Policy & Regulations

This channel includes news coverage of healthcare policy and regulations set by Congress, the states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and medical associations and societies. 

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Weekly roundup: Patient safety, privacy and payment

This week’s developments include a proposed rule updating the inpatient prospective payment system, the first meeting of a federal patient safety group and a new effort to prevent the switch to ICD-10.

Regence Launches Website to Help Consumers Understand Health Care Reform

PORTLAND, Ore., May 1, 2013 -- Health care reform has resulted in some of the largest scale changes to the way health care is delivered and funded since the 1960s, providing unprecedented access, coverage and protections for American consumers. To help people better understand the variety of choices before them, Regence has launched a new website that is designed to help consumers and businesses navigate the new health care landscape.

Texas rep's bill stops ICD-10 transition

A new bill would not require a transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 code sets. Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) introduced the bill dubbed the "Cutting Costly Codes Act of 2013."

‘Person-centered’ healthcare reforms could save $1T in 20 years

Healthcare reforms focused on “person-centered care” are the best means to improve care and could save an estimated $300 billion in net federal savings during the next decade, or more than $1 trillion over 20 years, according to an April 2013 Brookings Institution's Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform report.

Survey: Shift from inpatient to outpatient admissions expected

Hospitals and health systems nationwide are projecting a significant shift in 2013 admissions from inpatient to outpatient settings as they transition toward new care delivery models, according to the Premier healthcare alliance’s spring 2013 Economic Outlook.

eHI urges greater efforts to achieve widespread interoperability

The Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs and the Office of the National Coordinator on Health IT’s (ONC’s) certification programs are insufficient to achieve widespread interoperability and electronic information exchange necessary to achieve true healthcare reform, national multi-stakeholder healthcare organization eHealth Initiative (eHI) told the ONC and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in an April 22 letter.

Health IT Policy Committee’s safety workgroup convenes

The Health IT Policy Committee’s (HITPC’s) newly formed FDA Safety Innovation Act Workgroup (FDASIA) kicked off its first meeting on April 29, and began to pursue its statutory purpose: proposing strategies and recommendations for a risk-based regulatory framework for health IT that promotes innovation, protects patient safety and avoids regulatory duplication.

FDA Patient Network seeks to broaden communication channels on regulatory process

In an effort to more directly engage patients in the medical product regulatory process, the FDA launched the FDA Patient Network website on April 23.

Around the web

The American College of Cardiology has shared its perspective on new CMS payment policies, highlighting revenue concerns while providing key details for cardiologists and other cardiology professionals. 

As debate simmers over how best to regulate AI, experts continue to offer guidance on where to start, how to proceed and what to emphasize. A new resource models its recommendations on what its authors call the “SETO Loop.”

FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD, said the clinical community needs to combat health misinformation at a grassroots level. He warned that patients are immersed in a "sea of misinformation without a compass."

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