With legislators failing to reach a last-minute compromise on budget legislation to avoid a shutdown, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for health IT (ONC) in particular, are forced to furlough a significant percentage of staff unless the impasse is broken. In all, this first government shutdown in 17 years is affecting 800,000 federal workers.

BOSTON--“There is no major shift in technology that hasn’t been galvanized by consumers. The same will be true for healthcare,” predicted Claudia Williams, director of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT's state health information exchange program, at Strata Rx 2013.

The exit door of the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT appears to be in good working order. Principal Deputy David Muntz, MBA, has submitted his resignation.

Non-profit hospitals have to do it every three years to comply with the requirements of the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), but probably any hospital or clinic would benefit by conducting a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA).

Few hospitals have developed comprehensive strategies to identify, educate and assist individuals with enrolling in health plans offered through the health insurance exchanges (HIXs). With the Oct. 1 start date for enrollment fast approaching, hospitals and providers should heighten preparations in order to benefit from the financial boost of a new customer base, according to a study from PwC’s Health Research Institute.

The Obama administration is "scrambling" to quickly address a series of "pricing quirks" in the software that will be used for the roughly three dozen federal health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, according to several insurance executives and sources familiar with the issue, the Wall Street Journal reports.

More than a year after the proposed rule was issued, the FDA released the final rule establishing a unique device identification system for tracking medical devices.

A bill introduced by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I) would expand eligibility for EHR incentive payments to include mental and behavioral health professionals, including psychologists, community mental health centers and psychiatric hospitals.