News From Around the Web
> Anchorage Community Mental Health Services in Alaska has been fined $150,000 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights for failing to comply with HIPAA since 2005, Health Data Management reports. The compliance failure came to light after protected health information for more than 2,700 patients was compromised by malware in March 2012. Article
> The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Biomedical Informatics has been awarded $7.3 million to examine better ways to create and mine medical records, the school recently announced. Seven grants have been awarded to five principal researchers at the school since June 1. Announcement
Provider News
> As hospitals around the country strive to prepare for emergencies within their walls, HHS has issued a guide to help facilities plan for how to handle one of the worst-case scenarios--an active shooter situation. Article
Health Insurance News
> Medicaid insurers' provider directories include doctors who are unavailable, not accepting new patients or could not be found, says a report from the Office of the Inspector General of HHS. Article
> Dominant insurers worry that consumer operated and oriented plans (CO-OPs) have an unfair advantage over their competition in healthcare markets because they receive millions in federal funding to operate their business. Article
And Finally... A little too much flair for my taste. Article