Accountable care organizations (ACOs) can change the way health information is captured, maintained, used and shared. These care models also could drive evolution in the information tools required to manage that data, and in the role health information managers will play, according to a new white paper from the American Health Information Managers Association (AHIMA).

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is testing a mechanism that will enable providers in the Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) program to submit documentation electronically, lowering chances of improper payment and reducing paperwork for providers.

Mary Barton, MD, MPP, will become the National Committee for Quality Assurances new vice president for performance measurement.

Two-thirds of patients around the world are unhappy with their physicians, according to two recent global studies released by data analytics software developer SSI and market research firm The Research Intelligence Group (TRiG).

OJAI, Calif.Commander Peter J. Park, MD, deputy CMIO of Navy Medicine, spoke with CMIO about his 2011 AMDIS award in applied medical informatics. The award recognized an integrated Emergency Department (ED) module that Park and his team developed and deployed for the DoD's Essentris inpatient, clinical documentation software system across five Military Treatment Facilitieswhich has resulted in a cost avoidance savings of more than $2 million, as well as creating multiple clinical and staffing efficiencies. The award was presented to Park on June 13 at the 20th Annual AMDIS Physician-Computer Connection Symposium.

The Alternative Quality Contract (AQC), a contracting model implemented in 2009 by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBS) based on global payment and pay-for-performance (P4P), was associated with modestly lower medical spending and improved quality in the first year after implementation, according to an article published online July 13 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Recent research suggests that the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative, a four-year, $50 million program that installed EHRs and provided workflow redesigns at no cost to participating physicians from 2006-2008, may be a viable model for regional efforts to expand health IT.

Rodney M. Hamilton, MD, has been selected as CMIO and managing director of product strategy practice for health IT services company PointClear Solutions.