News From Around the Web
> Ryan Witt has been chosen as the newest co-chairman to The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange's Security and Privacy Workgroup. Witt is the vice president and managing director of healthcare industry practice at Fortinet. "[Witt] will we be instrumental in supporting the workgroup's responsibility for identifying and working toward resolutions … related to securing and protecting health information across the industry," WEDI President and CEO Devin Jopp said. Announcement
> ConCert by HIMSS is the organization's latest interoperability initiative--a testing and certification program that works toward secure transfer of health data among electronic health records and health information exchanges. The program, announced at HIMSS annual conference in Chicago, will attest to secure and reliable health information exchange between EHR and HIE products for both Direct and Query-based exchange," said Joyce Sensmeier, vice president of informatics at HIMSS North America. Announcement (.pdf)
> KPMG LLP will acquire all of the assets of healthcare consulting firm Beacon Partners Inc. The move will expand KPMG's capabilities in health provider business applications and electronic health record systems. Beacon Partners is KPMG's nine acquisition in the last 17 months. Announcement
Provider News
> As the shift to value-based payment models picks up steam, a new piece in Harvard Business Review states that this factor alone isn't enough to fundamentally change the way care is delivered. Article
Health Finance News
> The financial pressures hospitals face will likely increase, which will in turn lead to lengthened revenue cycles. But there are many ways to ensure that those cycles end with satisfactory financial incomes, according to Becker's Hospital CFO. Article
> Many hospitals that service poor communities seek a new solution to that problem--by moving to more prosperous parts of town, according to Kaiser Health News. Although the practice has only involved a small number of hospitals, the publication reports that the number of facilities pulling up stakes to improve their financial fortunes is growing. Article
And Finally... That's a lot of snap, crackle and pop. Article