Healthcare IT News For VARs —December 29, 2014
By Megan Williams, contributing writer
In the news, healthcare data breaches are reported in California and Illinois, the ONC (Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology) releases a report of health IT and adverse event reporting, and IT groups are divided over “Cromnibus” interoperability language.
Data Breaches Occur In California, Illinois
Health IT Security reports that Mercy Medical Center Redding Oncology Clinic recently discovered a third-party website was allowing access to their physician progress notes. Information at risk includes patient names, dates of birth, diagnoses, medical records, and more. The discovery was made last week. Additionally, Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and Northwestern Medical Group in Illinois notified approximately 3,000 patients of a potential PHI (protected health information) compromise that took place in October. An unencrypted laptop containing PHI was stolen from an employee vehicle, leaving patients names, addresses, health insurance information, diagnoses, and other information vulnerable. Read more on healthcare data breaches from a vendor perspective here.
ONC Releases Report On Health IT And Adverse Event Reporting
HealthIT.gov has announced the release of the report, “Health Information Technology Adverse Event Reporting: Analysis Of Two Databases.” The purpose of the report is to analyze the data around safety events involving health IT, and to analyze structured data along with narrative descriptions to gain deeper insight into patterns and impacts. The 27-page report outlines five, primary objectives around the investigation, and presents patterns found around the events. You can find the full report here.
IT Groups Divided Over “Cromnibus” Interoperability Language
The inclusion of language that would decertify certain underperforming EHR (electronic health record) systems has created disagreement between health IT groups, according to iHealthBeat. The fiscal year 2015 continuing resolution omnibus spending bill contains language that would revoke certification of EHR systems that are found to be unequipped to share health information with different EHR systems. The language has been met with a response from HIMSS EHR association chair Mark Segal, saying that the language would have a negative impact on the healthcare industry. At the same time, Dan Haley, the VP of government affairs at athenahealth, has expressed support for the government penalizing “technologies that impede progress toward” interoperability.
The Benefits Of EHR At Correctional Facilities
State prisons around the country are urging government officials to implement EHRs in correctional facilities according to Corrections.com. The Treatment Advocacy Center reports that together, prisons and jails across the U.S. held over 356,000 inmates identified as having severe mental illnesses in 2012 alone. Research supports the need for digital health records over paper documents in correctional facilities, and 12 NYC facilities have already implemented EHRs with positive results.
Important ICD-10 Testing Dates Released By CMS
According to HealthcareDive, CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) has announced several key ICD-test dates, the first of which starts in April. As they’ve done in the past, CMS is soliciting provider volunteers to help with testing goals and aid in ensuring that providers can properly and successfully submit codes to Medicare.
Healthcare IT Talking Points
HealthcareDive weighs in on the question of the removal of interoperability certification for EHR systems that are not interoperable. The brief article discusses the EMR vendor industry and how it’s handled closed congressional reactions to closed EMRs in the past, as well as the impact that the spending bill language could potentially have on vendors and clients. Read more here.