The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) appointed Jason Mitchell, MD, to lead its Center for Health IT. In his new role as the center’s director, Mitchell will apply his technical skills and understanding of healthcare to facilitating health IT adoption among AAFP members and promoting the value of health IT to a broader audience.

The Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) has named its 2012 award and scholarship recipients. The HIMSS Foundation and five HIMSS chapters provided 10 scholarships to students enrolled in health IT and management systems degree programs.

Healthcare consultants now have a way to demonstrate their expertise in the area of patient-centered medical homes (PCMH). The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) established the PCMH content expert certification to help provider organizations gauge consultants’ knowledge of the NCQA PCMH recognition program.

The Health Information and Management Systems Society EHR Association called on the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to develop Meaningful Use Stage 3 requirements that build off work accomplished during Stages 1 and 2.

Kathleen A. Frawley, JD, MS, was elected by members of the American Health Information Management Association to serve as president and chair of the organization’s board of directors for 2013. She assumed the role on Jan. 1.

Patients for far too long have been left out of the healthcare loop. The Office of the National Coordinator is trying to change that through not just Meaningful Use regulations, but also by working to build a coalition of stakeholders better equipped to engage patients, according to the speakers of a Jan. 17 webinar hosted by the National eHealth Collaborative.

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation entered a pay-for-performance agreement with two medical schools and one private provider organization that will award up to $59 million to providers for meeting quality and efficiency targets.

Walmart has committed $670,000 to underwrite the Arkansas Payment Improvement Initiative, a statewide effort to transform healthcare delivery with the hopes of containing costs and improving quality.