Older Feds Aren't Playing to Their Strengths
Is It Too Hard to Fire Misbehaving Feds?
Americans Still Like the Postal Service
A Forced 4-Day Weekend for Many Feds
No More Tax-Cheating Feds, Senators Say
Video: The Daily Show on Apple's Taxes
AUTHOR ARCHIVES
John Pulley
John Pulley has written the Health IT Update blog since May 2011. Prior to becoming a regular contributor to Nextgov, he covered technology for Federal Computer Week and Government Health IT magazines. He has written about government for Federal Times and Air Force Times, as well. Pulley has worked in journalism for more than 20 years. He began his career covering local government for regional newspapers. In addition, he served as a writer and senior editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education for seven years. In 2006, he founded The Pulley Group, an editorial services agency.
Researchers Develop Implantable, Disposable Health Technology
September 28, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
Here today, gone tomorrow. That’s what a group of scientists say they have achieved in developing tiny silicon electronics that can dissolve and be absorbed harmlessly into the body after serving a short-term medical purpose. The scientists’ report, published online this week by the journal Science, raises the specter of ...
Accountable Care Organizations Ramp Up Health IT Spending
September 26, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
New accountable care organizations expect to collectively spend $500 million on health IT in their first year, a new market research survey finds. Smaller accountable care organizations estimate that they will spend more than $1 million each for new health IT systems, while larger ACOs anticipate spending up to $4 ...
Electronic Orders Impede Hospitals' Attainment of Meaningful Use
September 25, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
In the first year of the federal electronic health record incentive program, the biggest barriers to achieving meaningful use were problems with computerized provider order entry elements of EHRs, a new study finds. The study, “Overcoming challenges to achieving meaningful use: Insights from hospitals that successfully received Centers for Medicare ...
Hospitals Question Health Data Reporting Standards
September 21, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
Hospitals want to have a say in the automated quality reporting of electronic health records in order to ensure that they are “feasible, generate valid and reliable results, and have benefits that outweigh the costs,” the American Hospital Association said in a letter to the Agency for Healthcare Research and ...
Kansas Health Information Exchange Calls It a Day
September 20, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
The Kansas Health Information Exchange is dissolving itself and turning over operations to the state, pending approval by the state legislature. The move will cut nearly $350,000 from the quasi-public exchange’s annual $400,000 operating budget, according to a report by the Kansas Health Institute. A federal grant funding exchange operations ...
Canadian Researchers Allegedly Misuse Personal Health Data
September 17, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
An investigation into the alleged misuse of personal health information in university medical research has led to the firing of five employees of the British Columbia Ministry of Health and the suspension of two others, according to news reports. Medical research conducted at the University of British Columbia and the ...
Feds expect to shell out $20 billion for electronic health records
September 14, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
Twenty billion dollars. That’s how much the government estimates it will dole out in incentives to health-care providers before the penalty phase kicks in for those who fail to adopt electronic health records. So says Dr. Farzad Mostashari, the national coordinator for health IT, according to report published today by ...
Gaming Health IT Security Systems
September 12, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
Protecting patient privacy and security is no game, but learning about it can be. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT unveiled a new video game to help train medical personnel about privacy and security risks and responsibilities as they begin using health IT systems, ModernHealthcare.com reported Tuesday. ...
Data Exchange to Rely on Voluntary Efforts
September 10, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is giving up on setting formal rules for exchanging data through the Nationwide Health Information Network, ceding to voluntary efforts already in process. After opening the proposal for public comment this summer, the office heard repeatedly that “the very act of ...
Hospitals in Tech-Rich Regions Have Lower IT Costs
September 7, 2012
FROM NEXTGOV
Being located away from an “IT-intensive” market can add as much as 4 percent to the long-term costs of electronic health record implementation, university researchers found. A study of 4,231 hospitals by Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management found that hospitals in areas with few IT firms saw costs rise ...
