One of the ways that HITECH Answers is different from other media sites is the sense of community. The thought leaders in our community are good about sharing their thoughts on the issues of today. We publish at least eleven guest posts a week now, on our three sites. In case you missed some, here are the top ten read and shared guest posts of the month. You can also read previous month’s Top Ten Lists. Thank you for contributing and reading.
Effectively Combating Ransomware in Healthcare
By Susan Biddle, Sr. Director of Healthcare, Fortinet
Twitter: @Fortinet
The havoc that Ransomware creates is real, its immediate impact and implications clear: workstations are disabled, files are encrypted and systems are shut down. The screen tells you what’s wrong and how much you’ll need to pay to fix it. It’s a straightforward transaction that everyone understands, and it’s driving IT security budgets around the world. Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
Leading The Path With Information Governance
By Johanna Legaspi, Hayes Management Consulting
Twitter: @HayesManagement
When hearing the words “information governance”, at first glance, you think ‘does this deal with the government’? In fact, it is a part of something larger than we expected: healthcare information and data security. Lately in the healthcare news, we have been hearing a significant increase surrounding cyber security threats to healthcare industry most especially in patient data breach or ransomware. Why is this happening? Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
2016 Meaningful Use – Patient Engagement
By Jim Tate, EMR Advocate
Twitter: @JimTate
In 2015 CMS released a Final Rule that upset the Meaningful Use (MU) apple cart. No longer did we have to remember what were Core vs. Menu measures. Suddenly both Eligible Hospitals (EH) and Eligible Professionals (EP) had a greatly simplified process to follow in terms of MU measures and stages. However, as often the case, simplification can have unintended consequences. Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
With the Final MACRA Rule on the Horizon, Here’s What You Need to Know Right Now
By Neil Simon, COO, Aprima Medical Software
Twitter: @AprimaMedEHR
Twitter: @neilasimon
When CMS decided recently to allow physician practices to delay compliance with the MACRA cost and quality program, it was as if a collective sigh of relief could be heard across the country. With the final rule on MACRA anticipated in November, less than two months before reporting was scheduled to start, the timing would have been too close for comfort. Continue reading on RCMAnswers.net…
What Does the Future Look Like for Physicians?
By Alex Tate, Health IT Consultant, CureMD
Twitter: @CureMD
Twitter: @alextate07
Information Technology has truly revolutionized the way healthcare is delivered to patients nationwide. Physicians, hospitals, healthcare centers and other associated services are all using some sort of IT infrastructure in order to provide better care, cut costs and improve patient experience. Despite several hindrances, IT promises a bright future for the industry. The ability of various systems adopted by healthcare professionals to meaningfully interact with each other seamlessly remains an area of concern. Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
False Claims Act Penalties Doubling: Time to Beef Up Your Compliance Program
By Robert Freedman, Hayes Management Consulting
Twitter: @HayesManagement
If you mistakenly submit a single claim that results in a $100 government over reimbursement, you could now be subject to a penalty of over $20,000, according to the lawyers at Mintz Levin, specialists in healthcare law. And that’s for every single claim. To quote Alec Baldwin’s character in the famous Glengarry Glenn Ross monologue, “Have I got your attention now?” Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
How a National Patient Identifier Can Jump-Start Interoperability and Cut Costs
By Thomas Grove, Principal, Phoenix Health Systems
Twitter: @PhoenixHealthIT
Many EHR components were developed as early as 30 years ago, but it wasn’t until 2009 that the federal Meaningful Use incentive program precipitated wide-spread implementation of robust EHRs across healthcare. If the EHRs themselves are young, interoperability is still in its infancy. A large majority of acute care hospitals and other providers now have an HHS-certified EHR, providing the needed critical mass to make interoperability even possible. But many barriers remain, not the least of which is a lack of standardized patient identification. Continue reading on HIEAnswers.net…
When BAs Get Hit with HIPAA Penalties – Providers Beware
By D’Arcy Gue, VP, Industry Relations, Phoenix Health Systems
Twitter: @DarcyGue
A HIPAA-related bomb hit the healthcare industry this summer. The Office of Civil Rights slapped a landmark penalty on a business associate – to the tune of $650,000. This was the first ever penalty on a business associate and gives sharp teeth to the 2013 Omnibus HIPAA Rule provision that HIPAA business associates are now equally subject to penalties for privacy and security breaches as providers and payors. What is most unnerving is how relatively minor the causative incident seems and how easily other business associates (and their covered entity clients) could be similarly penalized. Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
The Promise of Digital Health in REAL Healthcare Reform
By Brian Mack, Manager of Marketing and Communications at Great Lakes Health Connect
Twitter: @GLHC_HIE
Twitter: @BFMack
Way back in 1994, Management Thought Leader Jim Collins, and Stanford Professor Jerry Porras wrote a book about how to build sustainable businesses called Built to Last. In it, Collins and Porras advised their readers of several characteristics that successful organizations share in common. One of those tenets was to embrace the “genius of the AND”. Continue reading on HIEAnswers.net…
MACRA 101 – Part 1
By Abhinav Shashank, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Innovaccer
Twitter: @abhinavshashank
Twitter: @innovaccer
Currently, one of the most discussed topics in the Healthcare industry is MACRA. A complex 962-page document, which is supposed to redesign the entire healthcare industry. Know all about MACRA in 6 questions. What is MACRA? MACRA stands for Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act. It’ll repeal the current Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) Formula and extend CHIP for two more years. Extending CHIP for two more years (in total four years now) will help tens of millions of kids in retaining their insurance. Continue reading on RCMAnswers.net…
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