Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
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Todd Park: New Incentives + Information Liberation = Rocket Fuel for Innovation
After seeing a forest of hands go up--sometimes the same person multiple times--Park said, "You are all in the sweet spot. There has never been a better time to be an innovator in health and IT." Park then pointed out two growing trends: Shifts in incentives, and information liberation.
New incentives: Meaningful use Read More »
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Todd Park: Who Is President Obama's New CTO?
On Friday, President Barack Obama appointed Todd Park, a 39-year-old former entrepreneur and founder of Athenahealth, to be the new U.S. Chief Technology Officer of the United States. Park takes over for Aneesh Chopra, the first U.S. CTO, who resigned in February. "It is possible to be entrepreneurial in the U.S. government," Park told Bloomberg Businessweek. Read More »
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Treasury Prints Money, HHS Burns It
Like invasive vines, so-called improper payments seem totally resistant to agency efforts to cut them down. You won’t find it on the home page, where most agencies put only happy news, but Health and Human Services has warned improper payments through Medicaid are rising fast. They’ll hit an estimated 11.5 percent this year, or $30 billion. The rate last year was 9.8 percent. The dollars were about $15 billion in 2013...
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Tricare Networks Eyed To Improve Veterans' Access To Care
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has proposed opening military Tricare networks of civilian health care providers to veterans who can’t get timely mental health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Read More »
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Two Competing Clinical Code Groups Team Up
Two not-for-profit standards-development organizations, producers of once-competing clinical codes, SNOMED-CT and LOINC, have reached a 10-year collaborative agreement to work together to “improve safety, functionality and interoperability for the rapidly growing number of clinicians who manage and exchange health data with electronic medical records.” Read More »
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Two States Want To Extend Obamacare Deadline Because Of Glitchy Websites
At least two states are requesting a longer Obamacare enrollment period--and they might get it.
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U.S. CTO Chopra to Step Down
Sources close to the White House have confirmed that U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra will announce he is stepping down on Friday. No information was provided on his future plans, but ongoing speculation includes running for political office to assuming an executive role leading the Washington offices of a major technology company. Read More »
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U.S. CTO Todd Park Out To Spur Entrepreneurship With Data “Jujitsu”
The chief technology officer of a company can have a wide range of responsibilities—from overseeing development of innovative new products to making sure servers stay up. But what about the chief technology officer of the United States of America? Read More »
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U.S. Healthcare Hits $3 Trillion
It’s an election year and given the stakes, I think we’ll look back on 2012 as the year of the great Healthcare Reform debate – Part 2. What we have today is really just the beginning of a long and winding investment in Healthcare Reform – Part 1. I think the question remains - have we tamed the cost beast with real legislation – or is it just legislation around the edges? Here’s why I’m wondering.
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Upcoming Digital Health Opportunities: Codeathons And The SXSW Accelerator
For the past three years, through the Health Data Initiative, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has focused on the liberation of health data... Read More »
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Using Crowdfunding To Start A Company With A Cause
Two sisters, Kara Gorski and Kristin Gembala, have developed a bra designed to help breast cancer survivors who have had mastectomies and reconstructive surgery. So far, the sisters, who invested $25,000 from their savings, have designed and patented two styles and built a Web site. Currently, they are trying to raise money to begin manufacturing through a new crowdfunding platform. Read More »
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VA & SAMHSA test Exchange of Tagged Substance Abuse Data
The Veterans Affairs Department and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration have demonstrated how to securely share sensitive health information while following confidentiality laws and patient disclosure wishes among providers using certified electronic health records (EHRs). Read More »
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VA Blue Button Adds Patient Summary Document Tool
The Veterans Affairs Department has added a new tool through its Blue Button feature so veterans may more easily download a summary of their essential health information. The enhancement is the VA Continuity of Care Document (VA CCD) in xml file format. Read More »
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VA Official: Meaningful-Use Push For VistA EHR Will Benefit Patients
The U.S. Veterans Affairs Department will lend more than moral support to a federal effort to boost the meaningful use of health information technology by submitting its venerable VistA electronic health-record system for testing and certification for use in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive payment programs. Read More »
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VA To Double Telehealth Consults To Veterans
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which used telehealth to connect with an estimated 460,000 veterans in the past year, is looking to double that number in the coming year with an aggressive campaign that includes new and expanded services. Read More »
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