Weekly roundup: Vendors step up

Health IT vendors stepped up to the plate this week with interesting contributions.

Finally, after all the surveys indicating slow progress with the ICD-10 transition, we have some more positive news. With the October 2014 compliance date for ICD-10 looming, athenahealth put out a guarantee to its clients of its readiness for the requirement and promised to waive its fees in case this guarantee is not met.

“Athenahealth will also backstop the revenue cycle for independent practices by providing a cash advance against submitted claims, if those claims are delayed by payers in the ICD-10 transition period,” according to the announcement. According to athenahealth, one-third of physicians are not confident in a smooth transition to the updated set of codes.

The company specifically promised it would monitor staff progression, payer testing, lab testing and clearinghouse testing, among other activities, to facilitate the transition.

It will be interesting to see when and if other vendors will follow suit with a similar ICD-10 guarantee.

Meanwhile, the Health Information and Management Systems Society EHR Association, a collaboration of more than 40 EHR vendors, released an EHR Developer Code of Conduct. 

“Recognizing the transformative power of health IT, we offer this code of conduct as a reflection of our industry’s ongoing commitment to collaborate as trusted partners with all stakeholders,” said EHR Association Chair Mickey McGlynn, senior director, strategy and operations at Siemens Healthcare.  

McGlynn said the group is aware of the importance of a transparent set of industry principles that reflect “our continued commitment to safe healthcare delivery, continued innovation and operating with high integrity.”

Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, national coordinator of health IT, said it was “very positive to see this association coming together and making a statement about what we stand for and what we believe in.” The announcement, he said, shows that there are certain things the industry will compete on fiercely but not others, such as holding data hostage and letting people share information. “These things are important for the industry to grow as a whole. This work really requires all of us to work together and step up.”

Several vendor companies immediately announced their support of the code of conduct. It will be interesting to see how this new initiative impacts interoperability efforts.

What do you think of these vendor efforts? Please share your thoughts.

Beth Walsh

Clinical Innovation + Technology editor