With the adoption of any new technology, there will be a perfect bell curve each time. However, EMR adoption was accelerated by the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, also known as Meaningful Use. By providing a financial incentive, Meaningful Use sped the process up by approximately 7-10 years.
The maximum incentive possible from Medicare in 2009-2011 was $44,000.
By Lawrence G | July 17, 2013 | Electronic Medical Records News, Healthcare Laws and Regulations |
A recent study published in Academic Medicine indicates that under 25 percent of doctors graduating from medical school go into primary care. The researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services and the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care suggest that the country faces a shortage of primary care physicians and that it will only get worse without fundamental changes.
By Lawrence G | June 24, 2013 | Electronic Medical Records News, Healthcare Laws and Regulations |
PQRS is yet another acronym that doctors are hearing a lot lately; to my surprise, however, I see that most doctors either opt out because of how complicated it is, or think they are already reporting on it but are not. Regardless of which side of the fence you are on,
By Lawrence G | June 10, 2013 | Healthcare Laws and Regulations |
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner received Senate confirmation yesterday to serve as permanent administrator of the federal agency. The landslide 91 to 7 vote, after she has served over two years as acting administrator following her predecessor Donald Berwick, M.D.’s resignation, makes Tavenner the first CMS administrator to be confirmed by the U.S.
By Lawrence G | May 16, 2013 | Electronic Medical Records News, Healthcare Laws and Regulations |
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has debuted a public online database of hospital charges for the hundred most common inpatient procedures. The Obama administration’s efforts to bring transparency, accountability, and affordability to the healthcare industry under the Affordable Care Act have cast into sharp relief the large variances in medical billing charges from different hospitals,
By Lawrence G | May 10, 2013 | Healthcare Laws and Regulations, Medical Billing Software |
One-time nurse Marilyn Tavenner is expected to win Senate approval to become the confirmed administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). While Tavenner has been acting as administrator of the agency since being nominated by President Barack Obama after the December 2011 resignation of her predecessor, Dr. Donald Berwick, the Senate Finance Committee never held a nomination hearing in 2012,
By Lawrence G | April 10, 2013 | Healthcare Laws and Regulations |
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has started auditing some healthcare providers before giving them Meaningful Use incentive payments. According to the agency’s Office of E-Health Standards and Services, prepayment audits are being conducted on between five and ten percent of providers who attested to Meaningful Use of their certified Electronic Health Records systems in January 2013.
By Lawrence G | March 27, 2013 | Healthcare Laws and Regulations |
Oregon Health and Science University has notified 4,000 patients of a data breach stemming from the theft of an unencrypted laptop. The computer, which contained protected health information (PHI) including medical record numbers and types of surgeries, was used for research purposes, and only laptops used for patient care were being encrypted.
Officials at the school stated that most of the data was contained in daily surgery schedules and approximately 5,000 E-mails on the laptop computer.
By Lawrence G | March 26, 2013 | Healthcare Laws and Regulations |
An unnamed HIPAA-covered entity in California is suing the Internal Revenue Service, alleging improper access of 60 million medical records by 15 IRS agents. The covered entity, referred to in court documents as John Doe Company, acknowledges that the agents had a search warrant for the financial data of a former employee of the company,
By Lawrence G | March 18, 2013 | Healthcare Laws and Regulations |
Governor Chris Christie announced yesterday that he supports the expansion of the state’s Medicaid program despite his opposition to the Affordable Care Act. The Republican New Jersey governor made it clear that the decision was purely a financial one, calling it “the smart thing to do for our fiscal and public health.”
Approximately 104,000 currently-uninsured low-income NJ residents will be covered under the government healthcare program,
By Lawrence G | February 27, 2013 | Healthcare Laws and Regulations |
