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Texting of patient orders among members by healthcare teams is now permissible at hospitals and critical access hospitals when done through a HIPAA-compliant secure platform in compliance with CMS Conditions of Participation rules, the agency says.

HHS is proposing expensive new disincentives to prevent information blocking. There are significant details to be aware of, especially around a list of enumerated exceptions – and HCOs must work quickly to understand them, data privacy experts say.

The CMS-based disincentives outlined in the proposed rule from ONC published Monday would penalize hospitals under the Promoting Interoperability Program, eligible clinicians under MIPS and ACO participants under the Medicare Shared Savings Program.

More than 400 healthcare and technology organizations are calling on Capitol Hill to eliminate arbitrary restrictions while helping FQHCs and critical access hospitals offer wider access to virtual care.

A JAMIA study published this week finds that CAHs are less likely to have implemented tools aimed at patient engagement and clinical data analytics. 

The agency is floating new requirements for hospitals to report on syndromic surveillance, immunization registries, electronic case reporting and electronic reportable laboratory results. It also has new plans for quality reporting.

The QualityNet Secure Portal, or QNet streamlines data submission methods to make it easier for eligible hospitals and CAH’s to report.

Physicians transitioning to MIPS and hospitals going for meaningful use can avoid penalty.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services urges Congress to institute more flexibility for quality reporting and eliminate clinical decision support and computerized provider order entry measures for eligible hospitals.

The American Hospital Association has sent a list of demands the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services before the federal agency creates new rules surrounding electronic quality reporting measures. CMS earlier this month extended the public comment period for eCQM from Feb. 1 to Feb. 16, 2016. For starters, AHA, the largest hospital organization in the country, wants CMS to release the results of the previous eCQM demonstrations and pilots. [Also: CMS extends comment period on quality reporting] The organization also wants the agency to expand eCQM education and outreach. CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator first put out their request for public comment on Dec. 31, 2015, which called for feedback on several items related to the certification of health information technology. The request also asks for feedback on electronic health record products used for reporting to CMS incentive programs such as the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program and the Physician Quality Reporting System. AHA senior vice president of public policy Ashley Thompson wrote in comments to acting CMS administrator Andy Slavitt that the “AHA is encouraged that CMS is requesting feedback on several areas of concern to providers.” AHA leaders want CMS to outline transition plans from chart-based reporting to electronic reporting across CMS programs and clearly explain how eCQM will work other organizations’ reporting requirements, such as The Joint Commission. [Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook] Lastly, the AHA asked the agency to speed up efforts to identify and define data needed for reporting and to make sure that any modifications to definitions will align with existing requirements for eligible and critical access hospitals. “The AHA recommends that CMS also consider the input received to date from EHs, CAHs and eligible providers about their eCQM experiences, including the evidence from CMS eCQM pilots and demonstrations, to inform future rulemaking,” AHA wrote. Twitter: @HealthITNews