06/12/2013
A survey by National Association of State Chief Information Officers and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society finds state CIOs are taking on various health IT-related roles, such as overseeing health information and insurance exchanges. InformationWeek.
06/10/2013
There likely will be some initial "glitches" when the health insurance exchange websites open for enrollment on Oct. 1, according to experts. Building the online marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act has proven to be a complex task as they need to communicate and interface with government databases, state Medicaid systems and insurers, officials say. Wall Street Journal.
06/04/2013
A report finds that states seeking to launch their own health insurance exchanges believe that a data hub meant to pass information to federal agencies is hindering implementation. Federal officials say they have given states enough guidance to connect with the hub. Governing.
05/31/2013
An HHS Office of the Inspector General report finds that two Medicare databases store health care provider information that is inaccurate or incomplete. The report also finds that the information shared between the databases was inconsistent for 97% of records. OIG provided CMS with several recommendations to address the issues raised in the report. FierceHealthIT et al.
05/23/2013
The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange has launched a new initiative that aims to help health information organizations share best practices and conduct end-to-end testing related to ICD-10 codes. Groups in four states are participating. Modern Healthcare, WEDI release.
05/17/2013
An Institute of Health Technology Transformation report finds that data analytics is critical to the success of population health management and accountable care organizations. The report lists several steps that are key to the effective use of health data analytics, such as building partnerships with health plans to obtain claims data. HIT Consultant, Clinical Innovation & Technology.
05/10/2013
White House and HHS officials say they have taken several steps to ensure that health insurance exchanges will be operational by Oct. 1. However, to hit that deadline, officials will need to ensure that a host of technological systems are functioning effectively. USA Today.
05/01/2013
A report from Buck Consultants and WorldatWork finds that 52% of surveyed employers are weighing the use of mobile or online games to boost their employees' health care engagement over the next three years. Crain's Business Insurance/Modern Healthcare, Becker's Hospital Review.
04/03/2013
A report from HHS' Office of Inspector General finds that CMS does not adequately oversee the "Plan Finder" website that it established to help consumers find coverage prior to the launch of the Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchanges. Modern Healthcare, CQ HealthBeat.
03/21/2013
During a House Committee hearing yesterday, a Department of Veterans Affairs official maintained that the agency will be able to eliminate its backlog of nearly 900,000 claims by 2015. However, lawmakers said they are skeptical. Military Times/USA Today, NextGov.
03/04/2013
An audit by the New York State Comptroller finds that flaws in a state computer system caused about $26 million in Medicaid overpayments and other questionable payments. The audit analyzed claims for individuals dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. WNYT, WKBW.
02/28/2013
In an opinion piece, Deven McGraw of the Center for Democracy & Technology writes that the Obama administration's proposal to create a centralized database of individuals' health insurance claims would create "needless privacy and security risks." The Hill's "Congress Blog."
02/21/2013
Several large private firms have been awarded multimillion-dollar contracts to develop IT infrastructure for federal and state health insurance exchanges. Some of the contracts also require the companies to update states' Medicaid IT systems. Kaiser Health News' "Capsules."
02/13/2013
CAQH, formerly known as the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare, has launched a new online tool that allows health care providers to use a single electronic funds transfer system to obtain claims reimbursements from multiple health insurers. Modern Healthcare et al.
02/11/2013
IBM has released two new applications that use its Watson supercomputer to help health care providers and insurers make decisions about patient care and insurance coverage. One of the new decision support tools offers recommendations for treating patients with lung cancer and the other tool recommends treatments that should be covered by insurers. AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution et al.