News From Around the Web
> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is using newly developed software to track down people exposed to the Ebola virus, UPI reports. The software, which is available for free, uses "virus transmission diagrams" that visualize the spread of the virus, in addition to automated data analysis. Article
> The Office of the National Coordinator's Health IT Policy Committee will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, May 7 to evaluate the performance of ONC's Health IT Certification Program to date. According to Lee Stevens, policy director of ONC's state HIE program, writing in a Health IT Buzz blog post, stakeholders participating in the meeting will assess "what is working, what isn't working and how we can optimize program activities in the future." Post
Provider News
> Seventy-five percent of doctors think their contemporaries order at least one unnecessary test or procedure a week, according to a new survey from Choosing Wisely. Asked to rank the top reasons they ordered extraneous tests or procedures, 52 percent said malpractice concerns, 36 percent said they had ordered them just to be extra-cautious, 30 percent said to get more information to reassure themselves, 28 percent had patients who insisted on the unnecessary procedure, 13 percent wanted to leave the final decision up to their patients, and 5 percent were motivated by the fee-for-service system. Article
> The shift from volume- to value-based reimbursement is an ongoing, difficult process for all hospitals, so leaders must develop and enact strategies to not only survive, but create positive operating margins, according to Chip Caldwell, a consultant and former healthcare executive speaking at the American Hospital Association Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, D.C., Sunday. Article
And Finally... There's low, and then there's this. Article