Government & Policy

VA Committee Chair Phil Roe was also concerned that the amount doesn’t cover maintenance or the cost to update the infrastructure necessary to accommodate the new platform.

Agency Chief Scott Gottlieb also will establish a Center of Excellence on Digital Health designed to create a new way to evaluate third-party certifiers and supported by a cybersecurity unit.

A report found David Shulkin, MD, also improperly accepted tickets to Wimbledon during his summer trip to Europe, but the secretary calls the report inaccurate and biased.

The agency has revamped its healthcare program through text messaging, the Anywhere to Anywhere telemedicine program and other health programs over the last year.

The administration’s plan could inhibit progress on improving interoperability, eradicating info blocking, and medical research but also funds cybersecurity and the VA’s EHR modernization.

The proposed funding is a substantial investment into the initiative, which the administration said will help to facilitate a seamless transition.

“This is a joint appointment between NHS England and NHS Improvement and is a tangible example of the intention for both to work much more closely together, and with NHS Digital, to harness the power of data to improve patient care while keeping costs to taxpayers to an acceptable level,” said Sigurd Reinton, NHS Improvement Non-Executive Director."

The President's proposed budget makes deep cuts to health departments and public health initiatives while boosting budgets for the FDA and the NIH.

Indiana University and the Regenstrief institute began a five-year $50 million initiative called Addictions Crisis Grand Challenge to tackle apply scientific research and community engagement to the state’s addiction problem. Phase One will be to develop preventive assessment tools, treatment center capacity building and the creation of online education centers for healthcare professionals. The work spans scientific research, programmatic development and implementation, and community engagement. The project includes building the Indiana Addictions Data Commons to ensure that healthcare systems, law enforcement and public health professionals have access to a single source of data about the opioid addictions crisis. "We can't solve this crisis without having a constant and reliable finger on its pulse," said Peter Embi, MD, president and CEO of the Regenstrief Institute. "By working with our partners to aggregate the relevant clinical and community-level data and enable access via a comprehensive research hub, the Indiana Addictions Data Commons will provide insights to better understand and address this epidemic for all Hoosiers." The 16 projects include five focus areas of the statewide initiative: ground-level data collection and analysis; training and education; policy analysis and development; addictions science; and community and workforce development. They are designed to move Indiana closer to achieving the goals of the effort to battle the epidemic statewide, Robin Newhouse, dean and distinguished professor of the Indiana University School of Nursing, said in a statement. IU is also partnering with community hospital systems, public health departments, workforce development organizations, healthcare research institutes and other collaborators. Twitter: @Bernie_HITN Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com

Referencing the administrative burden for physicians, the group also recommends CMS limit evaluation and management measures and instead focus on interoperability efforts.