Recommendations for query exchange and provider directory were approved by the Health IT Policy Committee at their July 9 meeting.

The new health IT patient safety action and surveillance plan is designed to advance patient safety in an increasing health IT-enabled healthcare system, said Jodi G. Daniel, JD, MPH, director of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s Office of Policy and Planning, during the July 9 Health IT Policy Committee meeting.

As of May, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has doled out $633.7 million this year in EHR incentive payments with the total amount paid to date at $15.1 billion, CMS Health Insurance Specialist Robert Anthony told the Health IT Policy Committee at its July 9 meeting.

Amid press reports that thousands of Medicare eligible professionals (EPs) who attested in 2011 for the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ EHR incentive program did not return for the 2012 program year, CMS Health Insurance Specialist Robert Anthony took time to explain the exodus at the Health IT Policy Committee meeting on July 9.

“It’s just remarkable to look back at where we were four years ago and take stock as measured through these meetings how far we’ve come and the complexity of the policy issues we’ve had to consider to reach our goals,” reflected Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, national coordinator for health IT, during the July 9 Health IT Policy Committee meeting—the 50th meeting to date.

Nashville, TN and Boca Raton, FL, July 09, 2013 -- Shareable Ink®, an enterprise cloud computing company that transforms point-of-care clinical documentation to structured data and analytics, and Resolute Anesthesia and Pain Solutions, LLC (“Resolute”), a leading provider group of anesthesia services in the states of Florida, Illinois and Missouri, today announced the nationwide expansion of Shareable Ink’s Anesthesia Cloud for iPad. Resolute’s initial deployment of Shareable Ink’s innovative iPad solution at its Boca Raton Outpatient Surgery and Laser Center demonstrated reduction in unnecessary staff time, improved capture of new quality reporting metrics required by CMS, and better physician and patient satisfaction. As a result, Resolute will standardize use on Shareable Ink’s iPad solution at all facilities.

Up to nine of the 32 Pioneer ACOs may drop out and shift over to the less risky Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) ACO, confirmed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

In an effort to improve the quality of care for patients requiring medical and surgical care for vision loss, the American Academy of Ophthalmology has plans to implement the nation's first comprehensive eye disease patient database.