PPS 2010 Fact Sheet Available for Download
Meaningful Use Proposed Rule Produces Flurry of Activity, Detail and Philosophical Public Comments
Research Says Overall Healthcare Spending May Increase Less Than Once Believed
HL7 Becomes HL7 International
PPS 2010 Fact Sheet Available
The revised Home Health Prospective Payment System Fact Sheet (January 2010), which provides information about coverage of home health services and elements of the Home Health Prospective Payment System, is now available in downloadable format from the CMS Learning Network at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNproducts/downloads/HomeHlthProsPaymt.pdf
Meaningful Use Proposed Rule Produces Flurry of Activity
This is important, but not today. We track American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) bonus payment activity because funds will be awarded to hospitals and physicians that put Electronic Medical Record technology to “meaningful use.” The number of referral sources that will be using EMRs and Health Information Exchanges (HIE) is bound to increase. Home care and hospice providers will want to be prepared to connect to those networks. Therefore, it is in their best interest, though long-term, to keep an eye on the Meaningful Use debate.
DHHS and CMS seem to be acknowledging that their proposed “meaningful use” rule will evolve quite substantially following the required, 60-day public comment period. Last week, a workgroup of the federal Health IT Policy Committee indicated a willingness to lower the number of quality measures physicians will be required to report on, Government Health IT reports.
The Committee will make recommendations to CMS and to national health IT coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal, but the final regulations on meaningful use will come from CMS. The Office of the National Coordinator is responsible for related rules on data standards and certification of health IT products.
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) worries that certification standards and tight deadlines could hinder compliance efforts. One CIO quoted in the CHIME statement expressed concern there is not enough time allowed and too much effort demanded to achieve successful organizational change management. In the meantime, several vendors, including Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, are offering customers a guarantee of meaningful use.
Research Says Overall Healthcare Spending May Increase Less Than Once Believed.
A new analysis of the Senate’s version of health care reform has come to the conclusion that even fewer people will be uninsured and overall spending will not be as high as once estimated. CMS Chief Actuary Richard Foster now predicts that “greater utilization of healthcare services” due to better coverage will keep national spending to a 0.6% increase rather than 0.7% over 10 years.
The RAND Corporation came to a similar conclusion in its separate analysis of the House version. Both estimate the number of newly insured will be around 34 million people. Based on that analysis, Foster added a warning.
Fewer uninsured Americans will certainly mean more will seek health services. The system may have trouble meeting the demand, which could produce a “supply and demand” impact on prices and affect caregiver willingness to accept patients with low reimbursement health plans.
Over 10 years, the impact should even out, they reason. The initial demand for services by persons not currently asking due to lack of insurance will result in more preventive care and an eventual reduced demand for high-end services to deal with untreated conditions.
HL7 Becomes HL7 International
To reflect its growing focus on global standards, the organization with the authority over interoperability in healthcare information technology wants to be known as Health Level Seven® International. The name change completes the process that began one year ago when the Board of Directors discussed changing the name to reflect the increasing adoption of HL7 in many countries worldwide and the growing number of HL7 standards that are being published as international standards by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Meaningful Use Proposed Rule Produces Flurry of Activity, Detail and Philosophical Public Comments
Research Says Overall Healthcare Spending May Increase Less Than Once Believed
HL7 Becomes HL7 International
