CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT issued a request for information seeking input on policy options to strengthen the testing and certification of electronic health records used for reporting quality measures,
"Accessibility refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both "direct access" (i.e. unassisted) and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with a person's assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers)."
Below is the text from ONC regarding this new requirement:
Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults plan to purchase health and fitness devices in the next year, according to a survey by the Consumer Technology Association, MobiHealthNews reports.
ONC issued a Federal Register notice to provide corrections (e.g., corrects cross-references and citation omissions) and clarifications for the final rule entitled “2015 Edition Health Information Technology (Health IT) Certification Criteria, 2015 Edition Base Electronic Health Record (EHR) Definition, and ONC Health IT Certification Program Modifications.” These corrections and clarifications will eliminate confusion and ambiguity, permitting stakeholders to better understand, implement, and comply with the final rule. The final rule and notice are effective January 14, 2016.
Electronic medication alerts can help physicians more accurately and safely prescribe medications to patients with kidney disease, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, FierceEMR reports.
The widespread adoption of electronic health records has helped hospitals reduce costs and patient deaths stemming from hospital-acquired conditions, according to a report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Health Data Management reports.
On Oct. 16, 2015, CMS published a long-awaited final rule that modifies the Electronic Health Record Incentive Program (aka meaningful use) requirements for 2015 through 2017 and establishes requirements for Stage 3, which starts in 2018. While CMS "finalizes" Stage 3 requirements within this final rule, the agency has signaled that these regulations are not set in stone. The public may submit feedback for the Stage 3 requirements until Dec. 15.
HHS' Office for Civil Rights has launched a new Web portal designed to boost HIPAA familiarity among mobile health developers, Health Data Management reports.
The Senate passed a bill (HR 2029) that details funding requirements for the Department of Veterans Affairs' efforts to improve its electronic health record and make it more interoperable with the Department of Defense's system, EHR Intelligence reports (Heath, EHR Intelligence, 11/19).
Walgreens and telemedicine company MDLive announced a 20-state expansion to their virtual doctor service and a new health tracking application, MobiHealthNews reports (Pai, MobiHealthNews, 11/
Few U.S. residents who download mobile health applications continue using them over time, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research mHealth and uHealth, Medical News Today reports.
Meanwhile, 46% of respondents said they have stopped using a health app because of:
The American Medical Association and MedStar Health have developed a joint framework to determine usability among electronic health record technologies, EHR Intelligence reports (Murphy, EHR Intelligence, 10/27).
Nearly 200 health care organizations have sent letters to the Senate and the House urging lawmakers not to defund the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality,
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is developing legislation to address electronic health record-related issues identified by stakeholders during a series of six hearings this year, National Journal reports (Roubein, National Journal, 10/21).
A dozen electronic health record vendors have agreed to adopt a set of metrics and engage in ongoing reporting to help gauge the U.S.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has released a new guide to improve the usability and safety of electronic health records, Clinical Innovation & Technology reports (Walsh, Clinical Innovation & Technology, 10/12).
CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released the final rules for Stage 3 of the meaningful use program, modifications for 2015 through 2017 and the 2015 Edition Health IT Certification Criteria,
The proposed meaningful use modifications for 2015 through 2017 have prevented CMS from collecting Medicare program attestation data for the 2015 reporting periods, according to a CMS data update, EHR Intelligence reports (Murphy, EHR Intelligence, 10/6).
At the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT's annual Consumer Health IT Summit, National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo announced that ONC will develop a policy framework to identify best practices, gaps and opportunities for the use of patient-generated health data in research and care delivery through 2024,
The Institute of Medicine in a new report made several recommendations calling for better use of health IT to help hospitals reduce diagnostic errors, which are likely to affect nearly all U.S.