Massachusetts launches ICD-10 Project; VA CIO Roger Baker resigns;

News From Around the Web

> The Massachusetts Health Data Consortium, comprised of of healthcare providers, health plans, industry associations, government agencies, and health technology services companies, last week announced the launch of its ICD-10 Project to reduce the significant time and costs associated with ICD-10 compliance for the state's healthcare industry. The deadline for ICD-10 is Oct. 1, 2014 as set forth by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Announcement

> Roger Baker, who has served as chief information officer at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs since 2009, announced his resignation in an email sent to VA information technology staff last Friday, FierceGovernmentIT reports. Baker's resignation notice comes shortly after the secretaries of the U.S. Department of Defense and the VA announced the end of iEHR development. Article

Mobile Healthcare News

> The U.S. Department of Defense has added new features to its smartphone application designed to monitor a soldier's long-term emotional health, according to a DoD announcement. The mobile app, called the T2 Mood Tracker, now enables users to send their personal information to their home computers and to share it with their healthcare providers. Article

Provider News

> The National Committee for Quality Assurance last week named six organizations as accountable care organizations: HealthPartners in Minnesota, Billings (Mont.) Clinic, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Essentia Health in Minnesota, Kelsey-Seybold Clinic in Houston, and Crystal Run Healthcare in New York, according to a HealthPartners statement. Article

> Facing another fiscal cliff, President Obama today reinforced the urgency of the sequester that will take effect March 1--10 days from now. To fend off the automatic cuts to most domestic federal programs, including a 2 percent cut to Medicare providers, Obama favors spending cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, as well as new tax revenue by reducing tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, the Washington Post reported. Article

And Finally... Think twice before you make your friends listen to "Call Me Maybe" again. Article