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Texas A&M and Philips Collaborate on Pop Health
Texas A&M University and Philips announced they are collaborating in efforts to develop population health solutions in South Texas. The partnership aims to help prevent diabetes, asthma, and infectious diseases in 27 counties. A major portion of the effort is the launching of the Center for Global Health and Innovation located on Texas A&M’s campus and will foster public-private partnerships. The parties endeavor to create integrated EMS solutions, point-of-health diagnostics, biosurveillance, and the launch of the Healthy South Texas Population Health Initiative.
WellDoc App in Use by Diabetics- Study
Telemedicine provider, WellDoc, recently released the results of a study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and reach of a coach along with the BlueStar mobile app intended for those with Type 2 diabetes. This study found a large percentage were engaged on the app, with many sending app data to their care team. The app is designed to provide “mobile prescription therapy” and is free to download, but requires a prescription to gain access to services. It includes a suite of health management tools with data that can be shared with a care team.
Most Satisfied with ACA Coverage- Commonwealth Fund
According to a survey conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, most Americans with insurance through the Healthcare exchanges are satisfied with their coverage. There is concern, however, that insurance premiums will increase dramatically with open enrollment for 2017, opening just days before the general election. The survey found that 82 percent of the new enrollees were either somewhat or very satisfied with their marketplace coverage.
ICD-10 Transition Went Smoother than Expected
One of the biggest events from 2015 was the transition to ICD-10. A study conducted by AHIMA found that the transition to ICD-10 went much smoother than expected. Eight months in, and they found that coding accuracy was holding at 65 percent and the productivity decline only reached 14 percent over ICD-9, much lower than expected. AHIMA CEO, Lynne Thomas Gordon, said in comments on the results that this is not unexpected and they expect any lost productivity to rectify itself as time goes on.
New Research Finds Value-Based Payments Growing in Acceptance
Payers are reporting that they are 58 percent down the road toward full-value- based reimbursement, up 10 percent from 2014. Hospitals are not far behind with 50 percent along the road, up four percent since 2013. The insights were contained in a new study of 465 hospitals and payers by ORC International and McKesson. This is a follow up to the first study in 2014, also commissioned by McKesson.
Pediatric Medication Adherence App Wins Hospital Challenge
A new smartphone application designed to assist families manage medication adherence came out on top during the New York-Presbyterian Hospital InnovateNYP Pediatric App Challenge. The tool, called FHIR Starters, took first place with a mental health screen app; Teen Screen came in second. The competition covered ten weeks and included 16 teams from designers, developers, clinicians, and mHealth startups.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Thursday, June 23, 2-3 pm ET, Council of Data Analytics Experts
Monday, July 11, 3-4 pm ET, Interoperability Workgroup
October 4-5, 2016 Innovation Showcase at House of Sweden in Washington, D.C.
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Interview: What is Reportable in a Breach Under HIPAA
In an interview with Information Security Media Group, Compliance attorney from Akerman LLP, Betsy Hodge, discusses whether a ransomware attack is a reportable breach under the HIPAA privacy regulations. She says the organization in question needs to ask themselves "Has [the ransomware] only encrypted the data - sort of wrapped around the data - or is there any evidence that the data in any way has been accessed, acquired or infiltrated?" If the attackers did more than encrypt the data, the incident may be a reportable breach.
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CORHIO Addresses Advisory Board on Business and Clinical Motivators
Toria Thompson, Behavioral HIE Coordinator at Colorado RHIO (CORHIO), addressed the Advisory Board on Business and Clinical Motivators on Wednesday. She led the group on the good work that is being done in Colorado regarding integrating behavioral health with health Information technology. Ms. Thompson made the point that physical health is now only beginning to apply the “whole of person” approach that has been in use by behavioral health for years. She also identified a concern that they had regarding privacy and that the pilot program found they could not share behavioral health data through HIPAA and required a consent-based approach. Members can view the presentation, audio, and a short summary on eHI’s website.
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MACRA Could Cause Small Practices to Struggle - Black Book
Almost 70 percent of physician groups believe that tech requirements through the recently released MACRA regulations threaten their independence. This is according to a May survey of 1,300 physician groups, conducted by the firm, Black Book. Small firms with five or fewer physicians do not have the infrastructure, capital, or staffing available to comply. As a result, 78 percent of independent primary care physicians plan to join a larger practice before 2019 to leverage reporting and revenue tools.
State Department Wants Commercial EHR
Wanted: commercial grade electronic health record system for the US State Department. That is essentially what was requested in a new request for information by the Department’s Office of Medical Services. The EHR must be able to support the more than 60,000 employees and families and associated foreign agencies, worldwide. Currently, the office uses an EMR in “limited locations” to clear personnel for overseas assignments. They are seeking vendors to provide this service.
New Recommendations from ONC on Safe and Effective HIT Use
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has redoubled their efforts to promote expanded health IT implementation and use to ensure patient safety. The agency announced two new reports, available here and here, on HIT patient safety benefits. The Washington Post picked up on these reports and did their own analysis here.
ACA Brings Care to Rural Areas
According to a release announcing a report by the Department of Health and Human Services, “The Affordable Care Act has helped millions of people in rural areas access quality, affordable health coverage.” The report states that despite being more likely to live in rural states that have not expanded Medicaid, rural Americans have seen coverage gains under the ACA, roughly on par with city dwellers, due to the introduction of the Marketplace exchanges. In exchange states alone, 1.7 million rural Americans purchased coverage this year; roughly one in five plans selected. HHS reports that despite reports of double digit premium increases, the average increase was four percent, or five dollars per month.
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