Government & Policy
In the GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union address, Fla. Senator Marco Rubio says he wouldn't change Medicare in a way that harms seniors but not altering the program will ultimately bankrupt it.
U.S. doctors' use of health IT has been sharply increasing, up from 46 percent who used an EMR in their practice in 2009 to 69 percent in 2012, according to a survey of nearly 9,800 primary care physicians representing 11 nations. The Commonwealth Fund released findings of the survey in November 2012, and expanded on several drill-down topics during an online presentation Feb. 5.
Existing obstacles are making it difficult for practices to exchange data with HIEs. Could a snowball effect follow?
For the second time, President Barack Obama has nominated Marilyn Tavenner to be permanent administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. She has been serving as acting administrator since December 2011, when Donald Berwick, MD, stepped down.
National health programs have been, or are now, becoming electronic, just as health records are. Many of these programs will play major roles in either incenting or conflicting with efforts to advance the electronic healthcare infrastructure. And as with other industries, becoming electronic changes the way these programs can and should be carried out themselves. John Loonsk, MD, discusses how it might all shake out.
The Office of the National Coordinator's Health IT Standards Committee is urging ONC leaders to lean towards menu options and certification for use cases on Stage 3 meaningful use rather than core requirements, and to especially keep in mind that standards for a variety of clinical procedures are still evolving.
The ONC Health IT Standards Committee relayed their stage 3 recommendations via Beth Israel Deaconess CIO John Halamka, who said meaningful use stage 3 have got to account for standard maturity.
Leaders of healthcare policy encouraged the industry to move ahead faster during a keynote address at the National Health Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 4 "...help us speed up the rate of change," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius encouraged conference attendees.
Responding to a challenge from the department Secretaries, the DoD and VA outline tweaks to their iEHR strategy that intend to advance exchange and interoperability by early next year.
HHS Secretary praises Carolyn Clancy for having impacted millions of Americans' health.