Healthcare IT Update

HHS Online Data Breach List Thrives

Many reported cases involve electronic systems, but paper records are still a security threat. Theft, loss, unauthorized access, or hacking. Whatever the breach is, HHS encourages people to turn to their computers and report it online. HHS then reports the specifics of breaches of security that affect 500 or more individuals. Presently,  64 cases are posted online, which allegedly affected about 1.2 million individuals.

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Software May Mitigate Tough CMS Stance on ICD-10

CMS backs up information drive for the October 1, 2013 deadline. A new application designed for the health care sector could make transition from the ICD-9 code system to ICD-10 expanded version much easier, claim IT vendors Ingenix and Health Language, Inc. (HLI). The new Ingenix Global Code Manager solution translates between the 13,000-item ICD-9 code set and the 68,000-code ICD-10 set — a feature that will help health care organizations shift to the new disease classification system by October 1, 2013.

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An HIT Pro’s Guide to the CMS Web Site’s Greatest Hits

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re a HIT Rock Star like all the rest of the folks who read this blog, but here’s the real question: Can you find your way around the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Web site? If the mere thought of getting around the CMS web site makes you feel like a one-HIT wonder, take heart. CMS has come up with this handy sheet that highlights its top web destinations. And for your convenience, we’ve listed the CMS links here that HIT & EMR types will be looking for. CMS Acronym Finder: Talk Medicare lingo like the hepcat you are. E-prescribing: Who’s cool enough to be an ‘EP?’ Find out here. Electronic Billing & EDI Transactions. CMS Glossary: Take a magical mystery tour through Medicare mumbo jumbo — & finally understand what they’re talking about. HIPAA. Need I say more? It’s a…

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What You Need To Do To Get ARRA’s EHR Adoption Incentive Money

Having trouble plodding through the 555-page HITECH reg? Our experts spell out the basic requirements for collecting cash. If you help to run a hospital or a physician’s office that sees Medicare and Medicaid patients, you might think you know red tape. Well, if you plan on seeing any of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 incentive money for adopting electronic health records technology, get ready for a whole new world of red before you see any green. On Dec. 30, 2009, CMS issued a proposed rule that would implement the incentive payment provisions of ARRA. Payments will be offered to Medicare and Medicaid providers and facilities that adopt and “meaningfully use” electronic health record technology, and this proposed rule is the first indication of how CMS plans to define ARRA’s requirements. The most anticipated part of the reg…

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It’s Here: CMS’s Proposed Rule Implementing the HITECH Act

We’ve got the links to help you learn more about the rule. Well, it looks like CMS meant what it said and said what it meant, despite the skeptics out there. Like a particularly deft limbo dancer, the agency made its end-of-2009 deadline for a proposed rule implementing the HITECH Act. The 555-page document landed online with a ‘thud’ on December 30th. Those of you who want to save this heavy reading project until after your New Year’s revelries can go here for some fact sheets. You’ll learn nifty new HIT acronyms like ‘EP,’ which should make you the hit of any cocktail party. The public comment period for the rule is 60 days. Stay tuned to HIT News for in-depth analysis of the rule, as well as a roundup of what healthcare providers are saying about it.

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