Meaningful Use

The American Academy of Family Physicians launched an online portal to make it easier for its doctor members to demand Congress push back Stage 3 of the meaningful use regulation.

The new rules will ease the reporting burden for providers, support interoperability, and improve patient outcomes, according to CMS.

Banner Health will install Cerner for electronic health records software at two hospitals they recently acquired from the University of Arizona by 2018, the healthcare provider announced. The 28-hospital integrated healthcare system already uses Cerner EHR in its other facilities.

One system may be a challenge for some organizations, but it is imperative that clinical and revenue sides align, experts say.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will lift the rate it pays inpatient hospitals in 2016 by 0.9 percent, the agency announced Friday, as long as facilities participate in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program and demonstrate meaningful use through the use of electronic health records.

With margins razor thin, hospitals are increasingly looking to transactions to achieve economies of scale and boost profitability.

Current National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has been acting assistant secretary since last fall.

The former CFO led Shelby to attest to meaningful use requirements for the 2012 reporting period, netting nearly $800,000 for the hospital under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services EHR program.

Doctors have called the programs confusing and time-consuming and say they offer little clinical benefit while detracting from their ability to care for patients.

The integration will give providers additional expertise as they navigate ICD-10, meaningful use, population health management, privacy and security, revenue and cost management and analytics.