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eHI Raises Timeline Concerns in MACRA Comment Letter to CMS
Last week, eHealth Initiative sent a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the proposed rule Medicare Program; Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Model (APM) Incentive from Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). eHI’s multi-stakeholder Policy Steering Committee (PSC) developed the letter through a lengthy consensus process over the last several weeks. In the comment letter, eHI applauded CMS for their work in this arena, but raised concerns regarding tight timelines. The letter also mentions highly intricate and difficult to understand regulatory provisions. Members are encouraged to review the letter in its entirety. A copy of the letter is available here.
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Georgetown Field Testing Fertility App
The Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH) at Georgetown University is currently recruiting 1,200 women for a real-time study of a new smartphone application used to calculate women’s fertility. Cycle Technology’s Dot app is one of the few apps that predicts fertility based on empirical evidence, according to Victoria Jennings, the director of IRH, in a statement released last week. The increased availability of smartphones and the app’s ease of use allow the company to target the more than 22 million women worldwide with an unmet need for family planning.
New Substance Use Therapy Program Leverages Interactive Technology
A new rehabilitation program highlighted in the Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry, centers on teaching recovering substance users to go online to engage or interact with providers. Researchers at Kaiser Permanente found that patients undergoing treatment in this format had greater involvement in managing their care. This program, termed LINKAGE, is innovative in its use of electronic health records, including online patient portals to engage patients in health education, including prevention. They also seek to increase communication between patients and providers.
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eHI Member HL7 Hosts FHIR Conference
Health Level 7 International hosted a conference for around 40 attendees on Capitol Hill this week. Presenters spoke on the current state of interoperability in the United States and how Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) can, and does, facilitate interoperability. Presenters included Mark Savage of National Partnership for Women and Families, William Riley of National Institutes of Health, Grant Wood from Intermountain, Gil Alterovitz from Harvard Medical School, plus comments from Charles Jaffe and Ticia Gerber from HL7.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday, July 11, 3-4 pm ET, Interoperability Workgroup
Wednesday, July 20, 2-3 pm ET, Advisory Board on Business and Clinical Motivators
Thursday, July 21, 2-3 pm ET, Council of Data Analytics Experts
Tuesday, September 27, 9 am- 4 pm ET, Executive Advisory Board of Privacy & Security
October 4-5, 2016 Innovation Showcase at House of Sweden in Washington, D.C.
Welcome to New Member: Intel Corporation!
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Registration for eHI’s Innovation Showcase and Conference is open! Reserve your spot today to receive the early-bird rate.
This event is more than just an Innovation Challenge – the program agenda will feature industry experts, innovative executives and key policymakers as speakers. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet and engage directly with speakers and fellow attendees. This is the perfect forum to have your voice heard among a multi-stakeholder group of industry executives! REGISTER TODAY, view our agenda, and learn of the challenge, including how to submit an innovation proposal!
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Laura Crawford, M.I.S.
Advisor, Global Patient Outcomes and Real World Evidence
Eli Lilly and Company
To read the full article, please click here.
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Senate Dems Advocate for Blocking of Healthcare Mergers
US Senate Democrats have urged the Justice Department to block Anthem’s purchase of rival, Cigna, as well as Aetna’s proposed purchase of Humana. The objection is over concerns of the effects that these mergers will have on premiums and adversely affect competition. Seven Senators, led by Connecticut Democrat, Richard Blumenthal, stated their opposition to continued consolidation of insurers in a letter. The DoJ is still reviewing both proposed acquisitions and has not yet set a timeline for approval.
HHS Names Nine New Members to FACA Committees
Announced recently by the Department of Health and Human Services are the nine individuals named to the Health Information Technology Standards Committee (HITSC) and one new member to the Health Information Technology Policy Committee (HITPC) The new group includes eHI Member Kay Eron from Intel Corporation.
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HHS Considering Ethical Hackers to Mitigate Cyber Concerns
Health and Human Services officials are looking at the use of ethical hackers to discover vulnerabilities in their networks. This is taking a page from the Department of Defense (DoD), which revealed in March that they are considering the same thing. Lucia Savage, chief privacy officer of the Office of the National Coordinator for Heath IT (ONC), floated the idea at the Collaboration of Health IT Policy and Standards Committees meeting on June 23. "This is a technique that has been found highly valuable in the rest of industry.” The downside to using these hackers is that it opens up security and privacy concerns regarding medical devices and EHR use. ONC is working with FDA on how to apply these practices.
NEW Vision from VA on EHR Interoperability and Modernization.
Department of Veterans Affairs Undersecretary for Health, David J. Shulkin, MD, touched at a possible commercial off-the-shelf replacement for the VA’s current electronic health record. During testimony to the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Shulkin did not deny the possibility of a commercial EHR technology, similar to the decision the DoD made in the summer of 2015. The VA is in the process of modernizing their legacy VistA EHR system.
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Brexit May Affect Digital Health Development in Europe
Even though the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union will take almost two years, effects on digital health may be more immediate. Recently, the European Connected Health Alliance (ECHAlliance) released a statement about its concerns of the divorce from Europe. The Alliance has members from almost every EU member state with many more planned to come online this year. Chair, Brian O’Connor, wrote “Our European mentality is reflected as well in our operations with our multi-national team, based in UK, Spain and Germany.” They are working on contingency plans to leave Northern Ireland, a UK constituent country, and relocate to a EU member state.
UK NHS to Provide Free Apps and Devices to Encourage Patient Management
The National Health Service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is planning to release free heart monitors and digital applications in an effort to encourage health management by patients. They are particularly targeting those with chronic conditions, along the lines of heart issues and diabetes. The system is smartphone-based and detects irregular cardiac activity. The CEO of NHS, Simon Stevens, is behind the effort, as he sees digital health tools as ways to reduce hospital admissions. First tools are expected to be approved this year for rollout in April 2017.
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