News and Alerts Archives

2011

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2009

March 31	Version 5010 Test Education Week – April 4-8 The healthcare industry has less than a year to prepare for the Version 5010 transaction set change on January 1, 2012. Is your healthcare provider or health plan organization prepared for the transition? Are you ready to test with your partner health plan or providers? To assist with compliance, AHIMA is supporting an education effort, Get Ready for 5010, that is sponsoring its second set of free webinars April 4-8. These webinars will focus on testing for the 5010 HIPAA upgrades. All providers and plans should be planning to test soon if they expect to meet the end of year compliance deadline. The webinars will feature speakers from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and provider and payer organizations and will offer practical information and early lessons learned on: testing for large and small practices and healthcare facilities, how to test with Medicare-fee-for-service, and testing with commercial payers and clearinghouses. The Get Ready 5010 initiative is supported by a broad group of healthcare industry stakeholders representing providers, payers, government, and vendors who are coordinating their efforts to support a smooth and timely transition to Version 5010. Whether you are well along with your Version 5010 project or just starting, your organization will find value in one or more of these free webinars. For more information and to register for these webinars go to the Get Ready 5010 site.
March 31	HHS/ONC Publishes Draft Federal Health IT Strategic Plan The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the National Coordinator for HIT (ONC) has published a new draft of its Federal Health IT Strategic Plan on its Web site. The last strategic plan was published in 2008 under the previous administration and the new draft has been expected since it was mandated in the 2009 ARRA-HITECH legislation. ONC notes that the plan begins in FY 2011 and continues through 2015. HHS and ONC note that the plan is expected to: Enhance its ability to study care delivery and payment systems Empower individual to improve and participate more in their care Improve care, efficiency, and population health outcomes through tools such as clinical decision support, real-time feedback of performance to clinicians, and targeted public health campaigns. The plan, which sets the federal agenda, is open for public comment through April 22. This was not a federal register notice so comments will be published through the ONC blog. Click here for more information.
March 25	VA Industry Innovation Competition The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is conducting the 2011 Industry Innovation Competition to identify, fund, and evaluate promising innovative technology proposals to improve the quality of healthcare for veterans. This competition is part of VA’s Innovation Initiative (VAi2),a department-wide program that solicits the most promising innovations from employees, the private sector, non-profits, and academia to increase veterans’ access to VA services, improve the quality of services delivered, enhance the performance of VA operations, and reduce or control the cost of delivering those services. Up to $100 million in awards could be made in this innovation competition. Public and private companies, entrepreneurs, universities, and non-profits are encouraged to propose new ways to: Leverage telemedicine solutions to provide audiology services to veterans who live far from medical centers Create and implement enhancements or novel uses of VA’s “Blue Button” personal health record Design innovative prosthetic socket designs to improve the fit and comfort of prosthetics Fully automate sterilization of medical equipment Empower veterans with self-management technologies for vocational rehabilitation This is the second industry competition launched by VAi2. Awards from the 2010 competition are being announced on a rolling basis as contracts are finalized. For more information, please visit the VAi2 Web site.
February 21	NQF Issues Call for Public Comments on 113 eMeasures The National Quality Forum (NQF) has converted, or “retooled,” 113 NQF-endorsed measures from a paper-based format to an electronic measure (eMeasure) format. eMeasures offer promising benefits and efficiencies, including greater consistency in measure development and in measuring and comparing performance results. In addition to the specifications for the 113 eMeasures, NQF provides a Guide to Viewing an Electronic Measure for instructions on how to interpret an eMeasure’s components. The NQF eMeasures 60-day public comment period is now open through Friday, April 1, at 6:00 pm ET. AHIMA is calling for volunteers to participate in the review and comment of the eMeasures. If you are interested, please contact AHIMA’s director of practice leadership, Crystal Kallem, or call (312) 233-1537.
February 21	National Voluntary Consensus Standards for Child Health Quality Measures The National Quality Forum (NQF) announced the draft report for the National Voluntary Consensus Standards for Child Health Quality Measures is now available for NQF member and public comment. The draft report focuses on a broad range of measures of children’s health, including perinatal health, newborn screening, oral health, mental health, vision and hearing screening, immunizations, and care visits, among other topics. Public comments must be submitted by Wednesday, February 23, at 6:00 pm ET. Visit the NQF website to submit comments.
February 18	CMS Issues Proposed Regulation for Medicaid Prohibiting Payments for HACs CMS published a proposed Medicaid regulation effective as of July 1, 2011 prohibiting Federal payments to States under section 1903 of the Social Security Act for any amounts expended for providing medical assistance for health care-acquired conditions. It would also authorize States to identify other provider-preventable conditions for which Medicaid payment would be prohibited.
February 18	CMS to Modify Meaningful Use Group Practice The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will implement protocols in May that allow eligible professionals (EPs) to designate a third-party (such as a practice administrator) to register and attest for them as part of the EHR meaningful use incentive program. EPs are not currently allowed to designate a practice manager or any other person to register in their place. However, until CMS implements this new group practice “functionality,” each EP should register himself or herself separately for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.
February 8	HHS Awards New Funding to Existing RECs On February 7, 2011, HHS awarded $12 million in supplemental funding to existing RECs to support eligible critical access and rural hospitals in their efforts to adopt certified EHR technology. This funding is new and aimed specifically at assisting critical access and rural hospitals with their particular needs and challenges. It will build upon the substantial base HHS has already built to provide assistance to health care providers throughout the country as they transition to EHRs. By converting to certified EHR technology, these facilities can qualify for substantial additional incentive payments from Medicare or Medicaid. It highlights HHS’s effort in supporting rural providers and small practices to achieve meaningful use.
February 4	President Obama Issues Call for Regulatory Review On January 18th, President Obama signed an Executive Order calling for a regulatory review by all agencies. Within 120 days each agency shall develop and submit a plan under which the agency will periodically review existing significant regulations to determine whether any such regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed so as to make the agency's regulatory program more effective or less burdensome in achieving its regulatory objectives.
January 28	CMS Publishes Proposed Rule for IPF PPS PPS payment rate update period to a rate year that coincides with a fiscal year. In addition, the rule proposes policy changes affecting the IPF PPS teaching adjustment. It would also rebase and revise the Rehabilitation, Psychiatric, and Long-Term Care market basket, and make some clarifications and corrections to terminology and regulations text.
January 25	ONC Announces Modifications to REC Grants The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) issued a notice announcing changes to the Health Information Technology Extension Program, which assists providers seeking to adopt and become meaningful users of health information technology. In overseeing the ongoing Extension Program, the Secretary found that the established cost sharing requirements (90/10 in years one and two, and 10/90 in years three and four) are continuing to ‘‘render [the] cost-sharing requirement detrimental to the program’’ due to national economic conditions. To alleviate these concerns, the Secretary will be seeking bi-lateral modifications to the grants to alter the initial timeline and cost-sharing requirements in the Regional Center grants. Through these modifications, the timeline would be lengthened in the first budget period from two years to four years, and the cost-sharing requirement would reflect a 90/10 Federal/grantee cost share for all four years. Modifications will be effectuated through the execution of revised Notice of Grant Awards (NGA).
January 24	CMS Publishes Corrections to Meaningful Use The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) published corrections to the typographical and technical errors identified in the final rule entitled ‘‘Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Electronic Health Record Incentive Program’’ that appeared in the July 28, 2010 Federal Register.
January 20	ONC Publishes Permanent Certification for HIT Final Regulation The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) issued a final rule establishing a permanent certification program for the purpose of certifying health information technology (HIT). This final rule is issued pursuant to the authority granted to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (the National Coordinator) by section 3001(c)(5) of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), as added by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. The permanent certification program will eventually replace the temporary certification program that was previously established by a final rule. The National Coordinator will use the permanent certification program to authorize organizations to certify electronic health record (EHR) technology, such as Complete EHRs and/or EHR Modules. The permanent certification program could also be expanded to include the certification of other types of HIT.
January 13	HIT Policy Committee Seeks Comments on Meaningful Use Stage 2 The Health Information Technology Policy Committee (HITPC) is a federal advisory committee that advises the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on federal HIT policy issues, including how to define the ―meaningful use‖ (MU) of electronic health records (EHRs) for the purposes of the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs. The HITECH portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 specifically mandated that incentives should be given to Medicare and Medicaid providers not for EHR adoption but for ―meaningful use‖ of EHRs. In July of 2010, HHS released that program’s final rule, thus defining stage 1 MU and strongly signaling that the bar for what constitutes MU would be raised in subsequent stages in order to improve advanced care processes and health outcomes. Comments are due February 25th. For a copy of the materials, go to http://healthit.hhs.gov/media/faca/MU_RFC%20_2011-01-12_final.pdf
January 13	Medicare Programs; Hospital Inpatient Value-Based Purchasing Program In this proposed rule, CMS is proposing to implement a *Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program* (VBP), under which value-based incentive payments will be made in a fiscal year to hospitals that meet performance standards with respect to a performance period for the fiscal year involved. The program will apply to payments for discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2012. The measures CMS is proposing to initially adopt for the program are a subset of the measures they have already adopted for the existing Medicare Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program (Hospital IQR program), formerly known as the Reporting Hospital Quality Data for the Annual Payment Update Program (RHQDAPU), and they are proposing, based on whether a hospital meets or exceeds the performance standards that CMS is proposing to establish with respect to the measures, to reward the hospital based on its actual performance, rather than simply its reporting of data for those measures. For a copy of the proposed regulation, go to http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2011/pdf/2011-454.pdf
January 13	NQF Reports on Clinical Decision Support, Appropriate Health IT Use The National Quality Forum (NQF) released two new reports this week in support of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). The Driving Quality: A Health IT Framework for Measurement report, based on the work of NQF’s Health Information Technology Utilization Expert Panel, presents the Health IT Use Assessment Framework. This framework provides an approach to measuring the use of health IT tools and how that use improves care processes, quality, and safety. Additionally, as health IT use measures are developed, the framework will provide guidelines for the information needed to construct these measures. In addition, NQF convened the Clinical Decision Support (CDS) Expert Panel to develop a CDS taxonomy to enable health IT system developers, system implementers, and the quality improvement community to develop tools, content, and policies compatible with CDS features and functions. The Driving Quality and Performance Measurement: A Foundation for Clinical Decision Support report provides a foundation for the description of an electronic infrastructure, bridging quality measurement and health IT.
January 7	AHIMA Submits Comments on Stage 2 Meaningful Use Draft Recommendations In response to the HIT Policy Committee Meaningful Use workgroup's Stage 2 draft recommendations to the December 13, 2011 committee meeting, AHIMA submitted comments and recommendations.

December 21	AHIMA Responds to LTC and Hospice Proposed Regulation AHIMA submitted a response letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding a proposed regulation to revise requirements that an institution would have to meet to qualify to participate as a skilled nursing facility (SNF) or as a nursing facility (NF).
December 9	Hill Day 2011 – Save the Dates! Interested in meeting with your Representatives and Senators to discuss important issues relating to your health information management profession? Join AHIMA for its 2011 Winter Team Talks and Hill Day on March 28-29 in Washington, DC. The Winter Team Talks session will commence on March 28 and include a policy briefing on the important issues being addressed on the March 29 Hill Day. Hill Day is a great opportunity to assist not only AHIMA, but to also help you develop business relationships with your elected policymakers in Washington, DC. So, become one of the hundreds of AHIMA members that have made the trek up to Capitol Hill on behalf of advancing HIM! More detailed information and registration forms will be available in early January 2011.
December 7	HIT Policy WG Seeks Comments on Measure Concepts The HIT Policy Committee (a federal advisory committee that advises the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) formed the Quality Measures Workgroup to recommend new clinical quality measures to leverage the evolving health IT infrastructure. The Quality Measures Workgroup is developing recommendations on clinical quality measures for Stage 2 and Stage 3 Meaningful Use. The Workgroup was divided into five tiger teams to focus on the following measure domains: Patient and Family Engagement, Clinical Appropriateness/Efficiency, Care Coordination, Patient Safety, and Population and Public Health. These domains are broadly aligned with the National Priorities Partnership Framework for health quality, and the five pillars of Meaningful Use – improving safety, quality, efficiency, and health disparities; engaging patients and families; improving care coordination; improving population health; and ensuring adequate privacy and security protections.
December 7	Meaningful Use Stages 2 & 3 DRAFT Objectives and Criteria The HIT Policy Committee (a federal advisory committee that advises the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) Meaningful Use Workgroup has been working toward developing/enhancing measures and objectives for Stages 2 and 3 of meaningful use. The workgroup will be issuing a request for information in January 2011. To support an open and transparent process, they post the criteria and objectives for review.
December 7	The Direct Project - Press Release The Direct Project issued a press release announcing a new webpage.
November 17	Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy and Data Security, Ponemon Institute, November 2010 This study was created to understand healthcare providers' patient privacy practices and their experience in dealing with the loss or theft of patient information in light of the new requirements mandated by the HITECH Act. The study found that data breaches are a frequent occurrence at health care organizations – threatening patient privacy and leaving health care organizations with a heavy financial burden.
November 16	CMS Accountable Care Organizations Request for Information On Monday the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a request for information (RFI) regarding certain aspects of the policies and standards that will apply to accountable care organizations participating in the Medicare program under Section 3021 or 3022 of the Affordable Care Act. AHIMA is planning to respond to the RFI and if you have experience in quality performance and would like to participate in the review, please contact Allison Viola, AHIMA’s director of federal relations at Allison.viola@ahima.org.
November 10	AHRQ Updated Common Formats for HIT Device AHRQ has issued a significant revision of the previously-released Common Format – Device or Medical/Surgical Supply – as part of the process of revising and refining the Common Formats. In conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), and the Federal Patient Safety Work Group (PSWG), AHRQ developed the beta version of this enhanced event-specific Common Format. The Common Format is designed to capture information about patient safety events that are related to Health Information Technology (HIT), in addition to capturing information on events related to general devices. The enhanced Common Format, Device or Medical/Surgical Supply, including HIT Device, will be incorporated into the next version of the Common Formats (Version 1.2).
November 8	CMS Issues Proposed Regulation for Medicaid RACs Today the proposed regulation was issued for providing guidance to States related to Federal/State funding of State start-up, operation and maintenance costs of Medicaid RACs and the payment methodology for State payments to Medicaid RACs in accordance with section 6411 of the Affordable Care Act. Comments are due January 10, 2011.
November 5	CMS Issues Proposed Rule for LTC The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMs) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking [75Fr65282] to revise the requirements that an institution would have to meet in order to qualify to participate as a skilled nursing facility in the Medicare program, or as a nursing facility in the Medicaid program.
November 5	CMS Issues Final Rule for Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and CY 2011 Payment Rates The final rule with comment period revises the Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) to implement applicable statutory requirements and changes arising from our continuing experience with this system and to implement certain provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Affordable Care Act). In this final rule with comment period, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) describes the changes to the amounts and factors used to determine the payment rates for Medicare hospital outpatient services paid under the prospective payment system. These changes are applicable to services furnished on or after January 1, 2011. This rule is currently on display and is expected to be published in the Federal Register the end of November 2010.
November 5	CMS Issues Final Rule for Physician Fee Schedule and Other Revisions to Part B for CY 2011 The final rule for Payment Policies under the Physician Fee Schedule and other Revisions to Part B for CY 2011 is currently on display and is expected to be published in the Federal Register the end of November 2010. The effective date is January 1, 2011 and addresses changes to the physician fee schedule and other Medicare Part B payment policies to ensure that our payment systems are updated to reflect changes in medical practice and the relative value of services. It addresses changes to the Physician Quality Reporting System (formerly the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative) and discusses certain provisions of both the Affordable Care Act and the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008.
November 5	CMS Issues Final Rule for Home Health Prospective Payment System The final rule Medicare Program; Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update for Calendar Year 2011; Changes in Certification Requirements for Home Health Agencies and Hospices is currently on display and is expected to be published in the Federal Register November 2010. This final rule sets forth an update to the Home Health Prospective Payment System rates, revises the home health agency capitalization requirements. This rule further adds clarifying language to the "skilled services" section. The rule finalizes a 3.79 percent reduction to rates for CY 2011 to account for changes in case-mix, which are unrelated to real changes in patient acuity. Finally, this rule incorporates new legislative requirements regarding face-to-face encounters with providers related to home health and hospice care.
November 3	EHNAC Announces Finalized Criteria for HIE Accreditation Program The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC), a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body, recently announced the adoption of finalized criteria for its Health Information Exchange Accreditation Program (HIEAP). Final criteria and more details on HIEAP may be found here. Before finalizing the criteria, EHNAC implemented two separate phases of 60-day public review and comment of the draft HIEAP criteria, the first of which focused on privacy and security, technical performance, business practices and organizational resources, while the second phase addressed HIE-specific policies as developed by the organization’s HIE Advisory Board. To learn more about EHNAC.
October 26	Comments Now Open for NQF HIT Utilization Project Report The National Quality Forum (NQF) has issued a draft report from the Health IT Utilization Expert Panel for public comment. The report introduces the Health IT Use Data Model that is designed to help define a method for expressing data that can be captured by health IT systems to understand and measure their usage. NQF members may comment through November 12 and the public may comment through November 5 via the NQF Web site. AHIMA members interested in contributing to AHIMA’s public comment response should contact Crystal Kallem by October 29 for further instructions.
October 26	NQF Releases ICD-10-CM/PCS Coding Maintenance Operational Guidance Report The National Quality Forum (NQF) has released a guidance report and best practices for converting healthcare quality performance measures from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM/PCS coding standards. The ICD-10-CM/PCS Coding Maintenance Operational Guidance report identifies approaches for the measure conversion process and outlines NQF’s measure submission and maintenance process for converting endorsed measures. The full NQF report is a resource to help measure developers convert currently endorsed measures and outlines NQF’s plans for implementing new coding requirements in measure endorsement and maintenance beginning October 2011. For more information, read the NQF press release.
October 14	ONC Publishes Revision to Standards and Certification Criteria Final Rule The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has published an interim final rule to remove two electronic health records implementation specifications related to public health surveillance that were adopted in error. The removed implementation specifications for the Health Level Seven 2.5.1 messaging standard are the Public Health Information Network HL7 Version 2.5 Message Structure Specification for National Condition Reporting Final Version 1.0, and the Errata and Clarifications National Notification Message Structural Specification. ONC also removed related text and references to provide additional clarity. For a copy of the interim final rule and instructions for comment, go to http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-25683.pdf.
October 12	NQF Patient Safety Measures HAI Comment Period The first draft report of the National Quality Forum (NQF) Patient Safety Measures project focusing on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) measures is now available for public comment. NQF launched the Patient Safety Measures project to address HAIs, medication safety, and other patient safety-related areas. A Steering Committee reviewed and considered five HAI candidate standards. All five measures are recommended for endorsement as voluntary consensus standards. Public comments must be submitted online via the NQF website by Monday, November 1, at 6:00 pm ET.
October 12	Free NQF Webinar: ABCs of Measurement How can using measures make a difference in the quality of healthcare? What makes a good measure? What does it mean for a measure to be NQF endorsed? Join the National Quality Forum (NQF) on October 25, 2010 from 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET for an interactive discussion on measurement and the role it plays in the quality improvement landscape. At this NQF webinar, you will: learn about the value of measurement hear how measures can and are being used to drive improvement, discuss with experts the key elements of measurement and their real-world applications, get the scoop on composite measures and the concept of an “episode” of care; find out why NQF endorsement matters and what NQF endorsement means. Visit the NQF website to learn more and register.
October 5	ONC Publishes Certified Health IT Product List The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has published the Certified Health IT Product List (CHPL), a comprehensive listing of Complete EHRs and EHR Modules that have been tested and certified under the Temporary Certification Program. Each Complete EHR and EHR Module included in the CHPL has been tested and certified by an ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ATCB), and reported to ONC by an ONC-ATCB, with reports validated by ONC. Only those EHR technologies appearing on the ONC-CHPL may be granted the reporting number that will be accepted by CMS for purposes of attestation under the EHR Incentive Programs. For more information, please visit http://healthit.hhs.gov/CHPL.
September 22	HHS Looking for Volunteer Health Professionals for Disasters – HIM Volunteers Sought The Department of Health and Human Services has established a new Web site to register health professionals who are willing to volunteer in the event of an emergency where healthcare services are needed. Among the health professions identified is health information management. HHS’ Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals has been established by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and the purpose of this registration is to identify potential volunteers who can be identified by location and credentials so that they may be contacted in case of emergency. During Hurricane Katrina, professionals were pulled from the federal Public Health Service and this proved to be too small of a pool. HIM professionals are urged to consider this opportunity to serve.
September 22	Dowling Shares Vision with Healthcare IT News On September 8, Healthcare IT News featured an online interview with AHIMA CEO Alan Dowling. The article will also appear in the September print issue of the publication. In the interview, Dowling relates that he has spent his first year as CEO "traveling and meeting with our members–-soliciting both their insight and advice. But it has been more than worth the effort because it has given me an opportunity to begin to get to know our membership; for them to begin to know me and for all of us to initiate our relationship by doing meaningful work that is necessary to the long-term advancement of health information management, AHIMA, and HIM professionals." Read the interview here.
September 22	Getting Started on Meaningful Use AHIMA’s meaningful use white paper series wraps up this week with two papers focused on the next steps. Paper 7 summarizes the process for qualifying for the program and also offers a look ahead at the program’s next stages. The last paper in the series identifies ways in which HIM professionals and their organizations can begin preparing for participation in the program. Read the series online at the Journal of AHIMA Web site.
August 24	AHIMA Comments on Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule AHIMA submitted comments in response to the Medicare Program; Payment Policies under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Revisions to Part B for CY 2011; Proposed Rule. AHIMA volunteers worked closely with staff to review those sections highlighting changes to the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) and meaningful use and how it will impact HIM professionals.
August 5	CMS Issues FY 2011 Inpatient PPS Final Rule The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the hospital inpatient PPS (IPPS) final rule for fiscal year (FY) 2011. It was placed on display in the Federal Register on July 30 and is expected to be published in the Federal Register on August 16. The final rule indicates that CMS will apply a “documentation and coding” adjustment of -2.9 percent, which represents one-half of the amount of FY 2008 and 2009 excess spending due to changes in hospital coding practices following adoption of MS-DRGs. CMS is also finalizing an adjustment of -2.5 percent for FY 2011 to the long-term care hospital standard federal rate for the effects of documentation and coding practices for FY 2008 and 2009 under the MS-LTC DRGs. The final rule adds 10 measures to the Reporting Hospital Quality Data for Annual Payment Update data set for the FY 2012 annual payment update. Specifically, CMS is adding the following eight categories of conditions included on the hospital-acquired condition list: foreign object retained after surgery air embolism blood incompatibility pressure ulcer stages III and IV falls and trauma (including fracture, dislocation, intracranial injury, crushing injury, burn, and electric shock) vascular catheter-associated infection catheter-associated urinary tract infection manifestations of poor glycemic control The other two measures are additional Patient Safety Indicators developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality – post-operative respiratory failure and post-operative pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis. One current measure is being retired – Mortality for selected surgical procedures (composite). Two additional quality measures have been adopted for reporting in FY 2011 that will be used to determine the FY 2013 annual payment update. View a copy of the IPPS final rule. Read AHIMA's comment letter on the IPPS proposed rule.
August 5	Meaningful Use Legislation Introduced in Congress Prior to the House of Representatives’ adjournment for its six-week summer district work period, two health information technology (HIT) incentive bills were introduced. First, Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX) introduced HR 6005, legislation that would amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for the temporary treatment of certain electronic health records as certified EHR technology for purposes of the HIT incentives under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Upon introduction the bill was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and subsequently to the House Ways and Means Committee. The second bill, HR 6072, was introduced by Rep. Zachary Space (D-OH), and would also amend titles XVIII and XIX of the SSA to clarify the application of the electronic health record payment incentives in cases of multi-campus hospitals. This bill was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee and subsequently to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The legislative language for these bills was not available as of this writing. For additional information, you can visit the “My Advocacy Action Center” of the AHIMA Advocacy Assistant.
August 5	AHIMA Publishes Meaningful Use Standards and Certification Resource AHIMA released a matrix that maps electronic health record (EHR) certification criteria, standards, and implementation specifications to the meaningful use outcome priorities, objectives, and measures. In July the US Department of Health and Human Services issued a final rule on the initial set of standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for electronic health record technology in conjunction with its final rule on the meaningful use EHR incentive program. The standards rule establishes the minimum system capabilities and related standards that EHR technology must include to support the stage 1 meaningful use objectives for eligible professionals and hospitals. Organizations authorized by HHS will test and certify both complete EHRs and EHR modules according to the criteria and standards to ensure that they have been properly implemented. AHIMA members have access to this valuable resource through AHIMA’s Body of Knowledge.
August 5	New PPS for ESRD Facilities CMS published the final rule last week establishing a prospective payment system (PPS) for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) facilities. CMS also issued a proposed rule that would establish a new quality incentive program (QIP) to promote high quality services in dialysis facilities by linking a facility’s payments to performance standards. The QIP is the first pay-for-performance program in a Medicare fee-for-service payment system. The new ESRD PPS provides a single bundled case-mix adjusted payment to dialysis facilities for renal dialysis services such as dialysis treatments and supplies, certain ESRD-related drugs, and ESRD-related clinical laboratory tests beginning on January 1, 2011. The final rule sets a base payment rate of $229.63 for each dialysis treatment. In the ESRD PPS final rule, CMS adopted the three quality measures that will be used in the initial implementation of the QIP. Two of these measures reflect whether patients are receiving appropriate treatment for anemia. The third measure captures patients’ urea reduction ratio, which indicates how well dialysis treatments are removing wastes from patients’ bodies. The law requires CMS to reduce the payment rates to a dialysis facility by up to 2.0 percent if that facility fails to meet or exceed the established performance scores with regard to performance standards established for each quality measure. The final rule is available at the Office of the Federal Register.
August 5	DOQ-IT Déjà vu The first Regional Extension Centers are opening their doors this month, offering physician practices hands-on help in implementing health IT and joining the meaningful use EHR incentive program. The scale of the project is unprecedented, but it’s not entirely new. In fact, some RECs are on familiar ground. They have direct experience operating a similar program—called DOQ-IT—and they are leveraging the lessons they learned. Read more at the Journal of AHIMA web site.
August 5	CCHIT Launches Three New EHR Certification Programs On July 27, the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) announced the launch of new CCHIT-certified programs for electronic health records (EHRs) in behavioral health, both as an optional addition to Ambulatory EHR certification and as a standalone behavioral health EHR used in other outpatient settings, dermatology, and long-term and post-acute care, which also includes optional add-on certifications for EHRs used in skilled nursing facilities and home health. Applications for certification of these products are now being accepted and final criteria, test scripts, and certification materials are available at the CCHIT Web site. The criteria and inspection processes for the new programs were developed by work group volunteers, including physicians, hospitals, health IT developers, payers, health-care purchasers and consumers.
August 5	AHIMA Needs You! Write Your Member of Congress to Support the Updating of the HIM Standard Occupational Classifications AHIMA is working with Congressman David Wu (D-OR) to urge the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to update their Standard Occupational Classifications (SOC) for health information management (HIM) professionals. How can you help update the SOCs? You can visit the AHIMA Advocacy Assistant and send a letter to your Member of Congress to encourage them to contact Congressman Wu’s office to sign onto the letter to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Helping AHIMA is simple. All you need to do is go to “My Advocacy Action Center” in the Advocacy Assistant, click on the “Take Action” alert, review the letter, enter your contact information, and press “send.” AHIMA has been working on this issue for several years and it has been an integral part of our Hill Day advocacy effort. The SOCs are outdated and need revision to accurately describe the HIM profession and to ensure the BLS has accurate statistics to identify HIM workforce needs for the future.
August 5	National Survey Shows Progress in HIE Initiatives The eHealth Initiative (eHI) conducted a national survey, resulting in the release of their report, “The State of Health Information Exchange in 2010: Connecting the Nation to Achieve Meaningful Use,” in late July. The results of the survey came from 199 organizations that were identified by eHI as having active health information exchange (HIE) initiatives. eHI reported several key findings, many of which indicate that although progress has been made, significant challenges remain in sustaining HIE programs and using them to support providers. In spite of these challenges, the use of HIE has been reported to save money by reducing staff time spent on administrative tasks, and decreasing money spent on redundant tests. The full press release on eHI’s report can be found here.
August 5	CMS Education Series for Providers on the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) invites you to join them for a series of national provider calls addressing the specifics of the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs for hospitals and individual practitioners. Learn the specifics on what you need to participate in the these incentive programs – who is eligible, how much are the incentives and how are they calculated, what you need to do to get started, when the program begins and other major milestones regarding participation and payment, how to report on Meaningful Use measures where to find helpful resources and more. Hear from the experts who wrote the rules! Ask your questions! EHR Incentive Programs for Eligible Professionals: A session just for individual practitioners on the specifics about the Medicare & Medicaid EHR incentive program Tuesday, August 10, 2010 2:00-3:30 pm EST EHR Incentive Programs for Hospitals: A session just for hospitals on the specifics about the Medicare & Medicaid EHR incentive program Wednesday, August 11, 2010 2:00-3:30 pm EST EHR Questions and Answers for Hospitals and Individual Practitioners: Have questions? Join this session to have an opportunity to ask a question and hear answers by our panel of experts on the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs. Thursday, August 12, 2010 2:00-3:30 pm EST Save the dates! Information on how to register for these calls is forthcoming. Materials will be made available prior to each training. Cannot attend? A transcript and MP3 file of the call will be available approximately 3 weeks after the call at on the CMS website. Be sure to visit CMS’ web section on the Medicare & Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs to get the latest information.
July 28	AHIMA Publishes Overview of Meaningful Use Rule AHIMA released a detailed outline of the final rule on the meaningful use EHR incentive program. The guideline describes the content of each section of the 864-page prepublication copy, which the Department of Health and Human Services made available mid-month. In August AHIMA will begin releasing updates to its popular ARRA white paper series reflecting the changes made in the final meaningful use rule as well as the final rule on EHR standards and certification criteria. Read the meaningful use rule overview.
July 28	House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Review HiTech Act Quick on the heels of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee held a hearing on Tuesday, July 27, to review the implementation of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act that was included in Public Law 111-5, the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.” Specifically, the hearing focused on the Medicare/Medicaid incentives to promote adoption of health information technology. Again, testifying on behalf of the Administration was Dr. David Blumenthal, national coordinator for health information technology, and Tony Trenkle, director of e-health standards and services, CMS. Several private sector witnesses also provided testimony on the HITECH initiatives. For additional information on the hearing you can visit the Committee on Energy and Commerce Page.
July 28	Privacy Modifications Exempt Information “Conduits” Organizations that serve as “conduits” of protected health information are not covered by the recent draft modifications to HIPAA, according to an HHS lawyer. Some stand-alone PHR firms such as Google Health and Microsoft Health Vault would also be exempt in certain situations. HHS’s Office for Civil Rights lawyer Adam Greene described the exemption during a July 9 meeting with the Health IT Policy Committee’s Privacy and Security Tiger Team. Organizations that are “mere conduits” for the electronic transport of PHI would not be considered business associates when working with HIPAA covered entities such as providers, health plans, or claims clearinghouses, Greene said. Read more at the Journal of AHIMA web site.
July 28	Collaboration Agreement Established Between IHTSDO and WHO On July 22, 2010 an agreement was signed between the International Healthcare Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) with an aim to “increase collaboration in order to create and maintain jointly usable and integrated classification and terminology systems to make efficient and effective use of public resources and avoid duplication of effort.” The collaboration fosters harmonization towards complementary use of SNOMED CT and WHO Classifications (including ICD-10), and enhances the work towards the next version. Used appropriately together the systematized terminology and the international classifications have the potential to “improve the accuracy, the reliability, and the quality of health and healthcare, to eliminate gaps in information, and to control costs.” Classifications are widely used in the United States’ health systems for disease and operations indexing and as the basis for health care services reimbursement. SNOMED CT is standardized healthcare terminology representing clinical concepts in a consistent and comprehensive way in health records. Meaningful exchange of health data is enabled by adoption of this international standard. For more information please access the WHO announcement or the IHTSDO announcement.
July 26	Call for Advocacy Volunteers: Regional Advocacy Liaisons Needed AHIMA’s State Advocacy Workgroup (SAW) has developed a Component State Association (CSA) advocacy restructuring plan to help improve AHIMA’s advocacy structure and effectiveness. The model developed is intended to enhance CSA advocacy participation, effort, communication, and education. This will be done by dividing the United States into 12 regions and having a Regional Advocacy Liaison (RAL) for each region. The RALs will be a primary communication and training conduit between AHIMA and the CSA advocacy leaders. The RAL will be appointed in 2010 for service commencing in 2011. If you are an AHIMA member and are interested in being a RAL just visit /about/volunteerap.aspx and submit your information. If you are interested in nominating an individual, please forward your nomination to Don Asmonga, AHIMA’s Director of Government Relations, at Don.Asmonga@AHIMA.org. Prior to volunteering or nominating an individual for this job, please review the information below. For additional information on the RAL initiative including a job description and the regional breakdown, you can visit the AHIMA COP under the resource of Regional Advocacy Liaison. The State Advocacy Workgroup’s (SAW’s) goal with the RAL is to improve this situation to insure that each CSA is active on the advocacy front and able undertake activities and report on their actions. With the changes initiated by ARRA-HITECH and healthcare reform, there is no doubt that CSA action will be needed to meet the policy and health information exchange (HIE) activities that will occur at the state and local level. Because the AHIMA Policy and Government Relations team does not have a full-time staff member dedicated to handling state advocacy responsibilities, the SAW approached this by considering ways to enhance CSA ownership of their advocacy activities. With the RAL, building that ownership would come from developing volunteer advocacy experts (RAL) that are geographically relevant and accessible to the state associations in a particular region. Regional Advocacy Liaison The Regional Advocacy Liaison is an outstanding role for an enterprising individual who has a strong interest and advocacy and policy issues. The Regional Advocacy Liaison’s primary role would be to act as primary liaison with the AHIMA Director of Government Relations and the CSAs in their particular region. Therefore, this role would obviously require: · Knowledge and/or experience working with component state association or similar advocacy efforts · Experience with forming alliances, building relationships, and collaboration · Strong written and verbal communication skills · Strong presentation skills Other expectations would include: · Assist CSAs with developing and filling their advocacy positions · Receive monthly updates from CSAs and report these to AHIMA along with reporting on HIM issues arising in the region, including issues that SAW or AHIMA may need to consider · Receive training in advocacy, advocacy presentations, and related skills and be able to provide that training to the CSAs advocacy chairs or members in their region whether in-person or via webinar. · Provide communications to CSA advocacy leaders in their region on: o Other advocacy developments in their region, at AHIMA, and throughout the US, o Legislative/Regulatory and other policy developments, including potential collaborative projects across states, o Any other issues that are suitable, and o Ways to improve their advocacy efforts (information that may be supplied by AHIMA or other sources). It is not an expectation that they develop methods on their own but they are also not discouraged from doing so) · Attend AHIMA Team Talks and Leadership in the summer for dedicated advocacy education · Serve as a member of SAW and assist with the development and presenting of advocacy education programs for CSAs · Attend 10-12 meetings per year with AHIMA Advocacy staff · Facilitate 10-12 meetings per year with CSA key advocacy liaisons in region More responsibilities for this role may be developed as this program matures. The RAL would also be a member of SAW. The role of the regional representative/liaison is significant. It will require 2-year terms with the ability to continue the term. It will take time to participate in meetings or communication with AHIMA/SAW as well as with each state in the region. If you are interested in being a Regional Advocacy Liaison or know somebody that would be well suited for this role, please forward your/their name to AHIMA’s Director of Government Relations, Don Asmonga, at don.asmonga@ahima.org. The RAL will be selected through the normal AHIMA volunteer leader appointment process at /about/volunteerap.aspx.
July 21	House Subcommittee Reviews CMS Meaningful Use Final Rule The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee held a hearing July 20 on promoting the adoption of health information technology (HIT) through the meaningful use incentives. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published the final rule for the HIT incentive program on July 13. Providing the administration’s perspective on the final rule were: David Blumenthal, MD, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Tony Trenkle, Director, Office of E-Health Standards, CMS For further information on the hearing and to review the witness testimony, you can visit the House Ways and Means web site. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, the Senate Finance Committee, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee also have jurisdiction over this issue but have not scheduled hearings to review the rule. In response to the meaningful use final rule, AHIMA has developed an outline of the regulation which provids a high level understanding of the provisions. A detailed analysis of the major components will be provided soon. You can find the outline located on the Policy section of the web site later this week.
July 21	Tracking Changes in the Meaningful Use Rule How did the objectives and measures change in the meaningful use final rule? Overall, the final rule maintains the same objectives and measures drafted in the proposed rule. Two objectives were added and two were removed, deferred to stage 2. However, the final rule allows participants in the EHR incentive program to meet fewer objectives in stage 1 than initially proposed. The rule divides objectives into “core” and “menu” sets and allows participants to select five of 10 applicable menu objectives. Overall the measures associated with the objectives are more modest than drafted in the proposed rule. Many of the thresholds have been lowered. For a complete comparison of each objective and measure, visit the Journal of AHIMA web site.
July 21	GAO Publishes Report on NQF Contract with HHS The Government Accountability Office (GAO) published the first of two reports last week as required by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is directed by this act to enter into a four-year contract with an entity to perform five duties related to healthcare quality measurement, and authorized $40 million from Medicare trust funds. The five duties addressed the following: make recommendations on a national strategy and priorities; endorse quality measures, which involves a process for determining which ones should be recognized as national standards; maintain—that is, update or retire—endorsed quality measures; promote electronic health records; and report annually to Congress and the Secretary of HHS. In January 2009, HHS awarded the contract to the National Quality Forum (NQF). This report describes NQF’s work for the first of four contract years, and HHS has flexibility to determine on an annual basis the specific work it expects NQF to perform for each of the MIPPA duties.
July 21	Medically Underserved Communities Receive Boost from FCC The Federal Communications Commission introduced a new healthcare connectivity program that would expand investment in broadband for medically underserved communities across the country. The program would give patients in rural areas access to state-of-the-art diagnostic tools typically available only in the largest and most sophisticated medical centers. This program would invest up to $400 million annually to enable doctors, nurses, hospitals, and clinics to deliver, through communications technology, world-class healthcare to patients, no matter where they live. The proposal includes the following: Partner with public and nonprofit healthcare providers to invest millions in new regional and statewide broadband networks in parts of the country where it is unavailable or insufficient. Making broadband connectivity more affordable by sharing half of the monthly recurring network costs with hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare providers. Delivering connectivity where it is needed most today. More information on this program is available here.
July 20	Final Rules for Meaningful Use and Standards and Certification On Tuesday, July 13, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) unveiled final rules on meaningful use and standards and certification under the electronic health record (EHR) incentive program established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The rules were announced at a press conference by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, along with newly appointed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator Donald Berwick, U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, and National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal. Display copies of the meaningful use rule and the standards and certification rule have been posted to the Federal Register. Official publication of both rules is scheduled for July 28. The meaningful use rule becomes effective 60 days after publication, and the standards and certification rule becomes effective 30 days after publication. Links to pre-publication copies of both rules and more detail can be found via the Journal of AHIMA.
June 18	Final Rule for the Establishment of the Temporary Certification Program for Health Information Technology The Office of the National Coordinator for HIT has release a 206-page pre-Federal Register copy of the final rule for the Establishment of the Temporary Certification Program for Health Information Technology. The rule will take effect when it is edited and published in the Federal Register most likely the week of June 20.
June 17	Applying the Substance Abuse Confidentiality Regulations to the Health Information Exchange (HIE) The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology announced yesterday the release of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Applying the Substance Abuse Confidentiality Regulations to the Health Information Exchange (HIE). The Substance Abuse Confidentiality Regulations, 42 CFR Part 2, govern the use and disclosure of alcohol and drug abuse patient records that are maintained at federally funded substance abuse programs. Both SAMHSA and ONC want to ensure that our constituents receive every tool and resource possible to allow a more complete understanding of these Federal regulations, which were enacted in 1972 and 1975. The FAQs outline the general provisions of 42 CFR Part 2, provide guidance on its application to electronic health records, and identify methods for including substance abuse patient record information into health information exchange that is consistent with the Federal statute.
June 11	AHIMA Comments on FY2011 Hospital Inpatient PPS Proposed Rule AHIMA submitted comments in response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ proposed rule regarding changes to the hospital inpatient prospective payment systems for fiscal year 2011. AHIMA volunteer members worked closely with staff to analyze the regulation and determine the impact on the profession. The proposed rule was published in the May 4 Federal Register, and comments can be submitted until 5 pm Eastern Time on June 18. AHIMA’s comments are publicly available in AHIMA's Advocacy and Public Policy Center.
June 7	New Long Term and Post Acute Care HIT Roadmap Released A collaborative of LTPAC associations including AHIMA released the LTPAC Health IT Road Map. This is the third roadmap established by the collaborative outlining eight strategic priorities for the next 3 years. A road map highlights the importance of engaging long term and post acute care settings in the national agenda for implementation of interoperable health IT in order to achieve the goals of improved quality, care coordination and efficiency.
May 13	AHIMA Urges Members to Respond to OCR RFI on Accounting of Disclosure On May 3, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) published a set of questions (75FR23214) to assist it in setting regulations for the accounting of disclosures for treatment, payment, and operations (TPO) for HIPAA entities using an electronic health record (EHR), as required in the 2009 ARRA–HITECH Act. The request for information was preceded in February with an interim final rule (75FR2014–effective February 12) that described the standard that would be used for such an accounting. Given that this was an IFR the standard could be changed. The February date also began a countdown (six months) for OCR to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking that must be promulgated by September 2010 under the HITECH statute. The OCR questions take both a consumer and HIPAA entity perspective and AHIMA urges all HIPAA entities to respond to these questions from your organizations perspective, by the May 18 deadline to provide the OCR with insight toward making an appropriate regulation. Such a regulation must address both existing and future EHR systems as well as related administrative systems and variance in organizations covered by HIPAA. The forthcoming regulations do not change any of the existing HIPAA regulations related to accounting for disclosure beyond TPO. The questions and information on how to submit a response can be found in the May 3 Federal Register. Learn more at the Journal of AHIMA Web site.
May 13	House Energy, Commerce Subcommittee Reviews National Broadband Plan The Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet of the House Energy and Commerce Committee will review the National Broadband Plan this week. The National Broadband Plan was initiated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and charged the Federal Communications Commission with creating the plan by February 17. The plan will seek to ensure that all US residents have access to broadband capability and shall establish benchmarks for meeting that goal. Learn more about the hearing.
May 6	OCR Requests Input on Pending Disclosures Regulation On May 3 the Office for Civil Rights published a request for information on accounting of disclosures seeking input on its upcoming regulation to enact new provisions specified under the HITECH Act. The information, OCR writes, will help it “better understand the interests of individuals with respect to learning of such disclosures” as well as “the administrative burden on covered entities and business associates of accounting for such disclosures.” In all, OCR poses nine questions on the consumer benefits, expectations, and current demand for accountings of disclosures; the capabilities of current EHR systems, including their ability to distinguish between use and disclosure; if the upcoming January 2011 deadline is feasible; and whether a special EHR module could provide the accounting function, especially in decentralized systems. Comments are due to OCR on or before May 18. Read more at the Journal of AHIMA Web site and share your thoughts.
May 6	AHIMA Responds to Proposed HIT CertificationProgram Regulation AHIMA submitted comments in response to the Office of the National Coordinator's proposed regulation for a permanent HIT certification program this week. AHIMA volunteer members worked closely with staff to analyze the regulation and determine the impact on the profession. AHIMA also responded to the temporary certification program on April 8. Both sets of comments are publicly available in AHIMA's Advocacy and Public Policy Center.
May 6	Health Subcommittee Considers Health Bills The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee is scheduled to mark-up three health bills this week. The bills are: HR 4700, the Transparency in All Health Care Pricing Act of 2010 was introduced by Representative Steve Kagen (D-WI). This bill intends to insure transparency in all healthcare pricing by requiring the wide range of organizations involved with healthcare to publicly disclose all prices for items, products, services, or procedures. HR 2249, the Health Care Price Transparency Promotion Act was introduced by Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX). The bill will provide for increased price transparency of hospital information and to provide for additional research on consumer information on charges and out-of-pocket costs. HR 4803, the Patients’ Right to Know Act was introduced by Representative Joe Barton (R-TX), the former chairman of the committee. This bill would ensure healthcare consumer and provider access to certain health benefits plan information and to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to provide transparency in hospital price and quality information. For additional information on this legislation you can visit the Action Center of the AHIMA Advocacy Assistant.
May 6	FY 2011 IPPS, LTCH PPS Proposed Rule Published Proposed changes to the hospital inpatient prospective payment systems for acute care hospitals and the long term care hospital prospective payment system as well as the proposed fiscal year 2011 rates were published in the May 4 Federal Register. Comments on the proposed rule must be received by June 18.
May 5	AHIMA Comments on Proposed Permanent HIT Certification Program Regulation AHIMA submitted comments in response to the Office of the National Coordinator's proposed regulation for a permanent HIT certification program this week. AHIMA volunteer members worked closely with staff to analyze the regulation and determine the impact on the profession. AHIMA also commented on the temporary HIT certification program on April 8, 2010.
May 3	HHS Releases Request for Information for Accounting of Disclosures Rulemaking The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published a request for information today seeking comments to better inform upcoming rulemaking that will expand an individual's right to receive an accounting of disclosures under the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Learn more.
April 22	Hospital Inpatient PPS Proposed Rule for FY 2011 on Display The hospital inpatient prospective payment system proposed rule for fiscal year 2011 has been placed on display at the Federal Register and is expected to be published on May 4. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are seeking input on whether the ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM/PCS code sets should be frozen so that the last regular update prior to ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation would be made on October 1, 2011, with only limited updates on October 1, 2012, and October 1, 2013, to capture new technologies and diseases. Regular updates to ICD-10-CM/PCS would resume on October 1, 2014. An analysis of the reporting of the present on admission indicator and hospital-acquired conditions is also discussed. CMS will accept comments on the proposed rule until the close of business on June 18. Access the display copy of the proposed rule here.
April 22	AHIMA Comments on Draft NQF Report, ICD-10-CM/PCS Code Maintenance In August 2009, the National Quality Forum (NQF) initiated a project to develop a process for updating and maintaining the NQF-endorsed measure portfolio with ICD-10-CM/PCS codes. In an effort to understand the full implications of this process for NQF and other relevant stakeholders, NQF convened an expert panel representing the diverse stakeholders to examine the implications and make recommendations to guide NQF and the field going forward. The panel outlined central themes and concerns to highlight during the transition period between now and October 2013. The draft Code Maintenance Framework and Operational Guidance report identifies best practices for approaching the measure conversion process and discusses recommendations and guidance to NQF maintenance operations for the coding transition process. AHIMA members and staff compiled comments in response to the report that were submitted to NQF on April 16.
April 22	Congress Passes Continuing Extension Act of 2010, Includes ARRA Clarification On April 15, the Senate and House passed and the President signed into law (PL 111-157) HR 4851, the Continuing Extension Act of 2010, which extends through May 31 the current freeze in Medicare physician payments (i.e., delays the 21 percent cut until June 1). The legislation provides Congress additional time to reconcile major differences between the larger tax relief and unemployment bills passed earlier this year and design a long-term solution to the sustainable growth rate. Additionally, HR 4851 includes language clarifying the types of physicians that are eligible for the Medicare and Medicaid health information technology incentive payments established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, P.L. 111-5). Section 6 of the Act, (read it here) replaces the language “setting (whether inpatient or outpatient)” from ARRA with the phrase “inpatient or emergency room setting.” Visit the Action Center of the AHIMA Advocacy Assistant to learn more.
April 22	Kennedy, Murphy Introduce HIT Extension forBehavioral Health Services Act Representatives Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Tim Murphy (R-PA), long-time health information technology advocates in the House, have introduced HR 5040, the Health Information Technology Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act. The Kennedy/Murphy legislation would extend the incentives for “meaningful use” of electronic health records by ensuring the eligibility of many behavioral and mental health professionals, psychiatric hospitals, behavioral and mental health treatment facilities, and substance abuse treatment facilities. Upon introduction, the bill was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. Visit the Action Center of the AHIMA Advocacy Assistant to learn more.
April 19	Participate in Upcoming eVital Standards Initiatives The National Center for Health Statistics is seeking stakeholder input on a set of models that have been developed to describe how birth, death, and fetal death records are processed. Known as the vital records domain analysis models (VR DAM), the models serve as a framework to guide future standards development for vital record exchange. Feedback can be provided through participation in the Health Level Seven International (HL7) open ballot period April 5 - May 9. Information is available from the HL7 Web site to describe the voting process for HL7 members and nonmembers. In a separate effort, work continues to identify vital records functional requirements for electronic health records through development of the HL7 vital records functional profile. Learn more.
April 19	AHIMA Launches New Advocacy and Policy Website AHIMA has redesigned its advocacy and public policy website to make it easier to find information on our industry leadership on health information management, public policy, standards activities and other helpful resources.
April 15	CCHIT Names Karen Bell, MD New Chair The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology named Karen M. Bell, MD, chair effective April 26. Bell replaces retiring chair Mark Leavitt, MD, PhD. Bell most recently was senior vice president of health IT services at Masspro. She has also served as director of the Office of Health Information Technology Adoption and acting deputy in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). Bell was ONC’s representative on the CCHIT board of commissioners from 2006-2008. For more information, visit CCHIT.
April 15	HHS Announces Final Regional Extension Centers On April 6 the Department of Health and Human Services announced the final round of regional extension center (REC) grants. More than $267 million was awarded to 28 nonprofit organizations to form the health information technology support centers. A total of 60 RECs have now received funding. The RECs are charged with providing health IT outreach and technical support services to 100,000 primary care providers and hospitals within two years. The centers will offer technical assistance, guidance, and information to support and accelerate providers’ IT efforts and help them become meaningful users of electronic health record systems. HHS expects the first of the RECs to be fully operational by mid-2010. The grants were funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Part of the program’s goal is to grow the health IT industry, which is expected to support tens of thousands of jobs ranging from nurses to IT technicians and trainers. The entire list of grant recipients is available on the HHS site.
April 15	Call for Nominations, NQF Measure Use Evaluation Advisory Panel The National Quality Forum (NQF) is seeking nominations for members of an evaluation advisory panel to provide feedback on an evaluation of measure use in healthcare, particularly the use of NQF-endorsed performance measures. The panel will represent a range of stakeholder perspectives reflective of NQF membership, including consumers, purchasers, providers, quality improvement professionals, researchers, and community/public health professionals. All nomination materials must be submitted to NQF by 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 6. Please visit NQF’s measure use evaluation Web page for additional information.
April 8	AHIMA Responds to Proposed HIT Certification Program Regulation AHIMA will submit comments in response to the Office of the National Coordinator’s proposed regulation for a temporary HIT certification program. AHIMA volunteer members worked closely with staff to analyze the regulation and determine the impact on the profession. View AHIMA’s letter. AHIMA will comment separately on the proposed regulation for the permanent HIT certification program by ONC’s May 10 public comment response deadline.
April 8	AHRQ PSO Common Formats Version 1.1 Now Available The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released Common Formats Version 1.1 for collecting and reporting patient safety information. This new release includes technical specifications for software developers to facilitate the Common Formats’ widespread adoption and implementation. Access AHRQ’s Common Formats Version 1.1.
April 8	GAO Issues Findings on CMS Recovery Audit program Several members of Congress requested the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) recovery audit contractor (RAC) program. The GAO recently published the following report, “Weaknesses Remain in Addressing Vulnerabilities to Improper Payments, Although Improvements Made to Contractor Oversight.” CMS is taking multiple steps to resolve RAC and Medicare claims administration contractor coordination issues in the national program based on lessons learned during the demonstration project, such as continuing the RAC and Medicare claims administration contractors vulnerability calls, enhancing the existing data warehouse, automating the claims-adjustment process, and developing a system for electronic documentation sharing when RAC determinations are appealed.Access the report.
April 5	AHIMA Hails HHS Grants to Advance Health IT Workforce On April 2, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced $84 million in grants to universities and junior colleges to support training and development of new health IT professionals. The awards include a $6 million federal contract to Northern Virginia Community College to support the development and initial administration of a set of health IT competency examinations. AHIMA will serve as a subcontractor. The program will develop examinations to assess basic competency for individuals trained through short-duration, non-degree health IT programs and for members of the workforce with relevant experience who are seeking to demonstrate their competency in certain health IT workforce roles. In addition, ONC awarded nine universities with $32 million to develop university-based training programs to increase the availability of individuals qualified to serve in specific HIT roles requiring university-level training. Five schools received $10 million in grants to create Curriculum Development Centers that will develop educational materials for key health IT topics to be used by the members of the Community College Consortia.
April 1	President Signs Healthcare Reform Corrections Legislation Earlier this week President Barack Obama signed HR 4872, the Reconciliation Act of 2010, which sets forth the healthcare reform corrections required by the House of Representatives to pass the Senate reform legislation (HR 3590), the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. With this signing, the President’s main domestic priority is complete and will likely not be re-opened unless additional corrections are necessary. In addition to addressing the healthcare reform issue, HR 4872 makes modifications to the federal student loan program that are intended to remove banks as “middlemen” in the lending process and make available an expected $68 billion for additional educational priorities.
April 1	CMS Publishes Quarterly Listing of Program Issuances This notice lists the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ manual instructions, substantive and interpretive regulations, and other Federal Register notices published from October through December 2009 relating to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Read the listing.
April 1	FCC’s New Broadband Plan Has HIT Implications The Federal Communications Commission has released the National Broadband Plan to create a high-performance Americaâ€”a more productive, creative efficient America in which affordable broadband is available everywhere and everyone has the means and skills to use valuable broadband applications. The plan also sets long-term goals and benchmarks. Learn more and download the plan. To stimulate growth and savings in the healthcare and health information technology sector, the FCC’s plan has set some specific goals such as ensuring all healthcare providers have access to affordable broadband and creating economic incentives for broader health IT adoption and innovation. The specific healthcare goals and recommendations can be found here. AHIMA believes that broadband is a critical component to enable the efficient and proper exchange of health information. We expect that the National Broadband Plan will receive much attention from Congress and others over the coming weeks and months. We will continue to keep you updated on the plan’s progress and impact on the HIM environment.
April 1	AHIMA Launches New Advocacy and Policy Website AHIMA has redesigned its advocacy and public policy website to make it easier to find information on our industry leadership on health information management, public policy, standards activities and other helpful resources.
March 25	Healthcare Reform Includes AHIMA-supported Language on Administrative Simplification With healthcare reform facing such an uncertain future in Congress, it was not clear whether or not the AHIMA supported administrative simplification provisions would survive and be enacted into law. We are happy to report that despite all of the interesting process developments surrounding healthcare reform, the administrative simplification provisions are included in both the healthcare reform package (HR 3590) and the House generated healthcare reform legislative fixes included in the budget reconciliation package (HR 4872). These important provisions establish the requirements for operating rules for the HIPAA transaction standards and require the Secretary to develop a streamlined process to update existing standards. AHIMA has been advocating for these provisions for several years and is pleased with their enactment. For additional information on AHIMA's position visit the AHIMA Community of Practice (login via myAHIMA) under the category "Hill Day 2010" and the topic "Administrative Simplification."
March 25	AHIMA Hill Day Address HIM Workforce Issues More than 180 AHIMA members traveled to Washington, DC, this week to participate in the 2010 AHIMA Hill Day. Members began their experience on March 22 with a policy briefing on immediately followed by a reception. On March 23, the morning of Hill Day, our excited advocates attended the Hill Day breakfast briefing to receive their final meeting assignments and then headed off to Capitol Hill to address two workforce issues and thank Congress for including the administrative simplification provisions in healthcare reform. AHIMA's two workforce issues include: Finding a champion to sponsor a "Dear Colleague" letter to other members of Congress to acquire cosigners to a letter to the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, to update the woefully outdated standard occupational classifications for HIM. Finding a sponsor to introduction our AHIMA drafted "Allied Health and Health Information Investment Act" that will provide the authorization for much needed funding to the Health Resources and Services Administration to support education and training in allied health and health information careers.
March 25	CMS Will Begin Processing More Diagnosis, Procedure Codes in 2011 Effective January 1, 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be able to accept and process up to 25 ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes on institutional claims. In addition additional associated present on admission codes and up to 25 ICD-9-CM procedure codes will be accepted and processed, according to a CMS provider education article. CMS currently processes only the first nine diagnosis codes and six procedure codes submitted. AHIMA has long advocated for an expansion in the number of diagnosis and procedure codes processed by CMS.
March 25	Call for Nominations, NQF Measure Harmonization Project The National Quality Forum (NQF) is seeking nominations from various stakeholder perspectives to develop an operational guidance document for achieving measure harmonization. The call for nominations for steering committee members is now open. All nomination materials must be submitted by April 8 at 6 p.m. ET. Please visit the NQF Measure Harmonization project Web page for additional information.
March 25	National Quality Forum ICD-10 Code Maintenance Report The National Quality Forum's (NQF) code maintenance expert panel is seeking member and public comments on the ICD-10 Code Maintenance draft report. Feedback collected during member and public comment will be used by the code maintenance expert panel to formulate a comprehensive framework and operational guidance for transitioning the NQF-endorsed quality measures to ICD-10-CM/PCS by October 2013. Submit comments to NQF by April 12 at 6 pm ET.
March 25	NIST, OCR Host HIPAA Security Conference The HHS Office for Civil Rights and the National Institute of Standards and Technology Computer Security Division are holding the "Safeguarding Health Information: Building Assurance through HIPAA Security" conference May 11-12 in Washington, DC. This conference will provide a forum to discuss the current HIT security landscape as well as practical strategies, tips, and techniques for implementing the requirements of the HIPAA security rule. Learn more and register.
March 18	AHIMA Responds to Meaningful Use Proposed Regulation On March 12, AHIMA submitted comments in response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' proposed regulation for the electronic health record incentive program ("meaningful use"). Volunteer members worked diligently with staff to perform a comprehensive review and analysis of the regulations to determine how they would ultimately affect the HIM profession, particularly the proposed provisions on health IT and quality measurement reporting. View AHIMA's letter.
March 18	AHIMA Responds to Regulation on EHR Certification Criteria and Standards On March 12, AHIMA also submitted comments in response to the interim final rule on standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for electronic health record technology. Members worked closely with staff to analyze the regulations and determine the impact on the profession. View AHIMA's letter. AHIMA commented separately on the accounting of disclosure standard described within the rule because of its special concern to members.
March 18	CMS, CDC Announce Proposed Code Set Freeze At the March 9 ICD-9-CM coordination and maintenance committee meeting, CMS andthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced their proposal for freezing the ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM/PCS code sets prior to ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation. They are proposing that October 1, 2011, would be the last regular update of ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM/PCS before ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation. Limited updates to incorporate new diseases and new technology would be permitted on October 1, 2012, and October 1, 2013. Regular updates of ICD-10-CM/PCS would resume in 2014. CMS and CDC are soliciting comments on the proposal. Comments should be sent to both Pat Brooks at CMS and Donna Pickett at CDC.
March 11	AHIMA Comments on Certification Standards Rule, Accounting of Disclosures AHIMA's white paper series on "meaningful use" concludes this week with an overview of AHIMA's comments on the proposed rule on EHR certification standards. Comments on this rule and the related meaningful use incentive program are due March 15. Included in the paper is an overview of AHIMA's comments on the standard for the accounting of disclosure provisions called for under ARRA. Read this paper, AHIMA's comments on the meaningful use rule, and all preceding white papers on the Journal of AHIMA Web site, where you also can comment on the issues, opportunities, and challenges.
March 11	ONC Announces Proposed Rule for EHR Certification Process On March 2, ONC also announced the long-awaited proposed rule for the EHR certification process. ONC is proposing a short term program to allow organizations to qualify to be a certification body in time to use the certification standards, discussed above, on products that must be certified for a provider to eligible for the Meaningful Use Incentive program. A permanent certification process is also proposed for the long term. Once published in the Federal Register, ONC will accept comments on the short-term proposal in 30 days and the long term in 60 days. AHIMA will be commenting on these proposals as well. Read more on the Journal of AHIMA Web site, which includes a link to the unedited draft proposal.
February 25	ARRA White Paper Series: Qualification Requirements for "Meaningful Use" AHIMA's white paper series analyzing the "meaningful use" notice of proposed rulemaking continues this week with a look at the qualification requirements and next steps for the incentive payment program. Each week a new paper in the series reviews an aspect of the proposed rules governing this much-anticipated federal incentive program, created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The series will continue into March, when it concludes with AHIMA's official comments on the rule submitted to CMS. Read this latest paper and others on the Journal of AHIMA Web site, where you also can comment on the issues, opportunities, and challenges.
February 25	OCR Posts Over 500 Breach Notifications This week the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) posted reports from 36 organizations that have reported breach situations. Reporting of breaches affecting 500 or more individuals has been required since September 23, 2009, by all entities covered by HIPAA as a result of the ARRA-HITECH law. Most of the breaches were created by theft or loss of HIT equipment including unauthorized access to computers, theft of laptops, and theft of portable devices. The number of individuals involved in these incidents range from 501 to 500,000. View the report from OCR. Readers are reminded that reports of breaches under 500 are due to the OCR by March 1. Instructions for this electronic submission are available here.
February 18	ARRA White Paper Series: Exploring Clinical Quality Reporting Requirements Providers and hospitals that participate in the HITECH EHR incentive program will be required to report clinical quality measures in addition to reporting measures that prove their "meaningful use" of the technology. Two new white papers in AHIMA's meaningful use series explore the clinical quality reporting requirements for hospitals and providers. Each week a new paper in the series reviews an aspect of the proposed rule governing this much-anticipated federal incentive program. The series will continue into March, when it concludes with AHIMA's official comments on the rule submitted to CMS. Read these latest papers and others on the Journal of AHIMA Web site, where you also can comment on the issues, opportunities, and challenges.
February 18	First Regional Extension Centers Named The Department of Health and Human Services announced the first group of regional extension centers February 12, part of nearly $1 billion in awards made for health IT related projects that day. More than $375 million was awarded to 32 nonprofit organizations to support primary care providers in selecting, implementing, and using health IT. HHS will award a second round of contracts in the coming months. In total, it expects to establish 70 centers that support 100,000 providers. Also announced were grants for state HIE initiatives and healthcare job training programs. HHS awarded $386 million to 40 states and qualified state-designated entities to facilitate health information exchange at the state level. The job training funds came through the Department of Labor, which awarded more than $225 million to fund 55 training programs in 30 states. For more information, see the February 12 announcement.
February 18	Breach Notification Reports Due March 1; Compliance on IFR Expected February 22 HIPAA covered entities that experienced breaches of protected health information for fewer than 500 individuals between September 23 and December 31, 2009, are reminded that they must file a report electronically to the Secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS) by March 1. Normally, such a report would cover a calendar year but for 2009 the report only need cover the period after the breach notification interim final rule became effective. Readers are also reminded that the HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) provided a grace period for covered entities to become compliant with the IFR. This grace period ends on February 22. AHIMA has provided a number of materials to assist members with their compliance activities. Readers seeking to submit their breach notification report can find instructions at the OCR Web page.
February 11	ARRA White Paper Series: Measuring up for Meaningful Use Providers and hospitals that participate in the HITECH EHR incentive program have to do more than use IT meaningfully, they have to prove it. AHIMA's white paper series analyzing the notice of proposed rulemaking on "meaningful use" continues this week with two papers that review the health IT functionality measures for both providers and hospitals. Each week a new paper in the series reviews an aspect of the proposed rules governing this much-anticipated federal incentive program, created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The series will continue into March, when it concludes with AHIMA's official comments on the rule submitted to CMS. Read these latest papers and others on the Journal of AHIMA Web site, where you also can comment on the issues, opportunities, and challenges.
February 11	Grassley Introduces Fraud Legislation Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking minority member of the Senate Finance Committee, has introduced legislation to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse under Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP). S. 2964, the "Strengthening Program Integrity and Accountability in Health Care Act," was introduced on January 28 and contains Grassley's fraud language that was included in the Senate's passed healthcare reform proposal. Generally, as referenced in Senator Grassley's introductory statement, the legislation is designed to "deter, detect, and prevent those that would steal from Federal healthcare programs, to assist those tasked with catching these criminals, and to protect taxpayer dollars." This bill does expand the recovery audit contractor program to Medicare part C and Medicare part D. Additional elements of the bill can be found at the Action Center of the Advocacy Assistant.
February 11	Senator Grassley Queries Hospitals about Federal Health IT Plans The ranking republican member of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has written a letter to 31 hospitals seeking information on the health information technology program initiated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (PL 111-5), or ARRA. The letter contained a set of 11 questions aimed at gathering information from hospitals regarding their perspective and experiences with health information technology. This effort is similar to Senator Grassley's letter to 10 health information technology companies in October 2009. Read the press release and letter.
February 11	NQF Seeks Nominations for HITAC The National Quality Forum (NQF) is in the process of forming a health information technology advisory committee (HITAC). The advisory committee will be charged with providing additional guidance on NQF's health IT portfolio and projects as they move In many respects HITAC will be an extension of the work performed by the Health Information Technology Expert Panel (HITEP). HITEP published a report in November 2009, "Health IT Enablement of Quality Management - the Quality Data Set (QDS) and Dataflow," which provides an infrastructure for automating quality measurement. NQF's effort includes the continued evolution of the QDS to support performance measures and clinical decision support, the development of various tools, and special projects. HITAC will provide guidance for these projects and for expanding the scope of NQF's health IT activities. Nominations for members of the newly established HITAC will be accepted until February 18.
February 11	CMS Hosts PQRI Listening Session The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hosted its first physician quality reporting initiative (PQRI) public listening session at CMS headquarters in Baltimore, MD on February 2. The goals for the session were to seek measure suggestions, provide public comment opportunities on measures and key program components, outline the measure development process, and to define its goals for the 2011 PQRI program. In addition to claims based and registry reporting option, an alternative reporting option for 2010 involves the reporting of measures through qualified electronic health records which is limited to just 10 specified measures. These measures may be found on the CMS web site under the heading "alternative reporting mechanisms." Learn more about the PQRI program and view a listing of qualified EHR vendors.
February 4	ARRA White Paper Series: Change Coming to EHR Certification AHIMA's white paper series analyzing the notice of proposed rulemaking on "meaningful use" continues this week with a look at how EHR systems will qualify for the incentive program. An interim final rule on standards and criteria describes significant change to today's certification process. Each week a new paper in the series reviews an aspect of the proposed rules governing this much-anticipated federal incentive program, created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The series will continue into March, when it concludes with AHIMA's official comments on the rule submitted to CMS. Read this latest paper and others on the Journal of AHIMA Web site, where you also can comment on the issues, opportunities, and challenges.
February 4	President Releases Fiscal Year 2011 Budget, ONC and CMS Slated for Increase The President's fiscal year 2011 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget totals $911 billion, an increase of over $51 billion from FY 2010. The HHS budget requests $78 billion for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), an increase of $17 million over last year. The HHS budget in brief states that "the increase will enable ONC to lead and coordinate federal health IT efforts while implementing and evaluating Recovery Act health IT programs." In addition, the budget request increases the CMS budget by $186 million to $3.6 billion. The CMS request "provides targeted investments to revamp IT systems and optimize staffing levels so that CMS can meet the future challenges of the Medicare and Medicaid programs." In addition, $110 million of the increase is for the Health Care Data Improvement Initiative to increase CMS' focus on state-of-the-art data analysis and information sharing. Additionally, the requested $732 million CMS information technology budget includes $60 million for the agency's continued ICD-10 conversion. According to the HHS budget in brief, "$40 million is for systems costs, code policy analysis, training, and planning requirements." The additional $20 million is for the development of a new ICD-10 compliant transaction format for billing. Stay informed on the latest legislative news with AHIMA.
February 4	2010 IHE Conference Tests Interoperability The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's national program of cancer registries advancing electronic reporting and registry operations participated in the 2010 North American Connectathon sponsored by Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) and successfully demonstrated the ability to send electronic pathology laboratory reports from a pathology laboratory information system to a central cancer registry. The profile, anatomic pathology reporting to a public health repository (ARPH), is based on the standards for cancer registries and will transmit a Health Level Seven (HL7) message from pathology laboratories to the appropriate central cancer registries. IHE promotes use of established standards such as HL7 to address specific clinical needs supporting patient care. Electronic reporting of cancer diagnoses is one of the first use cases accepted by IHE that links population health with the clinical care. The ARPH profile brings the data needs of the cancer registry to the attention of EHR software developers, ensuring that cancer registry data needs are considered when EHRs and laboratory information systems are developed. Learn more about IHE and access the 2010 Connectathon presentations.
January 28	*ARRA White Paper Series: How Much* Incentive for Meaningful Use?** AHIMA's white paper series analyzing the notice of proposed rulemaking on "meaningful use" continues this week with a look at the money being offered for EHR adoption and the requirements for collecting it. Each week a new paper in the series reviews an aspect of the proposed rules governing this much-anticipated federal incentive program, created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The series will continue into March, when it concludes with AHIMA's official comments on the rule submitted to CMS. Read this latest paper and others on the Journal of AHIMA Web site, where you also can comment on the issues, opportunities, and challenges.
January 21	AHIMA Launches White Paper Series on Meaningful Use This week AHIMA launches a series of short white papers analyzing the recently released notice of proposed rulemaking on "meaningful use," the federal incentive program to encourage EHR adoption and use. Each week the series will review the notice and discuss the issues for hospitals and physician practices that decide to apply for these payments. In later weeks the papers will cover AHIMA's comments on the proposed regulations. The series is available on the AHIMA ARRA Web page and the Journal of AHIMA Web site, where readers can discuss the issues, opportunities, and challenges with each other.
January 14	Analysis of 2010 OPPS Final Rule Posted The final rule for calendar year (CY) 2010 changes to the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and changes to the Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System was published in the Federal Register on November 20, 2009. This rule is effective for services rendered on or after January 1. This analysis summarizes key provisions in the CY 2010 OPPS final rule that may be of particular interest to HIM professionals.
January 14	HHS Delivers Nation's First Health Security Strategy Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released the National Health Security Strategy, the nation's first comprehensive strategy focused on protecting people's health during a large-scale emergency. The strategy sets priorities for government and non-government activities over the next four years. National health security means that the nation and its people are prepared for, protected from, and resilient in the face of health threats or incidents with potentially negative health consequences such as bioterrorism and natural disasters. The strategy provides a framework for actions that will build community resilience, strengthen and sustain health emergency response systems, and fill current gaps. The National Health Security Strategy and the interim implementation guide outline 10 objectives to achieve health security. To obtain a copy of the strategy and implementation guide, visit www.hhs.gov/disasters.
January 14	Ad Hoc Task Force on Electronic Health Record - Public Health The Public Health Data Standards Consortium (PHDSC)is re-launching the ad hoc task force on electronic health record - public health (EHR-PH) in collaboration with the Health Level Seven (HL7) electronic health record (EHR) working group. In 2003-2004, the PHDSC participated in the validation of the original HL7 electronic health record systems (EHR-S) functional model. This validation was conducted by members of the PHDSC ad hoc task force on EHR-PH. The ISO-approved HL7 EHR-S functional model release 1.1 is undergoing the re-evaluation. Participants from local, state, and federal public health agencies, healthcare organizations, public health professional associations, schools of public health, health IT vendor organizations, private sector, and individuals interested in public health are invited to join the PHDSC. The goal of the task force is to re-evaluate the functional model to assure that public health perspectives from the federal, state, and local agencies and public health research community are met. Volunteers will participate in seven two-hour conference calls from January - May. For additional information or to join the group, contact Regina Austin.
January 7	AHIMA Publishes Overview of CMS Proposed Meaningful Use Criteria On December 30, 2009, the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) held a press conference to announce two long-awaited rule proposals. The first rule was the Medicare and Medicaid Programs, Electronic Health Record Incentive Program - commonly called the Meaningful Use rule. The second rule- an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that adopts an initial set of standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for electronic health record (EHR) technology e necessary to achieve Meaningful Use. This Overview covers the Meaningful Use Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), which was posted on December 30 in draft form. This overview is not intended to be an analysis of the document but to provide information on the rule as it was displayed by CMS and ONC. As with any overview or analysis, readers should thoroughly read the official Federal Register published document once it is available. See Meaningful Use CMS Proposed Rule Overview
January 7	Fed Issues Proposed Criteria for "Meaningful Use," EHR Certification Healthcare rang in the New Year with long-awaited specifications for the EHR incentive programs enacted under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. On December 30, the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services released a proposed rule defining the "meaningful use" of EHRs and describing the provisions of the incentive programs that encourage the adoption and use of EHRs. A related interim final rule issued by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT sets initial standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for EHR technology. Both regulations are expected to be officially published in the Federal Register on January 13, 2010, and will be open to public comment for 60 days thereafter. The interim final rule for certification will take effect 30 days after publication. Read more on the Journal of AHIMA Web site, including links to the rules and AHIMA's initial overview of the meaningful use proposed rule. AHIMA has begun its review of both rules in anticipation of commenting to the federal government, providing more information to members, and offering an HIM perspective to the industry. Watch future e-Alerts and AHIMA's ARRA Web page for information.
January 7	AHIMA 2010 Capitol Hill Day Announced for March 23 AHIMA will hold its 2010 Capitol Hill Day on March 23 in Washington, DC. Hill Day will once again be paired with AHIMA's Winter Team Talks. This year's Team Talks session will be held on March 22 and will include a policy briefing from AHIMA's policy and government relations staff. Hill Day will begin with a breakfast briefing where attendees will pick up their congressional packets and other information. This year's Winter Team Talks and Hill Day breakfast briefing will be held at the Hilton Washington HotelFebruary 26 to accommodate the appointment process. Hotel reservations must be made by February 19 in order to take advantage of AHIMA's special rate at the Hilton Washington Hotel. Reservations should be made as soon as possible as spring time in Washington is always busy. Obtain more details. We look forward to seeing you on Capitol Hill on March 23. in Washington, DC.
January 7	CMS Hosts Listening Session to Discuss the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a listening session on February 2, from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. EST, in the main auditorium of the Central Building of CMS, located at 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244. A teleconference option is offered as well. Registration must be completed no later than 5 p.m. EST on January 27. Learn more. The purpose of the listening session is to solicit input from participating stakeholders on: The individual quality measures and measures groups being considered for possible inclusion in the proposed set of quality measures for use in the 2011 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) program and; Key components of the design of the PQRI program, such as possible reporting mechanisms, reporting periods, criteria for satisfactory reporting, the group practice reporting option, and public reporting of 2011 PQRI data.
January 7	CMS Issues Quarterly Listing of Program Issuances The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a notice listing CMS' manual instructions, substantive and interpretive regulations, and other Federal Register notices that were published from July 2009 through September 2009, relating to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. View a copy of the notice.
January 7	2010 ICD-10-CM/PCS Files, Guidelines Available from CMS The 2010 files of ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS have been posted on the CMS Web site. The 2010 Official Coding Guidelines for ICD-10-CM are also posted here. Nearly 2,000 new diagnosis codes were added and more than 2,000 new procedure codes were added to the 2010 version.

December 30	AHIMA Provides Helpful Calendar of Due Dates for ARRA/HITECH (December 30, 2010) Tracking the due dates published in the legislation and regulation can be challenging. The ARRA - HITECH Due Dates resource provides a helpful tool on due dates required in ARRA/HITECH.
December 17	CDC Releases E-Code Report The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is providing national leadership in an effort to develop and implement strategies and action plans to improve external-cause-of-injury coding (E-coding) in state morbidity data systems. Improving e-coding in state morbidity data systems can provide better data useful in setting priorities for injury prevention and trauma care programs and evaluating their effectiveness at the federal, state, and local levels. In February, the CDC conducted a partners meeting to discuss E-coding issues relevant to state morbidity data systems and make recommendations for improvements. The CDC has released a report summarizing actions recommended by participants of the February meeting aimed at improving communication and collaboration among stakeholders, demonstrating a business case for high-quality e-coding, improving the collection of high-quality E-coded data, and improving and promoting the usefulness of E-coded data for state injury prevention efforts. Read the report.
December 17	CCHIT Announces New Trustees, Commissioners Last week the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) announced three appointees to its board of trustees and named five new commissioners whose terms begin January 1, 2010. The nine-member board of trustees has fiduciary responsibility for the not-for-profit organization and provides leadership in the areas of fiscal oversight and stewardship of assets, organizational strategy, evaluation of senior management, and resolution of any conflicts of interest involving the Commission's management and its board of commissioners. Trustees serve three-year staggered terms. Access the full list of trustees.
December 10	CMS Imposes Documentation Request Limits on RACs On December 2 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced new limits on the number of medical and related claims records that recovery audit contractors (RACs) may request from hospitals and other providers in the course of an audit. RACs are charged on behalf of CMS with detecting and recovering improper Medicare payments (such as overpayments) to providers. A copy of the December 2 announcement can be found here.
December 10	ONC Announces $235M for Beacon Community Program The Beacon Community Program will help to accelerate and demonstrate the ability of health IT to transform local healthcare systems and to improve the lives of Americans and the performance of the healthcare providers who serve them. The program will take communities at the cutting edge of electronic health record (EHR) adoption and health information exchange and push them to a new level of healthcare quality and efficiency. The resulting experience will inform efforts throughout the US to support the meaningful use of EHRs, the primary goal of the federal government's new health IT initiative. Learn more.
December 10	AHRQ Releases New Web Site on Consumer Health IT Applications A new Web site from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on consumer health information technology applications is now available. As patients become more responsible for managing an increasing volume of health information, including their medical history, lab results, and medications, new consumer health IT applications are being developed that allow patients to manage, share, and control their health information electronically and to assume a more active role in the management of their health. AHRQ's new Web site discusses self-management systems, electronic personal health records and patient portals, peer interaction systems, and information on relevant AHRQ-funded projects. Access the new Web page.
December 3	HHS Announces $80M in Workforce Grants The Department of Health and Human Services recently announced plans to make $80 million available to support health information technology workforce. The grants will support community college training programs and curriculum development. Additional programs will be announced in the coming weeks. Learn more.
December 3	CMS Issues Final Rule for Physician Fee Schedule Last week, CMS issued a final rule with comment period in the Federal Register [74FR61738] that implements changes to the physician fee schedule and other Medicare Part B payment policies to ensure that our payment systems are updated to reflect changes in medical practice and the relative value of services. It also implements or discusses certain provisions of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. This final rule with comment period also finalizes the calendar year (CY) 2009 interim relative value units (RVUs) and issues interim RVUs for new and revised codes for CY 2010. View the final rule.
December 3	CMS Issues Final Rule for Outpatient Prospective Payment System On November 20, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule in the Federal RegisterLearn more. [74FR60316] for the Outpatient Prospective Payment System and the Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System. Among other areas this final rule with comment period, CMS describes the changes to the amounts and factors used to determine the payment rates for Medicare hospital outpatient services paid under the prospective payment system. These changes are applicable to services furnished on or after January 1, 2010. In addition, this final rule updates the revised Medicare ambulatory surgical center payment system to implement applicable statutory requirements and changes arising from our continuing experience with this system. These changes are applicable to services furnished on or after January 1, 2010.
December 3	CMS Announces Joint Commission to Continue Accreditation Program Last week CMS announced in the Federal RegisterLearn more. [74FR62333] that the Joint Commission received approval for continued recognition as a national accreditation program for hospitals that request participation in the Medicare or Medicaid programs.
November 19	NLM Releases Draft SNOMED CT to ICD-9-CM Rules-based Map to Support Reimbursement The US National Library of Medicine (NLM) has released a draft rules-based mapping from SNOMED Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) to the International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). The map was designed to support semi-automated administrative reporting and reimbursement for healthcare services within US healthcare organizations. The NLM seeks users to "test drive" and provide feedback for the map, which will guide the development of related maps. Users can evaluate and test the map now by downloading it from the NLM Web site. Starting December 1 through February 1, 2010, users will be able to provide feedback to the NLM and College of American Pathologists SNOMED Terminology Solutions, which developed the map on behalf of the NLM. More details about the feedback process will be posted on the same Web page by December 1. Learn more.
November 19	2010 HCPCS Codes Posted The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the modifications to the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code set. These changes have been posted to the HCPCS Web page. Coding changes are effective January 1, 2010. The content of the 2010 HCPCS annual update reflects CMS' final coding decision for negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) devices. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, section 154(c)(3), requires the Secretary to evaluate the HCPCS codes for NPWT using an existing process and to consider all relevant studies and information in making the evaluation. CMS utilized its existing public process for evaluating HCPCS coding and determined that the current HCPCS codes for NPWT are appropriate and should not be changed. Read more about CMS' evaluation.
November 19	NQF Releases Quality Data Set The National Quality Forum (NQF) recently announced the release of the Quality Data Set (QDS) framework. The QDS aims to provide direction to measure developers, EHR vendors, and other stakeholders by providing a common language to describe the information within quality measures and enable measurement from a variety of electronic sources. In addition to the framework, NQF issued a policy brief describing how the QDS should be implemented and maintained to accelerate standardization in support of achieving automated quality measurement. While The NQF's Health Information Technology Expert Panel's (HITEP) initial work in 2007-2008 led to new feasibility criteria for measures endorsed by NQF, HITEP's latest work ensures measure specifications best-leverage electronic clinical information from disparate sources. AHIMA's members and staff played an integral part in the development of the QDS framework through appointment to the QDS workgroup and submission of public comments.
November 12	CMS Hosts ICD-10-CM/PCS MS-DRG Conversion Project National Provider Conference Call The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a conference call from 12:30-2 p.m. EST on November 19 to explain the preliminary exercise they undertook to convert data using the general equivalence mappings (GEM). Get more information on registering for this conference call and access the presentation that will be discussed during the call.
November 12	CMS Posts ICD-10 Impact Analysis The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted a report analyzing the impact of the transition from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM/PCS on CMS policies, processes, and systems. This ICD-10 impact analysis was built on the findings of an earlier ICD-10 planning project CMS conducted with AHIMA. It further analyzes the impact of the transition from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10 on CMS policies, processes, and systems by confirming where CMS uses ICD codes, discussing the opportunities that ICD-10 presents to CMS, assessing the risks, and describing the high-level effort required to prepare CMS for the transition to ICD-10. Additionally, this document identifies risk-mitigation strategies to reduce the consequences of potential negative events associated with the transition. This report also describes the high-level activities required of each CMS component to prepare for ICD-10. Although the ICD-10 Impact Analysis was intended to be solely CMS-focused, the agency is sharing the report to provide insights for ICD-10 planning and implementation activities in other organizations. Access the reports for the latest CMS ICD-10 impact analysis as well as the report of the earlier AHIMA project.
November 5	AHIMA Calls on Members to Write Letters to Senate Opposing HR 3763 AHIMA recently sent a letter to Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs to oppose any consider of HR 3763, legislation that would exempt certain businesses, including healthcare practices with 20 or fewer employees, from the requirements of the Red Flags Rule. AHIMA is asking members to visit the Action Center of the Advocacy Assistant to send a letter to their Senators opposing this legislation. The letter has already been drafted and can be personalized if you wish to do so. According to the Center for Studying Health System Change's report, "A Snapshot of US Physicians: Key Findings from the 2008 Health Tracking Physician Survey," 47 percent of physicians are in practices no larger than six. If you include practices with up to 50 physicians, this would equate to 66 percent of all practicing physicians in the US. Excluding any portion of these offices from the Red Flags Rule would make them an even larger target for identity theft and healthcare fraud perpetrators. This would be extremely detrimental to raising the awareness of identity theft and its impact on healthcare fraud. AHIMA believes that if HR 3763 is enacted, it would create a void not only in the ability to protect an individual's health information privacy, but also further inhibit our nation's ability to fight the ongoing and burgeoning problem of healthcare fraud. Government and law enforcement agencies estimate healthcare fraud costs the US between 3 percent and 10 percent of its healthcare expenditures each year - potentially $226 billion! The Red Flags Rule was implemented to raise awareness and act as a barrier against identity theft and healthcare fraud. With this in mind, please send your letter to the Senate today.
November 5	HHS Issues Interim Final Rule to Implement the HITECH Act's Strengthened Civil Money Penalty Scheme The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued an interim final rule on October 30 to conform the enforcement regulations promulgated under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) to currently effective statutory revisions made pursuant to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which was enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In this interim final rule, published in the October 30 Federal Register, HHS amends HIPAA's enforcement regulations that relate to the imposition of civil money penalties to incorporate the HITECH Act's categories of violations, tiered ranges of civil money penalty amounts, and revised limitations on the Secretary's authority to impose civil money penalties for established violations of HIPAA's administrative simplification rules. This interim final rule does not make amendments with respect to those enforcement provisions of the HITECH Act that are not yet effective under the applicable statutory provisions. This interim final rule is effective November 30. HHS has invited public comments on the interim final rule, which will be considered if received no later than December 29. This interim final rule will be available for public comment at www.regulations.gov.
November 5	CMS Announces Policy, Payment Updates for Medicare Home Health The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on October 30 a two percent market basket update to Medicare's calendar year (CY) 2010 home health prospective payment system (HH PPS) rates and modifications to the home health outlier policy. Beginning January 1, 2010, the final rule will require home health agencies to submit the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) data as a condition of payment under HH PPS. CMS is implementing an improved version of OASIS, called OASIS-C, to collect data on all episodes of care beginning January 1, 2010. This final rule will be published in the Federal Register on November 10. The effective date is January 1, 2010.
	CMS Adopts Policy, Payment Rate Changes for Services in Hospital Outpatient Departments, Ambulatory Surgical Centers for 2010 CMS announced on October 30 that most hospitals will receive an inflation update of 2.1 percent in their payment rates for services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries in outpatient departments. As required by Medicare law, CMS will reduce the update by two percentage points for hospitals that did not participate in quality data reporting for outpatient services or did not report the quality data successfully, resulting in a 0.1 percent update for those hospitals. CMS also announced that ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) will receive a 1.2 percent inflation update beginning January 1, 2010. The CY 2010 OPPS/ASC final rule with comment period will appear in the November 20 Federal Register. Comments on designated provisions are due by 5 p.m. EST on December 29. CMS will respond to comments in the CY 2011 OPPS/ASC final rule. Visit the CMS Web site for more information on the final CY 2010 policies for the OPPS and ASC payment system.
October 29	CMS Rescinds Ruling for Medicare Criteria for Coverage of Inpatient Hospital Inpatient Services The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) issued a notice in the Federal Register [74FR54835] rescinding HCFA Ruling 85-2, "Medicare Criteria for Coverage of Inpatient Hospital Rehabilitation Services," 50 FR 31040 (July 31, 1985), as corrected at 50 FR 32643 (August 13, 1985) which established the criteria for Medicare coverage of inpatient hospital rehabilitation services. The criteria for Medicare coverage of inpatient hospital rehabilitation services set forth in HCFA Ruling 85-2 were developed more than 25 years ago and were designed to provide coverage criteria for a small subset of providers furnishing intensive and complex therapy services in a fee-for-service environment to a small segment of patients whose rehabilitation needs could only be safely furnished at a hospital level of care. In the final rule implementing the inpatient rehabilitation facility prospective payment system for federal FY 2010, published August 7 in the Federal Register (74 FR 39762), CMS adopted inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) coverage requirements and technical revisions to certain other IRF requirements. The new IRF coverage requirements adopted in the final rule are effective for IRF discharges occurring on or after January 1, 2010. Find more information.
October 29	Red Flags Exception Passes House On October 20 the US House passed a bill exempting healthcare practices with 20 or fewer employees from complying with the Red Flags Rule. The rule, which takes effect November 1, requires that many businesses create and implement written identity theft prevention programs. The bill was introduced October 8 and quickly passed with unanimous approval under suspension of the rules. It was then referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. AHIMA has sent a letter to the Senate committee contending that excluding any portion of these medical practices from the Red Flags rule would make them an even larger target for identity theft and would hamper efforts to raise awareness of identity theft and its impact on healthcare fraud. Read more on the Journal of AHIMA Web site, including links to the legislation.
October 22	AHIMA Submits Comments on ONC Consumer Preferences Document Last week, AHIMA submitted comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on the consumer preferences draft requirements document dated October 5. This document will provide further context for national health information technology agenda activities, beginning with the selection of harmonized standards by HITSP. Comments were due October 16. Read the consumer preferences requirements document.
October 22	AHIMA Posts Analysis of FY 2010 Hospital Inpatient PPS Final Rule AHIMA's analysis of the final rule regarding FY 2010 revisions to the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment system (PPS) has been posted on the AHIMA Web site. The final rule was published in the August 27 issue of the Federal Register and took effect on October 1. Access AHIMA's analysis of the final rule.
October 22	NCVHS Publishes Introductory Paper on Health Data Stewardship Health information technology has the potential to improve the quality and affordability of healthcare, reduce medical errors, reduce health disparities, and improve the continuity of care across healthcare settings. Yet the same technology that makes possible previously unimagined achievements also presents potential risks. The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) developed a primer that summarizes the major principles, practices, and resources associated with health data stewardship. It also points to resources that further elucidate how to use data responsibly. This information is important for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers. It is also relevant for patients and research subjects to inform them about the appropriate management of their personal health data. View a copy of the paper.
October 15	HHS Posts Breach Notification Forms The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has now posted forms for the reporting of information concerning breach of personal health information as required under the recently implemented breach notification rule. The electronic forms and limited instructions are located on the Office of Civil Rights Web site, under the heading "Health Information Privacy." The HHS breach notification rule and these forms apply to HIPAA covered entities including business associates.
October 15	HHS to Post IFR Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Genetic Information HHS, along with the US Departments of Treasury and Labor, has posted a display copy of an interim final rule (IFR) prohibiting discrimination based on genetic information in health insurance coverage and group health plans. Comments on the IFR will be due in 60 days. The IFR is a result of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, public law 110-233, and the departments issued proposed rules in October 2008. Learn more.
October 15	AHRQ Hearing on Patient Safety, Medical Liability Reform Demonstrations The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has announced that it will be holding a hearing on patient safety and medical liability reform demonstrations. The demonstrations were called for by President Obama in his address on health reform to Congress in September. AHRQ has also announced that a subcommittee to its national advisory committee will be created to provide advice on this issue as well. AHRQ will undertake the development of the new demonstration initiative to help states and healthcare systems to test models that put patient safety first and work to reduce preventable injuries. Read the Federal Register announcement.
October 1	AHIMA CEO Linda Kloss Participates in Capitol Hill Roundtable In late September, the Career College Association and TechAmerica hosted a CEO roundtable on Capitol Hill on building the health IT workforce. Moderated by Claire Shipman, ABC News senior national correspondent and substitute anchor for ABC News' Good Morning America, the panelists discussed a range of health IT issues but primarily focused on the availability of appropriately trained health IT workers and the need to expand the health IT workforce and consumer knowledge of health IT.
October 1	HHS Announces $27.8 Million in Recovery Act Funds to Expand HIT Use HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently announced awards totaling $27.8 million to health center-controlled networks and large multi-site health centers to implement electronic health records and other health information technology innovations. The funds are part of the $2 billion allotted to HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to expand healthcare services to low-income and uninsured individuals through its health center program."The increased use of health information technology is a key focus of our reform efforts because it will help to improve the safety and quality of healthcare generally while also cutting waste out of the system," said Sebelius. Learn more.
October 1	CMS Proposes Single Payment for ESRD Services CMS proposed a rule that would implement a case-mix adjusted bundled prospective payment system (PPS) for Medicare outpatient end-stage renal disease (ESRD) dialysis facilities beginning January 1, 2011. The proposed ESRD PPS would replace the current basic case-mix adjusted composite payment system and the methodologies for the reimbursement of separately billable outpatient ESRD services. CMS is accepting public comments on the proposed rule through November 16 and is expected to publish the final rule in 2010. CMS will host a town hall meeting on the proposed ESRD PPS on October 23 from 9 a.m. to noon EDT. Register here by October 2. Access additional information pertaining to the ESRD payment rules, including the proposed rule on the CMS Web site.
October 1	CMS Hosts Provider Feedback Town Hall Meeting The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will hold a town hall meeting on October 29, from 2-4 p.m. EST.The meeting will be held via conference call as well as in the auditorium at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services located at 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD. The purpose of the meeting is to capture individual provider feedback on relevant fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare policy and operational issues. This meeting is open to all Medicare FFS providers and suppliers that participate in the Medicare program. The agenda topics include: 5010, ICD-10, Medicare contracting reform, lessons learned from Medicare administrative contractor implementations, recovery audit contractors, provider communications, and program integrity. All participants must pre-register using online registration. Registration will open until October 23. All persons attending the meeting in person will be required to show photo identification (a valid driver's license or passport). All persons participating via conference call will receive dial-in information with their confirmation e-mail. Meeting agenda and discussion materials will be available to download by October 23.
September 24	AHRQ Report on Consumer Engagement in Developing Electronic Health Information Systems With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, healthcare providers are likely to adopt health information technology (health IT) at an accelerating pace in the next several years, according to "Consumer Engagement in Developing Electronic Health Information Systems," a report released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). This expansion in health IT is widely expected to bring improvements in healthcare quality and efficiency, and possibly some new concerns, especially about privacy and security. Healthcare consumers may therefore want to have a role in determining how health IT is designed and used. The report explores the views of healthcare consumers toward that role.
September 17	Analysis of FTC Breach Notification Requirements Posted An analysis of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC's) final rule on health breach notification has been posted on the AHIMA Advocacy and Policy Web page. The analysis applies to the FTC final rule published in the August 25 Federal Register. This FTC rule relates to entities associated with electronic personal health information products but not covered by HIPAA. An analysis on a similar rule published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as an interim final rule is also published at the AHIMA site. View a copy of the final rule from the FTC. Both the FTC and HHS rules become effective next week.
September 17	CMS Publishes Draft Version of MS-DRGs for ICD-10-CM/PCS The draft version of v26.0 of MS-DRGs converted to ICD-10-CM/PCS is posted on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Web site in full code and condensed code formats. This project was an exercise to evaluate the effectiveness of the general equivalence mappings (GEMs) and to learn how best to use them in converting data. The GEMs are a tool that assist in converting ICD-9-CM codes to the relevant ICD-10-CM/PCS codes (forward mapping) and ICD-10-CM/PCS codes back to the relevant ICD-9-CM codes (backward mapping). The GEMs were developed to assist CMS as well as all other data users who would need to convert ICD-9-CM data or payment systems to ICD-10-CM/PCS codes.
September 10	AHIMA Supports Stand for Quality As Congress returns from its summer district work period on September 8, it is expected to resume healthcare reform discussions in earnest. AHIMA continues to work on a variety of issues for healthcare reform and we need your help to support the Stand for Quality. We are requesting that you send letters to Congress and the President to support the Stand for Quality initiative in whatever healthcare reform legislation that is ultimately enacted into law. AHIMA signed on as a Stand for Quality supporting organization and was listed in a letter that accompanied the Stand for Quality position paper submission to the new administration and Congress in early March. For additional information, visit the Stand for Quality Web site. To send your letter, visit the Action Center of the Advocacy Assistant. As one of more than 200 supporting organizations, AHIMA issued a press announcement in February in support of the National Priorities Partnership that stated, "The goal of effective health information management is to provide quality healthcare to the public. AHIMA supports initiatives aimed at gaining consensus on essential data and documentation standards that are a prerequisite for high quality data in the healthcare system of the future." Join us in supporting the Stand for Quality and send your letter to Congress and the President today!
September 3	AHIMA Publishes HHS Breach Notification IFR Analysis An analysis of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) interim final rule (IFR) on breach notification for unsecured protected health information has been completed and posted on the AHIMA Advocacy and Policy Web page. The analysis applies to the HHS IFR published in the August 24 Federal Register. This IFR relates to HIPAA-covered entities and business associates and is effective September 23. An analysis on a similar rule published by the FTC will be completed shortly. View the IFR from HHS.
September 3	AHIMA Comments on the Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule In response to the Medicare program payment policies under the physician fee schedule proposed rule published in the Federal Register July 13, AHIMA submitted comments. Comments submitted focused on issues that addressed quality reporting for the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative and G codes. View a copy of the proposed rule.
September 3	CMS Prepares for Measure Reporting through EHRs: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking additional action to pave the way for hospitals to transmit clinical quality measures to the agency via electronic health records systems. The agency is seeking public comment on voluntary testing with up to 55 facilities, with comments due by October 27. The data measures collected via EHRs would not substitute for submission of data elements required under RHQDAPU under current processes. "The results of this voluntary testing process will enable CMS to assess the feasibility of collecting data elements via electronic health records as a future alternative to submission of manually abstracted chart data elements by hospitals, thereby potentially reducing the administrative burden associated with submission of quality measures for the RHQDAPU program," according to a notice published August 28 in the Federal Register.
September 3	ONC Holds Briefing on Regional Extension Center Funding Opportunity With more than 1,400 attendees listening in, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) hosted a briefing on how ONC plans to distribute about $600 million in grants set aside to build a Regional Extension Center program. In a 90-minute Web conference, ONC senior advisor Farzad Mostashari, MD, laid out the parameters of the grant program, designed to lend providers technical assistance on using health IT in ways that will not only make their businesses more efficient but will improve healthcare quality nationwide, Government Health IT reported. The average size of the grant will be between $8.5-$9 million, says Mostashari. Most of the funding is going to be tied to direct support practices, including those that have already stood up to EHRs but not at a level of meaningful use and those that have not adopted EHRs. View a copy of the transcript and webcast materials.
October. 6	Advocacy & Public Policy Center Launched AHIMA has redesigned its advocacy and public policy website to make it easier to find information on our industry leadership on health information management, public policy, standards activities and other helpful resources.
October 1	ARRA-HITECH Resources AHIMA is actively monitoring, participating and developing resources to assist in understanding the key components of the American Recovery Reinvestment Act and the impact on the industry and practice. Learn More
August 25	ONC hosts regional extension center webcast Thursday, August 27 at 2pm ET The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology will be hosting a Technical Assistance call/web presentation to answer questions related to the Health Information Technology Extension Program: Regional Centers Cooperative Agreement Program Funding Opportunity Announcement. For more information go to the ONC Regional Extension Center website: Extension Program Webcast
August 25	HHS Secretary Announces $25.7 Million in Grants to Expand, Improve Health Center Services Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced more than $25.7 million in grants to increase and improve health and support services at the nation's health centers. See HHS Secretary Announces 25.7 Million in Grants
August 24	HHS Breach Notification Rules Effective September 23, 2009 Rules Released August 24 The much anticipated Interim Final Rule on Breach Notification for Unsecured Protected Health Information was published in the Monday, August 24, 2009 Federal Register (Vol. 74, No. 162, Page 42740) by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The rule becomes effective, Wednesday, September 23, 2009 and covers all HIPAA-covered entities and HIPAA-related Business Associates (BAs). Instructions on how to comment as well as the full text of the interim rule can be found in the Federal Register of August 24 at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-20169.pdf. AHIMA has developed a number of resources to assist members with the breach notification requirements. These resources are available below under HITECH.
August 24	During a press conference last week, Dr. David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology announced the availability of approximately $600M in grant funding to support creating about 70 Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers. The purpose of the Regional Centers is to furnish assistance, defined as education, outreach, and technical assistance, to help providers in their geographic service areas select, successfully implement, and meaningfully use certified EHR technology to improve the quality and value of health care. Regional Centers will also help providers achieve, through appropriate available infrastructures, exchange of health information in compliance with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and patient preferences. These grants will be awarded in three application cycles waves in fiscal 2010 beginning with the first phase preliminary applications due September 8, 2009. To learn more about the Regional Centers and to obtain a copy of the funding opportunity, go to Health Information Technology Extension Program
July 22	A letter urging state legislators around the country to initiate HIM programs at the baccalaureate level. See NCS_workforce_education_letter
July 13	Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the development of Regional Extension Centers (regional centers) offers unique opportunities for HIM professionals to be at the forefront of electronic health record (EHR) implementations. HIM professionals provide critical and essential skills as providers and entities are going through the transition to a more electronic environment to become meaningful users of EHRs. AHIMA has developed a concept paper outlining the benefits and opportunities of engaging HIM in the process and aligning them with key stakeholders to achieve meaningful use and improved use of EHRs. See The HIM Role in Assisting Regional Extension Centers July 09
June 26	AHIMA comments on ONC Meaningful Use Draft Definition In response to a call for comments from the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) regarding the draft definition for meaningful use of certificated electronic health record (EHR) technology, AHIMA submitted comments last week. In 2008, the National Priorities Partnership, convened by the National Quality Forum (NQF), released a report entitled "National Priorities and Goals" which identified a set of national priorities to help focus performance improvement efforts. Among these priorities were patient engagement, reduction of racial disparities, improved safety, increased efficiency, coordination of care, and improved population health. These priorities were used to create the framework for "meaningful use" of an EHR. AHIMA supports the approach taken by ONC to define meaningful use as measuring improvements in patient management and health. ONC was advised that the recommended timeline was very aggressive and advised they assess and determine whether the current state of EHR technology can support the measures required to meet the definition of meaningful use. See AHIMA comments on ONC Meaningful Use Draft Definition
June 11	AHIMA comments on ONC Regional Extension Draft Program Description In response to a call for comments from the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) regarding the draft description of the program for establishing regional centers to assist providers seeking to adopt and become meaningful users of health information technology, AHIMA submitted comments last week. The concept of regional extension centers is modeled after the agricultural extension centers whereby there are centers established throughout regions within the country to assist providers with the implementation of HIT. Levels of support are expected to range from developing and providing materials to be widely disseminated to furnishing direct, individualized, and onsite assistance. AHIMA supports the development of regional extension centers, however cautioned ONC to implement the program in a thoughtful and well planned manner to avoid confusion and disruption within the healthcare industry. SeeAHIMA comments on ONC Regional Extension Draft Program Description
May 18	First ONC Announcement on ARRA Funding Expected ONC has indicated that information on funding for Regional Center under ARRA/HITECH will be released. AHIMA has been working on alternatives that HIM members, associations, and educators might consider in response to such a proposal. These will be posted on appropriate AHIMA Members-Only Communities of Practice.
May 15	First meeting of the ARRA-related HIT Standards Committee to be Held. See the ONC announcement"Latest health IT News." under
May 11	First meeting of the ARRA-related HIT Policy Committee Held. The first meeting of the HIT Policy Committee formed under ARRA was held in Washington, DC on May 11, 2009. This was a formation meeting held under the chairmanship of Dr. David Blumenthal, ONC Coordinator. The Committee decided to form three work groups to begin its initial work: Meaningful Use, Certification and Adoption, and Information Exchange. Future meetings have not yet been announced.
May 8	ONC announces members of the new ARRA-related HIT Committees. In a press conference on Friday, May 8, newly appointed national coordinator for health information technology, David Blumenthal, MD, announced the members of the new formed Policy and Standards Committees for health information technology as required by ARRA/HITECH. These members can be found at the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT (ONC), look under "Latest Health IT News."
April 28	NCVHS Holds Hearing on "Meaningful Use." The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics Executive Committee held a two-day hearing on April 28 and 29 the potential meaning and approach to the definition of "Meaningful Use," which will directly affect Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments coming in late 2010 (2011 Federal Fiscal Year). The Agenda for that hearing can be found on the NCVHS web site. Sandra Fuller, AHIMA executive vice president and COO, offered comments to the executive committee on April 29. Read AHIMAs summary comments and full statement . "Meaningful Use" impact on HICT incentives can be found in the early discussions on Medicare and Medicaid Health Information Technology; Miscellaneous Medicare (ARRA Title IV - beginning on page 353 of ARRA). A report from the NCVHS on the meeting is expected in 3 weeks.
April 27	HHS Releases Security Guidance. HHS, as required under the privacy provisions of ARRA released guidance for HIPAA covered entities in the April 27, 2009 Federal Register (page 74FR19006). AHIMA is in the process of responding to the questions proposed in this document and due May 21, 2009.
April 20	FTC Releases Security Guidance and Breach Notification NPRM. The Federal Trade Commission released its security guidance for non-HIPAA covered entities in the April 20, 2009 Federal Register (page 74FR1791). AHIMA is in the process of responding to the notice of proposed rulemaking which is due June 1, 2009.

News and Alerts Archives

AHIMA Urges Members to Respond to OCR RFI on Accounting of Disclosure

House Energy, Commerce Subcommittee Reviews National Broadband Plan

OCR Requests Input on Pending Disclosures Regulation

AHIMA Responds to Proposed HIT CertificationProgram Regulation

Health Subcommittee Considers Health Bills

FY 2011 IPPS, LTCH PPS Proposed Rule Published

AHIMA Comments on Proposed Permanent HIT Certification Program Regulation

HHS Releases Request for Information for Accounting of Disclosures Rulemaking

AHIMA Comments on Draft NQF Report, ICD-10-CM/PCS Code Maintenance

Congress Passes Continuing Extension Act of 2010, Includes ARRA Clarification

Kennedy, Murphy Introduce HIT Extension forBehavioral Health Services Act