Posted on March 29th, 2012 by Frank Fortin
In an age where the federal government has settled on a total of 33 quality metrics in its final rule for accountable care organizations, figuring out how to track data and meet quality and performance benchmarks is becoming a critical part of a physician’s role in providing quality care to patients. More practices in Massachusetts [...]
Filed under: Accountable Care Organizations, Electronic health records, Health IT, meaningful use | No Comments »
Posted on January 18th, 2011 by Rick Gulla
Legal issues continue to loom ever larger in the world of medicine. The establishment of accountable care organizations is presenting new challenges for physicians, and now, the implementation of the federal HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act – the law enacted last year to promote the adoption and meaningful use of [...]
Filed under: Electronic Medical Records, Electronic health records | No Comments »
Posted on January 17th, 2011 by Frank Fortin
The “dizzying” pace of change in our health care system requires physicians to adapt quickly to this new world, says chief medical office of CMS’ New England Region, Dr. William Kassler. Speaking at the Massachusetts Medical Society’s health IT conference on Friday, Dr. Kassler began his remarks by outlining the impressive breadth of innovation occurring [...]
Filed under: Electronic Medical Records, Electronic health records, Health IT | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 14th, 2011 by Frank Fortin
Dr. David Blumenthal, the leader of the federal government’s health IT initiative, keynoted the MMS’ health IT conference with remarks today asserting that adoption of health IT is a professional imperative for physicians. “Information and its management is a core competency for the profession,” he said. “Can we be technically competent if we don’t manage [...]
Filed under: Electronic Medical Records, Electronic health records, Health IT | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 10th, 2011 by Frank Fortin
The American Medical Association has released one of the most comprehensive resources produced so far to help physicians evaluate their options for practice integration, accountable care organizations, and other issues, following the passage of federal health reform last year. The resource may also be helpful to Massachusetts physicians who are thinking about what statewide payment [...]
Filed under: Accountable Care Organizations, Electronic Medical Records, Electronic health records, Global Payments, Payment Reform | No Comments »
Posted on September 9th, 2010 by Frank Fortin
The state agency charged with helping physicians and hospitals implement electronic health records has released its list of 18 certified “implementation organizations” to act as consultants to practices during the implementation process. They range from hospitals and health care systems, to private consulting firms, to even a few EHR vendors themselves. The state also unveiled [...]
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Posted on July 13th, 2010 by Frank Fortin
The federal government today released its revised and final “meaningful use” regulations that define how physicians can qualify for Medicare or Medicare bonuses after installing electronic health records. The rules don’t change the timeline for demonstrating the meaningful use of EHRs, but relax some of the standards that physicians and hospitals must achieve. No doubt, [...]
Filed under: Electronic Medical Records, Electronic health records | 1 Comment »
Posted on July 12th, 2010 by Frank Fortin
The federal government’s long-awaited guidelines under which it will reimburse physicians for implementing electronic health record systems are scheduled to be released 10 a.m. Eastern Time Tuesday. These rules, known as “meaningful use” rules, were issued in draft form earlier this year, and were promptly attacked by almost every entity in organized medicine. The AMA [...]
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Posted on January 4th, 2010 by Frank Fortin
The federal government last week finally unveiled its proposed definition for the “meaningful use” of electronic health records. Almost immediately, there were critics. Physicians and hospital systems have been waiting for these definitions for many months. Last winter, as part of the sweeping federal stimulus bill, Congress set aside $20 billion to subsidize physicians, hospitals [...]
Filed under: Electronic Medical Records, Electronic health records, meaningful use | 2 Comments »
Posted on June 29th, 2009 by Frank Fortin
The American Medical Association and 81 state and specialty medical societies told federal officials last week that proposed milestones for the physician installation of electronic health records is too aggressive because physicians “lack the necessary infrastructure, standards, and systems” to achieve the council’s proposed timetable. The Massachusetts Medical Society was one of the state medical [...]
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