By Matt Fisher – Every industry, whether it be healthcare, financial, or anything else, is under constant attack or threat to digital information. This is not news, especially in light of the numerous stories about breaches from Target to Hyatt Hotels to voter databases to health insurers and more.
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By Harpreet S. Sood MD, David Bates MD & Aziz Sheikh – The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 invested $30 billion to stimulate the adoption and “meaningful use” of electronic health records and related infrastructure—with the belief that such heath information technology (HIT) can help achieve the “triple aim”: better care experiences, better population health, and reduced per-capita costs.
By Andy Slavitt – From at the J.P. Morgan Annual Health Care Conference, Jan. 11, 2016. Slavitt speaking about the major policy areas that will affect the health care sector in 2016. I am particularly glad to be here with Jim from AMA, because between us we are working on an incredible amount of change across the health care sector.
Like all great rumors it started with a grain of truth. CMS acting administrator Andy Slavitt, made a statement (“… we’re now in the process of ending meaningful use”…) that took on a life of its own and soon the mole hill became a mountain. In the blink of an eye the word spread that the meaningful use program had died.
By William Hersh – As regular readers of this blog know, I traditionally end each year with a posting reflecting back on the past year. While this year has been another great success for myself and our informatics program at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), it has been somewhat of a transitional year for the informatics field. Many of the new and exciting initiatives in the informatics field from recent years are no longer novel, with some now settling into “midlife” and others being called out for retirement.
The GetMyHealthData Campaign is commending the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for offering new guidance on patients’ rights to access their health records under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule.
The Meaningful Use program has had a profound impact on the adoption of health information technology and furthering the digitization of the healthcare delivery system. CHIME members have long supported the underlying goals of the program and the industry has made significant progress in implementing IT systems to improve patient care, reduce costs and create a more efficient delivery system.
Last month Congress passed a cybersecurity bill as part of the 2016 Omnibus budget. The bill formalizes the information sharing process among industry and government and recognizes the importance of a healthcare industry specific cybersecurity approach.
By Jane Sarasohn-Kahn – While the health care market environment for 2016 has many uncertainties, there is one certainty that will drive adoption and deeper use of IT: the need to do more with less money. Whether value-based, bundled or slashed reimbursement, health care providers and consumers will be faced with rising costs and the need to do more with less.