Government & Policy
Physicians and other healthcare professionals will have to employ much more accurate and specific documentation of their care if ICD-10 coding is to work right, speakers asserted in an education session at the AHIMA Convention and Exhibit.
"The mismatch between patients and their clinical data is a serious and growing patient safety issue," says Meryl Bloomrosen, vice president of thought leadership, practice excellence and public policy at AHIMA, the organization of health information management professionals.
Calling himself a digital omnivore, Iverson Bell, MD, offered words of wisdom for doctors trying to figure out how to adapt to the proliferation of mobile devices in their lives and practices.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified Oct. 30 before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on the failings of HealthCare.gov, making her the highest ranked official to be questioned over the website flaws.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on Oct. 29, where she apologized to the American people for the botched Oct. 1 launch of HealthCare.gov, and promised prompt fixes.
CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner faced stringent questioning over ObamaCare on Tuesday, saying she is the one ultimately responsible for Healthcare.gov.
As healthcare facilities launch their own patient portals, technology is only the first step. Administrators are learning that decisions need to be made on everything from patient login protocols to support for patient record revisions.
Because OCR now has more authority and the final HIPAA rule contains provisions applicable to business associates, providers are in a new world of security compliance.
The problems plaguing the insurance exchange site can be blamed on poor coding and political pressures, according to three technology experts interviewed by Healthcare IT News. While all three identified inadequate pre-launch testing as a big source of its technical woes, they disagreed on whether the Obama administration's call for outside help is the right way forward.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee interrogated, scrutinized and criticized contractors for Healthcare.gov Oct. 24, just days after the Obama administration called in a "fix it" team amid growing public frustration over the site's problems.