News From Around the Web
> Ninety-five percent of healthcare organizations responding to a recent survey conducted by Westborough, Mass.-based electronic health record vendor eClinicalWorks said that integration with EHRs is important for organizations participating in accountable care organizations and patient-centered medical homes to achieve quality outcomes. More than half of the respondents to the survey (53 percent), which was conducted in May, said they currently participate in such a program. Announcement
> National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari made it abundantly clear at the HIMSS Media ICD-10 Forum in National Harbor, Md., on Monday: there will not be another ICD-10 delay, Government Health IT reported. Article
Provider News
> Don Berwick, M.D., former administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and now official candidate for Massachusetts governor, charged healthcare financial leaders with navigating change to achieve a "triple aim" healthcare system that offers better care, better health and better costs, during a keynote address today at Healthcare Financial Management Association's annual ANI conference. Despite what might seem like insurmountable hurdles of government polarization, payer pushback and the public's fear that something is going to be taken away from them, Berwick said it is possible to develop a system of evidence-based, patient-centered care that involves lower costs and better outcomes. Article
> Safety-net hospitals--especially those with significant physician-training programs--are poised to take a major hit from new payment models that penalize hospitals for readmissions, a new study suggests. Mortality rates for three key diagnoses are lower at hospitals with high-intensity physician training, based on the ratio of residents to patient beds, but readmission rates are higher, researchers reported in the July issue of Medical Care. The variances are significant, the researchers concluded. Article
Mobile Health News
> Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) has reintroduced a legislative bill calling on Congress to establish and fund an Office of Wireless Health at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to an announcement from the congressman. Ostensibly, the Office of Wireless Health would be tasked with regulating the growing number of mobile healthcare applications. Honda, who represents Silicon Valley, insists that such a new FDA office would help--not obstruct--innovation. Article
And Finally… Three letters: GPS. Article