Articles by Industry Expert

A Deep Dive on the MACRA NPRM

By John Halamka MD – As promised, I’ve read and taken detailed notes on the entire 962 page MACRA NPRM so that you will not have to. Although this post is long, it is better than the 20 hours of reading I had to do! Here is everything you need to know from an IT perspective about the MACRA NPRM.

Read More

Business Associates: More Than a Checkbox

By Matt Fisher – The Office for Civil Rights announced a $750,000 settlement with Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic, P.A. of NC on 4/20/16, resulting from a breach involving an “undocumented” business associate. The settlement comes only weeks before desk audits are expected to begin and focuses on a perceived area of weakness, BA agreements.



Caring for the Clinician

By Jerry Ford – The Key to Improving Patient Experience, Enhancing Health Outcomes, and Reducing Cost. According to the CMS National Healthcare Expenditure Projections report, the US healthcare system is the most expensive in the world, making up 17% of the country’s GDP. Projections of 20% by 2020.


The Value of Interoperability: We’ve Come a Long Way

By Lorelle Lapstra – I’ve worked in medical imaging for over 25 years and in that time I’ve seen the industry take amazing strides forward on the road to better patient care. When I compare today’s technology stack, the clinical breakthroughs, image quality and support for interoperability to where they were when I first began my career, it’s remarkable how far we’ve come.


Software Vocabulary

By William Hyman – Users of software such as EHRs are sometimes presented with jargon laced responses that may be unique to the software world. For example, as I may have noted here before, I have long been fond of the term “upgrade” when used to mean fixing something that was never right in the first place.



Moving Toward Improved Care Through Information

By Karen B. DeSalvo MD & Andy Slavitt – Seven years ago, Congress passed a law to spur the country to digitize the health care experience for Americans and connect doctor’s practices and hospitals, thereby modernizing patient care through the Electronic Health Records (EHRs) Incentive Programs, also known as “Meaningful Use.”


Protecting Patient Information

By John Halamka MD – In my 20 years as a CIO, my expertise has evolved to include infrastructure provisioning, software architecture, strategic planning, mobile application advocacy and cloud procurement. However, in recent years, my focus has been guided by privacy and security risk mitigation.