Healthcare IT News For VARs — October 31, 2013
In this week’s news, the AHIMA Convention provides education on ICD-10 implementation and on overcoming human error in EHR management. Also in the news, more vendors are taking up the challenge of meeting Stage 2 Meaningful Use criteria, MSPs can find business opportunity in complying with the HIPAA omnibus rule, and of course, the healthcare IT community is weighing in on the problems with HealthCare.gov.
Vendors Can Help Overcome EHR Human Error Challenges
The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Convention session looked at human-error challenges in EHR management. Some of the recommendations from the session targeted vendor-related issues, including re-engineering templates to avoid unnecessary duplication from “cut and paste,” facilitating corrections to electronic data, and linking all data for a patient through interoperability.
ICD-10 Presents Challenges To Vendors
A Health IT Outcomes article reports on education from the AHIMA Convention, covering ICD-10 implementation challenges including setting up IT infrastructure with payers, implementing systems, and facilitating vendor upgrades and testing.
More Vendors Applying For 2014, Stage 2 Certification
A Government Health IT article reports that as the year ends, more vendors are applying with the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) for 2014 certification. This is the same criteria required for EHR Stage 2 Meaningful Use. The CCHIT recognizes that Stage 2 criteria is more difficult for vendors to meet, stating three challenging areas: clinical quality measures, interoperability, and automated measure calculation for reporting metrics.
HIPAA Compliance Sets MSPs Apart From Competition
The MSPmentor article “The HIPAA Questions Every MSP Should Be Asking” points out the new HIPAA rule should have MSPs taking stock of policy and procedures for data protection, and it notes the opportunity this rule presents. Ted Hulsy of eFolder says, “Compliance expertise is an opportunity to seriously set yourself apart from the competition.”
Healthcare IT Talking Points
A nextgov.com article chimes in on the failure of HealthCare.gov. The article states government technologists are “arguing that chief information officers and other technologists should have a seat at the table” when decisions about IT are made.
A National Journal article says HealthCare.gov issues aren’t due to a lack of technical skill, rather “straightjacketed by federal bureaucracy and regulations.”
Ken Congdon, editor in chief of Health IT Outcomes, comments on many of the issues with HealthCare.gov in his column, “The Obamacare Train Wreck.”