Center for HIT director Dr. Jason Mitchel commented, “We saw a 17% drop off of meaningful users that engaged in 2011 but didn’t in 2012. I think it’s going to be more for 2013.”

Editor’s letter: 10 years and 6 czars into HIT, where are we now?

Diana Manos reviews the 10 year history of the ONC, which, if you include the newly named Karen DeSalvo, MD, has been led by six national coordinators.

Top Scientific Discoveries of 2013

Healthcare dominates Wired’s list of Top Scientific Discoveries of 2013, which included: Genome editing, imaging advancements that allow researchers to render the brain transparent, building functioning organs from stem cells, and a variety of implantable electronics designed to improve health.

Morning Headlines 12/23/13

Navy to VA: We Printed Out Health Records and Mailed Them

According to a NextGov report, despite millions invested in DoD/VA integration, when a sailor is discharged from the Navy a paper copy of their entire medical record is printed out, put in an envelope, and mailed to the VA where it is then, eventually, batch scanned into their system for benefits processing.

Our Epic Journey Begins With You

New Bedford, MA-based Southcoast Health System, a three-hospital system, will implement Epic across all of its hospitals and clinics.

‘Let the Crime Spree Begin’: How Fraud Flourishes in Medicare’s Drug Plan

A  ProPublica investigation uses Medicare’s own data and finds widespread fraud by analyzing the prescription data of physicians whose prescribing behaviors over time showed the hallmark signs of having been used for by scammers for fraud.

Morning Headlines 12/20/13

DeSalvo Named National Coordinator

Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MsC will be the next National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. She will take over on January 13, relieving Jacob Reider, MD, who has served as interim national coordinator since Farzad Mostashari, MD stepped down in October.

Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange ICD-10 Survey Results

Vendors, hospitals, practices, and payers are all behind in preparing for the ICD-10 conversion, according to a new report.

Reps Matsui (CA) and Johnson (OH) Introduce Bipartisan Legislation Creating a Federal Definition of Telehealth

Representatives Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Bill Johnson (R-OH) have introduced the Telehealth Modernization Act of 2013, which would help standardize telehealth reimbursement policies amid inconsistent state legislation.

Kansas’ online medical records networks to connect, starting Thursday

On Tuesday, the Kansas Health Information Exchange will connect with the Lewis and Clark Information Exchange. The HIEs are for-profit competitors and initially fought the state’s mandate that they share records, going so far at one point as to threaten to charge each other transaction fees for each shared record.

Morning Headlines 12/19/13

How mandated reporting set infection rates on the decline 

Six years after New York’s Department of Health started publishing hospital-acquired infection data, the rates of most infections are trending downward.

GAO report says CMS’ rule on quality reporting system may be too vague

A GAO report finds that new CMS rules designed to boost participation in PQRS reporting are too vague to have a meaningful impact on participation. The report’s authors suggest that one solution could be to require EHR vendors to develop reporting tools that make it easier to extract the data that the PQRS registry needs.

Saint Francis debt: $50 million

Poughkeepsie, NY-based St.Francis Hospital files bankruptcy after billing issues associated with its recent Meditech implementation leads to millions in unrecoverable lost revenue. CEO Art Nizza took ownership of the problem, saying that the clinical systems worked well because proper attention was paid to their implementation, and that had the same attention been given to the revenue cycle implementation, the problems might not have grown to the point that bankruptcy was necessary.

Ryan Donovan Departs Visa For Late Stage Start-Up

Ryan Donovan will leave his position as head of global PR for Visa to join Practice Fusion as the VP of corporate communications.

Morning Headlines 12/18/13

Former Microsoft Executive Kurt DelBene To Replace Jeff Zients

CMS taps recently retired Microsoft VP Kurt DelBene to take over Healthcare.gov. DelBene was formerly in charge of the Microsoft Office division. He will take over for Jeff Zients, who stepped in to oversee the immediate fixes needed just after the October 1 launch.

HealthTech Unifies Brands as MEDHOST, Names Herrod as President

HealthTech, the parent company of MEDHOST, HMS, and Patient Logic, consolidates all of its businesses under the MEDHOST brand name and names Craig Herrod president of the new organization. Herrod was formerly the president and CEO of MEDHOST.

Paulsen Introduces Legislation to Streamline and Enhance U.S. Healthcare Delivery

Congressman Erik Paulsen introduces a bill that would require the use of clinical decision support tools by physicians when ordering imaging studies on Medicare patients.

New Approaches for Delivering Primary Care Could Reduce Predicted Physician Shortage

A RAND study looks at alternative models for delivering primary care services that would help alleviate the growing physician shortage. Researchers focused on the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) and the nurse-managed health center (NMHC) models and found that projected PCP shortages could be substantially reduced by increasing the use of these models.