The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is funneling an estimated $3.5 billion into comparative effectiveness research, but little of this research translates into clinical practice. Five factors holding it back need to be addressed, according to an article published in the October issue of Health Affairs.

Under a new health information exchange (HIE) partnership, half of U.S. patients will now have their health information accessible to medical professionals regardless of location. The Certification Commission for Health IT (CCHIT) has entered into a public-private partnership of states, public agencies, federally funded HIEs and health IT companies and been named the compliance testing body to help enhance the exchange and patient care.

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has issued a report listing several actionable steps healthcare stakeholders can follow to help them meet the Oct. 1, 2014, deadline to implement ICD-10.

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute has got the wrong idea. With its funding scheduled to expire in 2019, the organization should be focused on specific clinical questions that comparative effectiveness research can answer quickly and decisively rather than the broad research priorities outlined in its agenda, according to an article by Harold C. Sox, MD, published in the October issue of Health Affairs.

CHICAGO—EHRs may help physicians understand the costs associated with certain unwarranted practices, said Andrew D. Auerbach, MD, MPH, during an Oct. 5 presentation at the CMIO Leadership Forum: Transforming Healthcare through Evidence-Based Medicine.

CHICAGO--Teamwork is associated with lower costs and increased job satisfaction, says Beatrice J. Kalisch, PhD, RN, Titus Distinguished Professor Nursing and director of Education & Innovation at the University of Michigan School of Nursing in Ann Arbor, speaking Oct. 4 at the CMIO Leadership Forum: Transforming Healthcare through Evidence-Based Medicine.

Community Health Network and St. Vincent Health, both of Indianapolis, will form a joint venture with six central Indiana community hospitals creating an “accountable care consortium” that won't have ties to any federal government initiatives.

Peak Health Solutions, an information services firm, has acquired Health Data Essentials, a consulting firm that works with health plans contracting with the Medicare and Medicaid programs.