Aledade, the company co-founded by former national coordinator of health IT Farzad Mostashari, MD, MSc, has inked two new partnerships with Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum and Kansas Foundation for Medical Care to help independent physicians in each respective state launch and manage accountable care organizations (ACOs).

The addition of five new members to the CommonWell Health Alliance increases the group's representation to 70 percent of the acute care EHR market and 20 percent of the ambulatory EHR market.

The Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) is just one of many stakeholders pleased with the recent House vote to eliminate the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula that for years has threatened to cut physician payment from Medicare. The group is especially happy about the focus on both interoperability and alignment of quality reporting, said Tom Leary, HIMSS vice president of government relations in an interview with Clinical Innovation + Technology.

New York City is set to ramp up its life sciences position through a $150 million public-private partnership and increasing research and development space by 150 percent.

The Consumer Partnership for eHealth, a group of more than 50 leading consumer, patient and labor organizations, appears to be the first group to submit public comments regarding the draft Shared Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap.

Four companies have made the cut and will be finalists in the HX360 Innovation Challenge competition.

Bryan Sivak, chief technology officer at the Department of Health and Human Services, will leave his position in April.

Google has been granted a patent by the U.S. patent office for its smart contact lens featuring a chip, electric circuit and sensor technology, according to multiple reports.