As of now, ICD-10 is a go for Oct. 1, 2015, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is helping stakeholders get ready, announcing an end-to-end testing period for providers and guidance for testing.

The Department of Health & Human Services is awarding more than $665 million in Affordable Care Act monies to design and test healthcare payment and service delivery models. 

While some healthcare organizations are pushing for a two-year delay to the Oct. 1, 2015, ICD-10 implementation date, two House committee leaders issued a joint statement expressing their support for maintaining the deadline for the transition.

The Institute of Medicine Committee on Social and Behavioral Domains and Measures for EHRs formally presented recommendations to the Health IT Policy Committee calling for the inclusion of certain standard measures for social and behavioral domains in federal certification and incentive programs.

Data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at the Health IT Policy Committee reveal only marginal gains in the numbers of eligible professionals and hospitals attesting to Meaningful Use Stage 2, reports Clinical Innovation + Technology.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has published the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020, updating the original 2011 version, reports Clinical Innovation + Technology. 

Diminishing wars and a drop in defense spending are spurring federal contractors to expand their businesses related to healthcare, reports The Washington Post. 

Jon White, who joined the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT as acting chief medical officer in October, will now assume the role of acting deputy national coordinator.