The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) published its Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2011-2015 this week, outlining five strategic goals.

The National Priorities Partnership (NPP) has submitted a report to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who earlier asked for input on specific goals and measures for each of six National Quality Strategy (NQS) priorities related to the delivery of healthcare.

Early results from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' (BCBSMA) new incentive model, Alternative Quality Contract (AQC), has shown AQC is improving quality where in one year, improvements in quality were greater than any one-year change previously seen in the payor's network of providers, according to Dana Gelb Safran, ScD, senior vice president, performance measurement & improvement at BCBSMA.

Reps. Phil Gingrey, MD, (R-Ga.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D-Pa.), Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) and Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) spoke about how health IT can improve the quality of patient care, create jobs and reduce healthcare costs.

The U.S. House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee has received statements on the consolidation of the healthcare industry and the effects of accountable care organizations (ACOs), including comments from the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC).

The Joint Commission has named 405 hospitals as front runners in care, particularly in achieving high quality of care through use of evidence-based guidelines. The providers all have been recognized as top achievers through the Commissions Top Performers on Key Quality Measures Program. Additionally, the Commission found that care improvement increased 14.8 percent over a nine-year span.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on the agencys notice informing long-term care hospitals (LCTHs), that they need to begin reporting quality data in the future or face financial consequences.

While hospital CEOs work to provide unwavering care to patients, most agree that cuts to reimbursement and the ambiguity of future payment models as a result of healthcare reform will be the biggest challenge, according to a survey of top hospital CEOs conducted by Thomson Reuters.