Monthly Archives: July 2011

HIE’s More Than Double Since Last Year

Posted on July 11, 2011 by

By Mary Mosquera,  for Government Health IT   The number of operational health information exchanges has more than doubled to 228 since last year, and of those, private exchanges have increased more rapidly than public organizations for sharing information, according … Continue reading →

Posted in EHR, EMR, Health Information Technology (IT), HIE | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

HHS Propose Framework to Assist States in Building Affordable Insurance Exchanges

Posted on July 11, 2011 by

US Department of Health & Human Services   Immediate Release  July 11, 2011 Proposed rules offer states flexibility, choices, competition and clout for consumers and small businesses Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a framework … Continue reading →

Posted in General Healthcare, Legislature | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

VA Awards 14 Major Technology Contracts Totaling $12 Billion

Posted on July 11, 2011 by

By Ken Terry,  for FierceHealthIT The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is hoping to upgrade and “transform” its information systems through a series of 14 recently awarded contracts worth $12 billion. Among the recipients are Hewlett Packard, Booz Allen Hamilton, and Harris … Continue reading →

Posted in Health Information Technology (IT), Veterans Affair (VA) | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Medicare Will Expand Coverage for Telehealth

Posted on July 11, 2011 by

By Ken Terry,  Information Week – Healthcare The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed changing how it defines telehealth services that may be eligible for Medicare coverage. But it’s unclear how far the agency will go in expanding such … Continue reading →

Posted in CMS, Medicare Benefits, Telehealth, Telemedicine | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Obama Administration Offers New Ways to Improve Care, Lower Cost for Medicaid

Posted on July 11, 2011 by

July 8, 2011   US Department of Health & Human Services Initiatives focus on people receiving Medicare and Medicaid benefits The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced three new initiatives to help states improve the quality … Continue reading →

Posted in HHS, Medicaid, Medicare Benefits | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

New Study: Medicaid Makes a “Big Difference” in Lives

Posted on July 8, 2011 by

By Julie Rovner,  for NPR   The study, being published as a working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research, has a distinctly bipartisan flavor. Among its authors are Katherine Baicker of Harvard, who was an economic adviser to … Continue reading →

Posted in CMS, Medicaid | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Legal Oversight May Leave Rural Health Clinics Behind

Posted on July 8, 2011 by

By Alexandra Wilson Pecci, for Health Leaders Media   7/6/2011 A seemingly small omission from the 2009 economic stimulus law could spell big trouble for the country’s thousands of rural health clinics. The problem? If you’re billing the Centers for … Continue reading →

Posted in CMS, Critical Access Hospitals, Meaningful Use, Rural Health Clinics | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

How Hospitals Address Patient Experience via Mobile Apps

Posted on July 8, 2011 by

By Carrie Vaughan, Health Leaders Media The number of people using mobile technology is on the rise. In 2008, the number of smartphone subscribers was 15 million. That number almost doubled in 2009, reaching 26 million, and is expected to … Continue reading →

Posted in Health Information Technology (IT), Mobile Apps | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

HIMSS: Engage Nurses as Informatics Leaders

Posted on July 8, 2011 by

By Christine LaFave Grace   Modern Healthcare In the information technology-driven evolution of healthcare, nurses must be made key stakeholders, according to a new position statement (PDF) from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). The statement calls for … Continue reading →

Posted in Health Information Technology (IT), HIMSS, Nurse Informatics | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Latest HIE Toolkit for Building Information Exchanges

Posted on July 8, 2011 by

By Ken Terry, Fierce Health IT The 10-year-old eHealth Initiative has released Phase II of its 2011 HIE Toolkit. Like the first two iterations of the toolkit, which were issued in 2006 and 2008, the latest version incorporates lessons learned … Continue reading →

Posted in Health Information Exchange | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment