CMS to Delay ICD-10 Implementation

The acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said today  her agency may delay adoption of a complex new insurance coding system. Speaking at a conference of the American Medical Association on Tuesday, Marilyn Tavenner (right) said CMS is considering giving the nation’s doctors more time to switch to the ICD-10 systems.  Currently, [...]

David Szabo: Due Diligence Needed to Protect Patient Information

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 [...]

New England CMS Director Says Physicians Must Adapt

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 [...]

David Blumenthal: Physician Professionalism and Health IT

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 [...]

AMA Releases Comprehensive Physicians’ How-To Guide on ACOs

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 [...]

State Steps Up EHR Support Services for Physicians

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 [...]

Feds Release Revised EHR Rules – Flexible Enough?

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, [...]

“Meaningful Use” Regulations to be Released Tuesday

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 [...]

Feds Release Draft EHR Rules – Critics Attack

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 [...]

Mass. eHealth Collaborative: What We Have Learned So Far

Micky Tripathi, CEO of the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative, discusses what his organization has learned while helping three communities implement electronic health records. The Collaborative kicked off its groundbreaking project two years ago in Newburyport, Brockton, and North Adams, Mass. Listen to the podcast (Length 17:44) (This will open your computer’s default media player in a [...]