News From Around the Web
> The 2011 edition certification criteria and related standards and equipment have been removed from the Code of Federal Regulations and effectively "retired," according to an announcement from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. 2011 edition certified products will remain active on ONC's certified EHR product list until July 1, 2015, for any users that may still need to generate a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services EHR certification ID. FAQ
> Cerner and Epic have joined iPatientCare as CMS Designated Test EHR Program participants. Past participants have included McKesson and MEDITECH. Meaningful Use Stage 2's transition of care objective, measure 3, requires an eligible professional or hospital to either conduct an actual exchange or to test one with a designated tester. Since the test EHR program began a little over a year ago, more than 4,000 providers have registered to use it and more than 5,000 have successfully attested to the measure. Website
> The Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative, the national trade association for health information exchanges (HIEs), has launched a website, announced 19 founding members and named an executive director. The association plans to share best practices among HIE members, promote sustainable business models, provide opportunities for joint ventures and increase awareness of the HIE perspective. Website
Health Finance News
> The bill pending in Congress that would repeal and replace the Sustainable Growth Rate payment formula for physicians is coming under fire for its ambiguity. Article
> Are hospital CEOs an endangered species? That may be the case given all the recent mergers among hospitals and healthcare systems. Article
Health Insurance News
> Six million Americans used a private insurance exchange to enroll in employer benefits programs for 2015, according to a new report from Accenture. That's double the number of 2014 enrollees--and it's a growth rate that the consultancy expects to continue into 2018. Article
> CMS has fined Aetna $1 million for the insurer's recent mishap of wrongly identifying 6,887 pharmacies as being in its network. In an April 2 letter to the Hartford, Connecticut-based insurer, CMS Director of Medicare Parts C and D Oversight and Enforcement Group Gerard Mulcahy wrote, "The confusion created by errors in Aetna's pharmacy network directory on their website led to disruption in the marketplace." CMS became aware of the debacle back in February. Article
And Finally... But will they hold the reception there? Article