The Office for the National Coordinator for Health IT announced a 30-day period for applicant organizations seeking to become ONC-Approved Accreditors.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s latest activities revolve around health IT safety, health information exchange (HIE) governance and the upcoming 2015 edition certification criteria. Jodi Daniel, JD, MPH, director of ONC's Office of Policy and Planning, explored these issues and more at the Health IT Policy Committee on Jan. 14.

Many accountable care organizations are frustrated with the inability to integrate data across platforms and systems, reported the ACO Workgroup at the Health IT Policy Committee meeting on Jan. 14.

The Health IT Policy Committee formally endorsed Quality Measure Workgroup recommendations governing the development of electronic clinical quality measures at its  Jan. 14 meeting. These measures include those that are patient and population centered, longitudinal and that cross settings of care, according to chair Helen Burstin, senior vice president, performance measures, National Quality Forum.

After the debacle of the healthcare.gov rollout last fall, it’s hardly surprising that the problems would lead to changes. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will not renew its contract with CGI when it expires Feb. 28 and instead bring Accenture Federal Services on board.

In her second day on the job, new national coordinator for health IT, Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, addressed the Health IT Policy Committee about her career and why she accepted her new position.

The Department of Health and Human Services reported an uptick in insurance enrollees late last month—with 2.1 million individuals signed on and another 3.9 million qualified for Medicaid. As the program takes effect, some consumers are still struggling to sign up while insurance exchanges scramble to process new enrollees and handle inevitable glitches.

Healthcare spending growth remained at a near-record low for the fourth consecutive year, according to a report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Office of the Actuary.