The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has released an update of its approved test methods for clinical quality measures under the 2014 Edition of the Meaningful Use program.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently launched its new eHealth initiative, designed to align the various quality and reporting projects facing providers, including ICD-10, Meaningful Use, physician quality reporting and e-prescribing.

In the third of three Senate Energy & Commerce Committee hearings on health IT, Christy Foreman, director of device evaluation in FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, promised the release of the agency's final guidance on its oversight over medical mobile apps (MMAs) by the end of this fiscal year. Looming regulatory uncertainty dominated discussion with healthcare and mobile industry witnesses during the past two hearings, with many urging FDA to finalize its 2011 draft guidance detailing its oversight approach.

Orthopedic procedures are particularly vulnerable in the shift to payment bundling as they are highly customizable, yet physicians and orthopedic service line administrators do not have a real-time view of the effectiveness of the specific implants being used in each procedure.

Interim results from new payment and delivery models tested by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) are forthcoming within a year with recommendations for payment and care changes to follow within two years, Richard Gilfillan, MD, director of the center, told the Senate Finance Committee during a March 20 hearing. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) webinar being offered several times this week had a specific purpose: to explain to providers how their decision to participate in several federal programs or put off participation could affect their incentive payments and payment adjustments in coming years.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking feedback from entities on their involvement in a 2012 Office of Civil Rights HIPAA audit program. Survey results will inform the HHS as it embarks on a permanent program, as required by the HITECH Act.

More than half of U.S. states are failing at transparency when it comes to disclosing costs for healthcare services, according to Health Care Incentive Institute and Catalyst for Payment Reform’s March 18 report on state price transparency laws.