Strategic Planning
Pathologists at a dozen hospitals in the state are part of a pilot project -- the first of its kind in the United States -- in which they are reporting cancer diagnoses in close to real-time to the California Cancer Registry. And they are using standardized electronic forms to make their reporting more consistent and accurate.
UnitedHealth Group revenues grew 28 percent, or $10.2 billion year-over-year to $46.5 billion, but that was countered by greater losses in the exchange market than projected, according to a second quarter earnings report released Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a report to Congress wherein it stated that HIPAA serves traditional healthcare well and continues to support national priorities for interoperable health information with its media-neutral privacy rule, but that the scope of HIPAA is limited.
Aetna and Gateway Health are forming an accountable care organization and releasing a new individual insurance plan to sell on Healthcare.gov in time for the 2017 open enrollment period, both organizations said.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt told the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday that the agency would consider delaying the implementation of MACRA, the industry-overhauling bi-partisan legislation set to go into effect January 1 of next year.
Evolent Health, which helps healthcare systems make the transition to value-based care, will acquire the majority of Valence Health's business for about $145 million, the company announced Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has released its guidance to help healthcare organizations handle ransomware attacks, including prevention methods, a detailed description of ransomware and advice on how to respond to a ransomware threat.
A Health Affairs study of national healthcare spending and where it's going shows that purchases of medical services and increased compensation of highly skilled professionals accounted for spending growth in multiple areas between 1997 and 2012. The study looked at hospitals, physician offices and outpatient centers.
CMS is now calling for clinicians, hospitals, and critical access hospitals to use a 90-day EHR reporting period in 2016 - down from a full calendar year for returning participants in the government's EHR Incentive Program. They also proposed lowering the bar for achieving Stage 3 objectives, eliminating the Clinical Decision Support and Computerized Provider Order Entry objectives and measures for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals.
The National Institutes of Health has announced $55 million in awards in the 2016 fiscal year needed to launch the Cohort Program of President Obama's Precision Medicine Initiative.