Healthcare IT News For VARs — December 12, 2013
In this week’s news, the Stage 2 Meaningful Use deadline has been extended and a study projects growth in the healthcare data analytics market.
Stage 2 Meaningful Use Deadline Extended
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) along with The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced on Dec. 6 that the Stage 2 Meaningful Use deadline has been extended. Providers have an additional year to meet the criteria. In his article for Health IT Outcomes, Ken Congdon cites the CMS’ reasons for the extension: 1) allowing CMS and ONC to focus on helping providers meet Stage 2 criteria for patient engagement, interoperability, and information exchange; and 2) giving CMS more time to use data from Stage 2 to inform policy decisions for Stage 3.
Healthcare Data Analytics Market Growth Projected
Technavio’s Global Healthcare Data Analytics Market 2012-2016 report forecasts that the market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.30 percent during this four-year timeframe. The report summary states a contributing factor to the growth is the need to effectively use the data healthcare providers are collecting.
ICD-10 Interface Testing Checklist Offered
A Government Health IT article by Elizabeth Morgenroth of T-System Inc. includes an ICD-10 interface testing checklist. The first question asks if your clients have migrated to ANSI 5010— which was required in 2012, but for some is still not accomplished. She recommends that interface testing is completed by March 2014 to prepare for end-to-end testing in April.
Healthcare IT Talking Points
An infographic, “The Paper vs. Data Problem in U.S. Healthcare Registrations,” illustrates the problem of paper registration processes at healthcare facilities and how replacing paper with discrete data capture could save billions of dollars, as well as reduce errors and save time.
URAC and The Leapfrog Group released the winners of the Hospital Website Transparency Awards program. The awards highlight the role transparency can play in hospital quality reporting and reward the hospitals that are committed to informing the public.