About Mike Squires

Mike Squires is a marketing and sales executive with 12 years focused on e-Healthcare initiatives that helped physicians change the way they work for better patient care. Experienced in introducing new online products to physicians, healthcare professionals, and the pharmaceutical and medical device industries with innovative sales and marketing strategies at start-up and traditional healthcare publishers. Helped position Medscape as the market leader to the industry and accelerate e-product offerings of Elsevier’s International Medical News Group and F-D-C Reports. Directed marketing, sales, client relations, sales support, and implementation of medical education and promotion programs. Entrepreneurial and enthusiastic; excellent mentor and motivator.

ONC and CMS @HIMSS12 Annual Conference & Exhibition — Las Vegas

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Mike Squires

Federals at HIMSS12 Annual Conference & Exhibition
February 20-24, 2012 · Las Vegas, NV
Accessed and excerpted from HealthIT.gov on Feb 18, 2012

Representatives from ONC, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR), and other Federal agencies will be at HIMSS to share information about their health IT initiatives. Below are highlights from the HIMSS schedule of events. For a complete list of participating Federal agencies and their educational sessions, visit the Federal section of the HIMSS12 website.

HIMSS Schedule of Events

Time	Location	Event
Monday, February 20, 2012
8:45-9:30 a.m.	Lando 4204	HIE Symposium – Opening Keynote HIE: The Next Generation and Beyond Doug Fridsma, Director, Office of Standards and Interoperability
9:30-10:30 a.m.	Lando 4204	HIE Symposium – Inter Agency Collaboration: A Federal Update John Allison, Health Insurance Specialist Claudia Williams, Director, State HIE Program
10:45-11:45 a.m.	Lando 4204	HIE Symposium – State Collaborations: Current Trends and Future Directions Lee Stevens, Program Manager, State HIE Program
11 a.m.-12 p.m.	San Paolo 3504	Physicians’ IT Symposium – Optimizing Your EHR Value Through Patient Engagement Judy Murphy, RN, Deputy National Coordinator
12:45-1:45 p.m.	Lando 4204	HIE Symposium – SLHIE: Moving from Planning to Implementation Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for Health IT Claudia Williams, Director, State HIE Program
1-2 p.m.	Veronese 2506	Achieving Meaningful Use Symposium – CMS and ONC Present Stage 2 Essential Knowledge Robert Anthony, Policy Analyst, CMS Steven Posnack, Director, Federal Policy Division, ONC
1:30-2:30 p.m.	Veronese 2406	Performance Measurement and CDS Symposium: Leveraging CDS at the Point of Care to Optimize Quality Measure Outcomes Jacob Reider, MD, ONC Senior Policy Advisor
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
9:45-10:45 a.m.	Casanova 503	Health IT Update from HRSA Yael Harris, PhD, MHS, Director, Office of Health IT & Quality
9:45-10:45 a.m.	Lando 4303	Stage 2 Meaningful Use Elizabeth Holland, Director, HIT Initiatives Group Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for Health IT
9:45-10:45 a.m.	Galileo 1001	Direct Project Panel Discussion Moderator: Doug Fridsma, Director, Office of Standards and Interoperability
9:45-10:45 a.m.	TBD	HIE National Landscape, Monitoring States Momentum Moderator: Lee Stevens, Program Manager, State HIE Program
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.	Casanova 503	CDC and Meaningful Use: Strengthening the Link Between Healthcare Providers and Public Health Seth Foldy, MD, MPH, FAAFP, Senior Advisor, Public Health Surveillance & Informatics Program Office
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.	Lando 4303	ONC Consumer Outreach/Pledge Initiative Lygeia Ricciardi, Senior Policy Advisor for Consumer e-Health
11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.	San Polo 3503	Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs: Meaningful Use Stage 1 Overview Travis Broome, Policy Analyst Elizabeth Holland, Director, HIT Initiatives Group Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for Health IT Robert Anthony, Policy Analyst
12:15-1:15 p.m.	San Polo 3503	Redefining Health Care: Advancing Patient-Centered Care Through Health IT Carolyn Clancy, MD, Director of AHRQ
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
8:30-9:30 a.m.	San Polo 3503	ONC Certification Programs – Update and Next Steps Doug Fridsma, Director, Office of Standards and Interoperability Steve Posnack, Director, Federal Policy Division Carol Bean, Director, Certification Division
9:45-10:45 a.m.	San Polo 3503	Stage 2 Meaningful Use: An Introduction Travis Broome, Policy Analyst, CMS Elizabeth Holland, Director, HIT Initiatives Group, CMS Steve Posnack, Director, Federal Policy Division, ONC Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
1-2 p.m.	Casanova 503	Update on HIPAA Initiatives David Sayen, Regional Administrator, CMS Elizabeth Reed, Health Insurance Specialist, CMS
2:15-3:45 p.m.	San Polo 3503	ONC Townhall: Advancing Health IT Into the Future Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
Thursday, February 23, 2012
8:30-9:30 a.m.	Palazzo Ballroom	Keynote speaker Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
9:45-10:45 a.m.	San Polo 3503	Privacy and Security – You Can Do It and Here’s How Joy Pritts, Chief Privacy Officer, ONC
9:45-10:45 a.m.	Venetian Showroom	Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs: Stage 2 NPRM Overview Travis Broome, Policy Analyst, CMS Elizabeth Holland, Director, HIT Initiatives Group, CMS Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for Health IT, CMS Robert Anthony, Policy Analyst, CMS
1-2 p.m.	TBD	RECs: Accelerating Meaningful Use Kimberly Lynch, Director of the REC Program
1-2 p.m.	Lido 3106	Stage 2: Exchange of Information and Public Health Objectives Jessica Kahn, Technical Director for Health IT, CMS Robert Anthony, Policy Analyst, CMS Steven Posnack, Director, Federal Policy Division, ONC
1-2 p.m.	Murano 3306	Consumer E-Technology in Action: Four Implementation Examples from Beacon Communities Korey Capozza, Utah Beacon Drew McNicol, Western New York Beacon Alan Snell, MD, Indiana Beacon Barbara Sorondo, Maine Beacon
2:15-3:15 p.m.	Marco Polo 705	IOM Study-Patient Safety Jacob Reider, MD, ONC Senior Policy Advisor
2:15-4:15 p.m.	San Polo 3503	Stage 2: Clinical Quality Measures Travis Broome, Policy Analyst, CMS Steve Posnack, Director, Federal Policy Division, ONC
Friday, February 24, 2012
10:00-11:00 a.m.	San Polo 3503	HIPAA Privacy and Security Regulations Leon Rodriguez, Director of OCR
11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.	Venetian Showroom	Stage 2: Payment Adjustments and Changes from Stage 1 Travis Broome, Policy Analyst, CMS Robert Anthony, Policy Analyst, CMS

Theater Booth Sessions – Exhibit Hall, Booths 14624/14824

CMS and ONC will be presenting on special topics in health IT and meaningful use at the theater booth in the HIMSS exhibit hall.

Time	Presentation Topic
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
1:30-2:15 p.m.	Workforce: The Use of Immersive Learning Environments in Online HIT Technology
3:00-3:30 p.m.	Medicaid Patient Volume
4:00-5:45 p.m.	Beacon Communities: Bringing HITECH to Life – Beacon Project Highlights – IT-Enabled Care Coordination, HIT Infrastructure to Support Pioneer ACOs, and Mobile Technology in Support of Better Diabetes Management
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
9:45-10:30 a.m.	Query Health: Demonstrating How to Send Questions to the Data
11:00-11:30 a.m.	Overview and Timeline for Incentives and Payment Adjustments
12:00-12:45 p.m.	NwHN Exchange Opportunities and the Path Forward
2:45-3:30 p.m.	AHRQ: Model Children’s EHR Format
4:00-4:30 p.m.	FAQs on Stage 1 Meaningful Use
5:00-5:45 p.m.	The popHealth Challenge Demonstration: Patient Engagement Reminders for popHealth Measures
Thursday, February 23, 2012
10:00-10:30 a.m.	How States Are Auditing the Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs
11:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.	Overview of Stage 2 Meaningful Use
3:00-3:45 p.m.	Privacy & Security: Privacy Protection for Substance Abuse Treatment Information
4:00-4:45 p.m.	Workforce: Using the ONC-HIT Teaching Materials

ONC “Talk to the Expert” Sessions – Exhibit Booth #14824

ONC will be hosting “Talk to the Expert” sessions at its exhibit booth. Stop by to learn about:

ONC resources
Certification and Standards/Interoperability
ONC’s Regional Extension Centers, Beacon, and Workforce programs.

Engage with ONC during the Conference Online

During HIMSS, ONC will be engaging people online through its social media properties by:

Hosting discussions on LinkedIn
Tweeting live from the event
Loading all of their handouts from the conference on Scribd

If you are not already a member of our LinkedIn group, or following us on Twitter (@ONC_HealthIT), sign up today to join the discussion!

Don’t forget to check out Scribd to download handouts from HIMSS!

For More Information

HIMSS12 website

ONC Appoints Muntz and Murphy in Reorg

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Mike Squires

Experienced Health IT Execs Appointed to Lead in 2012
National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostishari, MD, ScM, appointed David Muntz, MBA, to the new position of Principal Deputy National Coordinator in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT in January 2012, while Judy Murphy, RN, FACMI, FHIMSS, FAAN, was appointed Deputy National Coordinator for Programs and Policy in late 2011. Both the positions and appointees have been posted recently on the ONC’s Web site.

David Muntz, MBA, FCHIME, CHCIO
Principal Deputy National Coordinator

David Muntz, FCHIME, CHCIO

Muntz was Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for the Baylor Health Care System in Dallas and a 38-year veteran of medical information systems. According to the ONC Description of Organizational Structure and Offices, the “Principal Deputy National Coordinator works with and reports directly to the National Coordinator and is responsible for day-to-day operations, decision making, and staff management of ONC. The Principal Deputy will oversee the activities of four offices within ONC: Office of the Deputy National Coordinator for Programs and Policy; Office of the Deputy National Coordinator for Operations; Office of Economic Analysis, Evaluation and Modeling; and, Office of the Chief Scientist. One of the current ONC offices, the Office of the Chief Privacy Officer, is a position mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and will continue to report to the National Coordinator.”

According to a press release issued in conjunction with 2010 National Health IT Week, “David Muntz, a 37-year veteran of Medical Information Systems, is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for the Baylor Health Care System in Dallas. As CIO, Mr. Muntz is responsible for more than 650 employees who care for a delivery system with more than 140 points of entry. Mr. Muntz works closely with hospitals, leadership, boards, physicians, nurses and clinicians system-wide toward improving information technology at Baylor. Since he joined Baylor in 2006, the hospital has received notoriety in healthcare IT, most notably as the #1 innovator in the healthcare sector on the 2007 Information Week 500 list.

“Mr. Muntz is a Fellow of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and currently serves on the CHIME Board of Trustees, Advocacy Leadership Team, and Policy Steering Committee. Also an active member of the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), he has been a speaker for numerous local, state, and national organizations. He was recognized as CIO Innovator of the Year by CHIME in 2005 and was listed as one of the “Top 5 CIOs” in the June 1999 issue of Health Management.

“Prior to Baylor, Mr. Muntz most recently served as the Senior Vice President and CIO at Texas HealthResources, where he was responsible for all information system functions including Medical Records. While working for Texas Health Resources, Muntz’s information services organization received national recognition nine years in a row. Mr. Muntz also had a distinguished career with the Wadley Research Institute and Blood Bank, starting as a biostatistician and eventually becoming CEO of the Institute. During his tenure with Wadley, Mr. Muntz led the team that created a complete online record for the community’s blood bank. In addition, Wadley’s other divisions, the hospital, clinic,
and physician practices, shared a computer based patient record created by Mr. Muntz and his staff.

“Mr. Muntz holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and an AB degree in Premedicine and English from Columbia College in New York City.”

Judy Murphy, RN, FACMI, FHIMSS, FAAN
Deputy National Coordinator for Programs and Policy

Judy Murphy, RN, FACMI, FHIMSS, FAAN

According to the ONC Web site, “Judy Murphy is Deputy National Coordinator for Programs & Policy at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, Department of Health and Human Services in Washington D.C. She is a nurse, who came to the ONC in December of 2011 with more than 25 years of health informatics experience at Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, an integrated delivery network with 15 hospitals, 120 ambulatory centers, home health agencies and over 30,000 employees. She led the EHR program since 1995, when Aurora was one of the early adopters of health IT. Most recently she was Vice President-EHR Applications, and managed the organization’s successful achievement of Stage 1 EHR Meaningful, with incentive payments beginning in September 2011.

“Her informatics interests lie in system implementation methodologies, health IT project management, automated clinical documentation, and the use of technology to support evidence-based practice; she has published and lectured nationally and internationally on these topics. She has a long-standing reputation of patient advocacy and maintaining a “patient-centric” point of view, and approaches her work with unyielding energy as well as dedication, passion, and commitment to the healthcare transformation enabled by technology.

“Judy has been on the Health IT Standards Committee since its inception in May 2009. On that committee, she co-chaired the Implementation Workgroup, and was a member of the Meaningful Use Workgroup. She has also served on the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Board of Directors and the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Board of Directors. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, the American College of Medical Informatics and HIMSS. She received the 2006 HIMSS Nursing Informatics Leadership Award, was named one of the “20 People Who Make Healthcare Better” in 2007 by HealthLeaders magazine, and was selected as one of 33 Nursing Informatics’ Pioneers to participate in the Nursing Informatics History Project sponsored by AMIA, NLM, AAN, and RWJF.”

ONC Organization Chart
ONC Posts New Organizational Chart Dated Nov 16, 2011.

Description of Organizational Structure and Offices

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is directed by the National Coordinator and is assisted by the Chief Privacy Officer, Health Care Reform Coordinator, and Principal Deputy National Coordinator as well as the Deputy National Coordinator for Operations, Deputy National Coordinator for Programs & Policy, Chief Scientist, and the Office of Economic Analysis, Evaluation and Modeling.

The Office of the Chief Privacy Officer, a position mandated by the Recovery Act, advises on privacy, security, and data stewardship of electronic health information and coordinate ONC’s privacy and related efforts with similar privacy officers in other Federal agencies, State and regional agencies, and foreign countries.

Health Care Reform Coordinator is the principal advisor to the National Coordinator for all Health Reform issues. The coordinator ensures the programs to accelerate adoption of interoperable health IT lay the necessary foundation for health care reform including new payment policy that achieves better care, better health, and lower costs.

Principal Deputy National Coordinator works with and reports directly to the National Coordinator and is responsible for day-to-day operations, decision making, and staff management of ONC. The Principal Deputy will oversee the activities of four offices within ONC: Office of the Deputy National Coordinator for Programs and Policy; Office of the Deputy National Coordinator for Operations; Office of Economic Analysis, Evaluation and Modeling; and, Office of the Chief Scientist. One of the current ONC offices, the Office of the Chief Privacy Officer, is a position mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and will continue to report to the National Coordinator.

The Office of Economic Analysis and Modeling provides analyses to the National Coordinator, including advanced modeling of the U.S. health care system for simulating the micro- and macroeconomic effects of investing in health IT.

The Office of the Chief Scientist is responsible for research and for identifying innovations in information technology that can be applied in health care settings, and which will be the ONC interface for international activities.

The Office of the Deputy National Coordinator for Programs and Policy assumes functions previously performed by the Office of Health Information Technology Adoption, the Office of Interoperability and Standards, the Office of Adoption Provider Support, the Office of State and Community Programs, and the Office of Policy and Planning. The new office will lead ONC programs related to health information exchange, regional extension centers, training of the health IT workforce, and the development of technical standards for interoperability, security, and certification of health IT systems. The new office comprises:

The Office of Standards and Interoperability, with responsibility for standards, security, certification, the Nationwide Health Information Network, Federal Health Architecture and the CONNECT program;

The Office of Provider Adoption Support, which administers the Regional Extension Centers program and health IT workforce development;

The Office of State and Community Programs, which administers the state-level health information exchange program and the Beacon Communities Program; and

The Office of Policy and Planning, which is realigned to include all policy development, including privacy and security policy, and is liaison with legal affairs and legislative affairs, regulations development and externally focused strategic planning.

Deputy National Coordinator for Operations is responsible for activities that are vital to supporting ONC’s numerous programs and enhancing ONC’s ability to communication about health IT. This office comprises:

The Office of Communications, which is responsible for stakeholder communications and constituency relations; and
The Office of Mission Support, which supports day-to-day operations, including new grants processing, contracts management, budget execution and reporting, human resources, as well as internal strategic planning, special projects, and budget formulation; and
The Office of Oversight, which assures oversight of grants, internal and external performance reporting, and auditing; and
The Office of Grants Management, which is responsible for carrying out full lifecycle grants management functions and providing procedural and technical business support to ONC grant award recipients and program managers. The office is charged with awarding and managing ONC’s portfolio of grant programs. Through the execution of the grants lifecycle, the office ensures that federal grant funds are properly awarded and are managed effectively to ensure good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

DIRECTORY as of 1/9/2012
Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

Office of the Chief Privacy Officer
Joy Pritts, JD

Principal Deputy National Coordinator
David Muntz, MBA

Deputy National Coordinator for Programs and Policy
Judy Murphy, RN, FACMI, FHIMSS, FAAN

Office of State and Community Programs: Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM (Acting)
- Beacon Division: Craig Brammer (Acting)
- State HIE: Claudia Williams
Office of Policy and Planning: Jodi G. Daniel, JD, MPH
- Stakeholder Engagement and State Policy: Betsy Ranslow
- Planning and Operations: Seth Pazinski
- Federal Policy: Steve Posnack
Office of Standards and Interoperability: Doug Fridsma, M.D., Ph.D.
- Certification Divsion: Carol Bean
- Standards Division: Anand Basu, MBA, MS
- NHIN Technology: Avinash Shanbhaq
Office of Provider Adoption Support: Mat Kendall, MPH
- Regional Extension Center Division: Kimberly Lynch
- Adoption Support (Vacant)
- Community College Workforce Division: Chitra Mohla
- HITRC Division: Ned Ellington (Acting Director)
- Meaningful Use: Joshua Seidman, Ph.D.

Deputy National Coordinator for Operations
Elisabeth A. Handley, MPA

Office of Oversight: Maruta Budetti
Office of Communications: Peter Garrett
Office of Grants Management: Lisa Lewis
Office of Mission Support: Sam Shellenberger

Office of the Chief Scientist
Doug Fridsma, M.D., Ph.D. (Acting)

Office of Economic Analysis and Modeling
Mike Furukawa, Ph.D. (Acting)

Health Care Reform Coordinator
Kelly Cronin

ONC’s Wil Yu: ‘Proof of Concept Testing through Innovation Exchanges for Health IT’

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Mike Squires

Published Initially on ONC Heatlh IT Buzz Blog: 'Proof of Concept Testing through Innovation Exchanges for Health IT'
September 2, 2011
Written by Wil Yu, Special Assistant Innovations ONC Office of the Chief Scientist, and republished by e-Healthcare Marketing.

Quick Note: This is one of many blog posts that I will be writing in September that highlights how innovation leadership within the health IT and health care communities is changing the health IT landscape. I’ll cover efforts being championed within the White House, ONC/HHS, and the broader environment, that are helping to usher in a wave of new technologies and services that will lead to better health care, health, and cost savings through continuous quality improvement.

Proof of Concept Testing – Connecting Early Stage Innovators to Stakeholders

One of the more exciting initiatives taking place is a unique effort to unite early stage innovators with the broader ecosystem to shepherd and nurture new technological development.

One of the greatest challenges facing any health care innovator is to develop ideas with the broader environment – working with a myriad of stakeholders in an appropriate manner to obtain the crucial data needed to validate the effectiveness, value, and strategy tied to the innovation. I’m referring to getting to the critical stage known as the proof-of-concept.

New White House Startup America Initiative

Realizing that getting to this stage requires substantial time and resources, I’m pleased to report that the White House Startup America Initiative, in partnership with HHS, is promoting an effort called Innovation Exchanges for Health IT – a model that promotes facilitated forums that assemble a collection of early stage, near-proof-of-concept innovators with forward looking health care organizations. The explicit goal of this program is to identify opportunities for testbeds to support innovative development. This is a first-of-a-kind initiative that helps to cross stakeholder lines in the interest of innovation.

The benefits of these proof-of-concept exchanges are apparent:

Health care organizations that participate can identify potential future developers that they wish to collaborate with from a host of candidates in a single day, substantially lowering their search costs.
Innovators can find potential partners by presenting to a dozen organizations at once – saving precious time and accelerating their development timelines.

While not meant to be a commercial opportunity, participants are free to identify scope and duration of their collaborations.

More Innovation Events Scheduled

The first Innovation Exchange for Health IT took place in Philadelphia earlier this year, under the leadership of BluePrint Health IT. We’ll see at least three more events taking place in Indianapolis (October), San Francisco (September), and in the New England area (October) sponsored by a variety of organizations.

As I’ve noted before, community building is an essential step in the innovation process. These exchanges are an attempt to provide the opportunity to forge the relationships needed to sustain those communities.

Feel free to contact me if you would like to participate in a future exchange.

Wil Yu, Special Assistant, Innovations (wil.yu@hhs.gov)

###
To comment directly on the ONC Health IT Buzz Blog, click here.

Note: The first Innovation Exchange for Health IT took place on May 26, 2011 in Philadelphia as the BluePrint Health IT Innovation Summit.

Prior to the Summit, the format was described by John Halamka as 'e-Harmony for IT' in his blog post on Speed Dating for IT.
Following the Summit, John Moore of Chilmark Research, provided a summary of the successful matching in hospitals and health IT innovators.
Both Halamka and Moore serve as members of the BluePrint Health IT Innovation Exchange Summit series Advisory Board.

This blog is produced by Mike Squires, Executive Director, BluePrint Health IT Innovation Exchange Summit, and Vice President, Strategic Development and Public Policy for BluePrint Healthcare IT.

You can learn more about participating in the Mid-West Summit in Indianapolis on October 12 or the West Coast Summit on December 8, 2011, where 10 hospitals and 10 health IT Innovators will be matched, by visiting www.blueprinthit.com/summit or contacting me directly at mike.squires@blueprinthit.com

www.healthit.gov: Sneak Preview of ONC site for non-geeks

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Mike Squires

Providers & Professionals, Patient & Families
to Become Focus of New ONC Site
Sneak Preview Shows New Pages of New site
in soft launch mode July 12, 2011,
More to Come

eHI: 2011 National Forum on Health Information Exchange: July 14

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Mike Squires

A Special Meeting for Health Information Exchange Initiatives

Accessed on June 16, 2011 and excerpted from eHealth Initiative.
The 2011 National Forum on Health Information Exchange will take place Thursday, July 14, 2011 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington DC. The HIE Forum will convene healthcare leaders from across the 50 states to discuss the challenges and best practices needed to achieve sustainable national health information exchange. It will also coincide with the release of the 2011 eHI HIE Survey. Interactive panels comprised of health information exchange experts who are in the field will be the primary focus of the event. The majority of the event will include question and answer sessions for audience members.

Transforming Healthcare Through Analytics

Analytics is one of the most exciting and promising areas for HIE innovation. HIEs can provide in-depth analytics to help providers manage patients, control costs and improve quality. Analytics can be used for predictive modeling, real-time point of care decision support, managing population health, quality reporting and comparative effectiveness research. This panel will include payers and HIEs that have experience working in this area.

How HIEs can Work with the Direct Project

This panel will explore the implementation challenges associated with the Direct Project, as well as the potential benefits that can be derived from it. The group will discuss how the Direct Project will help providers and hospitals qualify for meaningful us and encourage health information exchange. Additionally, Providers, patients, and other stakeholders in the delivery of healthcare across the country can be connected through the infrastructure of the Nationwide Health Information Network (NwHIN). While NwHIN is not a physical network, HIEs are moving towards using the standards, SSA disability determination, justifications, and other protocols set by NwHIN.

Insurance Exchanges and HIE: Coordinating Efforts for Success

Following the passage of health reform, states are now in the process of creating health insurance exchanges. Both HIE and Insurance Exchanges require significant effort, resources and focus. Coordination and competing for resources is a challenge. This panel will examine the efforts underway in several states.

Getting to Meaningful Use Through HIE

In preparation for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use, providers and hospitals must begin to prepare for increasing HIE requirements. HIEs will need to determine how they can support hospitals and providers in meeting the new requirements. Included in this topic will be immunization registries, and the stage 2 MU requirements.

Staying Alive in 2011: Different Revenue Models for Sustainability

Creating a sustainable business model remains the greatest challenge facing organizations. New models of sustainability have been suggested in the last couple of years, including utility models. Attaining sustainability is still an enormous hurdle. This panel will include speakers who use different revenue models. They will address best practices for HIE sustainability.

IT Infrastructure Required to Support ACO

With the advent of Accountable Care Organizations, health information exchange is even more critical. ACOs will need to coordinate care, manage patient health, and track administrative data. Panelists will discuss established HIEs can position themselves to support ACOs.

AGENDA for National Forum on HIE: July 14, 2011
Excerpts. For complete agenda, click here.
To register, click here.

7:00 AM
Registration
Exhibit Hall Open – Breakfast and Networking

8:30 – 9:00 AM
Welcome, Overview and 2011 HIE Survey Key Findings

Jennifer Covich Bordenick, Chief Executive Officer, eHealth Initiative

9:00 – 9:30 AM
Keynote

Todd Park, Chief Technology Officer, Department of Health and Human Services
Mr. Todd Park will present the keynote address at the 2011 National Forum on Health Information Exchange. In his role as CTO, he is responsible for helping HHS leadership harness the power of data, technology, and innovation to improve the health and welfare of the nation. He will discuss CMS data and how HIEs can use that data.

9:30 – 10:30 AM
Transforming Healthcare Through Analytics

	Sam Ho, EVP and CMO, United Healthcare (Invited)
	Dick Thompson, Executive Director of the Quality Health Network
	Carladenise Edwards, President and CEO, Cal eConnect
	Ahmed Ghouri, Chief Medical Officer, Anvita Health

10:30 – 11:00 AM
Break

11:00 – 12:00 PM
How HIEs can Work with the Direct Project

	Arien Malec, Coordinator, Direct Project, ONC (Invited)
	Jeff Blair, Director of Health Informatics, New Mexico Health Information Collaborative
	John Blair, III, MD, President and CEO, Taconic IPA

12:00 – 1:00 PM
Lunch

1:00 – 2:00 PM
Insurance Exchanges and HIE: Coordinating Efforts for Success

	Glen Shor, Massachusetts Insurance Exchange (Invited)
	Kim Davis – Allen, Alabama HIT Coordinator
	Edward Dolly, CISSP, Deputy Commissioner, State Health Information Technology Coordinator, West Virginia Bureau for Medical Services
	Steve Larsen, Director, Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, CMS (Invited)

2:00 – 3:00 PM
Getting to Meaningful Use Through HIE

	Zachery Jiwa, Louisiana HIT Coordinator
	Micky Tripathi, PhD, President and CEO, Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative
	Scott Afzal, HIE Program Director, CRISP
	Stephen Palmer, Director, Office of e-Health Coordination, Texas Health and Human Services Commission

3:00 – 3:30 PM
Break

3:30 – 4:30 PM
Staying Alive in 2011: Different Revenue Models for Sustainability

	Paul Forlenza, Vice President of Policy, VITL
	Christopher M. Henkenius, Program Director, NeHII, Inc.
	Abigail Sears, CEO, OCHIN
	Doug Dietzman, Executive Director, Michigan Health Connect

4:30 – 5:30 PM
IT Infrastructure Required to Support ACO

	Moderator: Nam Vo, Senior Director of Healthcare Strategy, Oracle
	Phyllis Albritton, Executive Director, CORHIO

5:30 – 7:30 PM
Reception

For latest and complete information on eHI National Forum, click here.

HHS and ONC: Investing in Innovations (i2) Initiative

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Mike Squires

Investing in Innovations
Accessed from ONC on June 12, 2011
In September 2009, President Obama released his Strategy for American Innovation, calling for agencies to increase their ability to promote and harness innovation by using policy tools such as awards and competitions. The America Competes Act, passed in December 2010, permits any agency head to “carry out a program to award prizes competitively to stimulate innovation.” With this authority, ONC has created the Investing in Innovations (“i2″) program.

Investing in Innovations is a two-year contract with Capital Consulting Corporation and Health 2.0 that will disburse more than $1.9 million in prize money to competition winners in up to 30 challenges. Competition proposals will derive from internal ONC staff and fellow HHS agencies.

ONC believes that competitions have a number of potential benefits. Under the right circumstances, they may allow the government to:

Establish an important goal without having to choose the approach or the team that is most likely to succeed;
Pay only for results;
Increase the number and diversity of the individuals, organizations, and teams that are addressing a particular problem or challenge of national or international significance;
Stimulate private sector investment that is many times greater than the cash value of the award; and
Further a Federal agency’s mission by attracting more interest and attention to a defined program, activity, or issue of concern.

The competitions will focus on innovations that support (1) the goals of HITECH and clearing hurdles related to the achievement of widespread Health IT adoption and meaningful use, (2) ONC’s and HHS’ programs and programmatic goals, and (3) the achievement of a nationwide learning health system that improves quality, safety, and/or efficiency of health care.

For questions relating to the Investing in Innovations program, please email Wil Yu.

Additional Resources

Press Release
- June 8, 2011
  HHS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Introduce New Investing in Innovations (i2) Initiative

HHS and The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology introduce new Investing in Innovations (i2) Initiative
Press Release from Department of Health and Human Services on June 8, 2011

Washington, D.C. — The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced today the Investing in Innovations (i2) Initiative – a bold new program designed to spur innovations in health IT. The program centers on prizes and competitions to accelerate the development of solutions and communities around key challenges in health IT.

This landmark initiative is the first Administration-wide program using prizes and challenges to advance an agency’s mission made possible by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, signed into law by President Obama on Jan. 4, 2011. The Act invests in innovation through research and development and seeks to improve the competitiveness of the United States.

As part of the initiative’s rollout, ONC has awarded nearly $5 million to the Capital Consulting Corporation (CCC) and Health 2.0 LLC, to fund projects supporting innovations in research and encouraging health IT development through open-innovation mechanisms like prizes and challenges.

“The initiative demonstrates ONC’s recognition of the importance of investing in innovations and provides a platform that will attract an expanded community of innovators to the full range of the agency’s programs. It opens the door to new opportunities for open collaboration from a wide range of diverse individuals and organizations that will increase the national rate of innovation and adoption of health IT as we improve health care of all Americans,” said Farzad Mostashari, M.D., Sc.M., national coordinator for health information technology.

The i2 Initiative will consult stakeholders across the health care sector including hospitals, doctors, consumers, payers, states, employers, advocates, and relevant federal agencies to obtain direct input on execution and to build partnerships.

The core of the i2 Initiative is an effort to use prizes and challenges to facilitate innovation and obtain solutions to identified health IT challenges. Recognizing the promise of prizes and challenges, the President has called on agencies to promote innovation by using such innovation tools to address intractable problems. The use of prizes and competitions is widely regarded as a powerful tool to attract innovators from all walks of life to address hard problems with the added benefit of only rewarding best-in-class work. The approach makes possible rapid response to emerging issues that are difficult to address with more traditional funding approaches.

Examples of health IT competition topics developed in consultation with CCC and Health 2.0 LLC, include the following:

Applications that allow an individual to securely and effectively share health information with members of his or her social network;
Applications that generate results for patients, caregivers, and/or clinicians by providing them with access to rigorous and relevant information that can support real needs and immediate decisions;
Applications that allow individuals to connect during natural disasters and other periods of emergency; and
Tools that facilitate exchange of health information while allowing individuals to customize the privacy allowances for their personal health records.

Another component of the i2 Initiative will support analysis of the current health IT environment in an effort to track and model clusters of innovation, while simultaneously identifying connections between disparate innovator communities. The effort will identify technology development trends in a fast-moving sector to inform future advisory and policy-making activities.

Capital Consulting Corporation, Health 2.0 LLC, along with other contributors will help provide detailed and up-to-date analysis of relevant, emerging innovations and associated trends that will help ONC and other HHS agencies better understand these developments, as well as the issues that surround them.

ONC recognizes that policies that do not appropriately anticipate technological change can jeopardize success by potentially limiting competition and setting in stone inferior technologies. Accurate and timely information from this phase of the initiative will enable the Federal government to engage in methodical and strategic health IT policies.

“Through the i2 Initiative, ONC is directly supporting innovation in health IT to accelerate the nation’s progress toward a high-performing, adaptive health care system,” said Wil Yu, the special assistant for innovations within ONC.

For more information please visit ONC’s home page at http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt/community/healthit_hhs_gov__onc/1200.

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HHS and The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology introduce new Investing in Innovations (i2) Initiative
Press Release from US Department of Health and Human Services on June 8, 2011

Examples of health IT competition topics developed in consultation with CCC and Health 2.0 LLC, include the following:

Applications that allow an individual to securely and effectively share health information with members of his or her social network;
Applications that generate results for patients, caregivers, and/or clinicians by providing them with access to rigorous and relevant information that can support real needs and immediate decisions;
Applications that allow individuals to connect during natural disasters and other periods of emergency; and
Tools that facilitate exchange of health information while allowing individuals to customize the privacy allowances for their personal health records.

For more information please visit ONC’s home page at http://healthit.hhs.gov/portal/server.pt/community/healthit_hhs_gov__onc/1200.

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ONC Blogs on multi-EHR certification and other issues

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Mike Squires

Perpetually Perplexed by Regulatory Interpretations? Separate the Fact from Fiction
June 10, 2011, 2:45 pm /Posted by Steven Posnack, Director Federal Policy Division, ONC, on ONC’s Health IT Buzz blog and republished by e-Healthcare Marketing here.

If enough people believe something, it has to be true, right? In my travels, I’ve found that regulatory interpretations range from being largely factual to wildly fictitious. The latter often results from misinterpretations of regulatory language, improper combinations of regulatory language from different rules, or accurate interpretations getting lost in translation as they are passed from person-to-person. These inaccurate interpretations, intentional or not, often unsurprisingly lead to confusion. Accordingly, I thought it would be helpful to clear up a few things I’ve heard related to certification.

Statement 1: If an eligible professional or eligible hospital combines multiple certified electronic health record (EHR) Modules together (or a certified EHR Module[s] with a certified Complete EHR), that combination also needs to be separately certified in order for it to meet the definition of Certified EHR Technology – *FICTION*
- Part 2 of the definition of Certified EHR Technology acknowledges that a combination of certified EHR Modules can be used to meet the definition of Certified EHR Technology. At 75 FR 2023, we clarified that as long as each EHR Module which makes up the combination has been certified, the definition could be met. See also FAQ 17.
- Combining certified EHR Modules or certified EHR Modules with a certified Complete EHR (or even two certified Complete EHRs) will not invalidate the certification assigned to the EHR technologies. Each EHR technology retains the certification assigned to it. Our FAQs (such as #7, #14, and #21) identify cases where combining certified Complete EHRs with other certified EHR Modules could occur without any negative effects.
- Note, generating the “CMS EHR Certification ID” on ONC’s Certified HIT Products List (CHPL) for meaningful use attestation purposes is different. Using the CHPL, an eligible professional (EP) or eligible hospital (EH) generates a CMS EHR Certification ID (a unique alpha-numeric string) to report to CMS as part of its attestation. The CMS EHR Certification ID represents the combination of certified EHR Modules or other combination of certified EHR technologies that meet the definition of Certified EHR Technology and were used during the meaningful use reporting period.
Statement 2: The ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies (ONC-ATCBs) operate under contract with and receive funding from ONC – *FICTION*
- ONC-ATCBs do not receive funding from ONC to perform their ONC-ATCB duties. ONC-ATCBs support their operations through testing and certification fees charged to Complete EHR and EHR Module developers.
- The Temporary Certification Program Final Rule established certain responsibilities and rules for ONC-ATCBs. ONC-ATCBs must fulfill these requirements and adhere to the rules in order to maintain good standing under the program. For example, ISO/IEC Guide 65 requires ONC-ATCBs to make their services accessible to all applicants (e.g., EHR developers) whose activities fall within its declared field of operation (e.g., the temporary certification program), including not having any undue financial or other conditions.
Statement 3: Testing and certification under the Temporary Certification Program does not examine whether two randomly combined EHR Modules will be compatible or work together – *FACT*
- ONC-ATCBs are not required to examine the compatibility of two or more EHR Modules with each other. EHR Module developers, however, are free, and highly encouraged, to work together to ensure that EHR Modules are compatible.
Statement 4: The ONC-ATCBs favor big EHR technology developers – *FICTION*
- The ONC-ATCBs do not favor large developers, and such favoritism is precluded by the international standards to which ONC-ATCBs must adhere.
- As of June 3, 2011, 438 EHR technology developers were represented on the CHPL. Of those, approximately 60 percent are small companies (<51 employees) and approximately 12 percent are large companies (>200 employees).
Statement 5: Certification doesn’t require that an EHR technology designed by one EHR developer make its data accessible or “portable” to another EHR technology designed by a different developer – *FACT*
- We are very interested in exploring future certification requirements to improve data portability.
- If you have any insights on how to improve data portability between EHR technologies, please feel free to leave a comment below.
Statement 6: As an EP or EH, you need to demonstrate meaningful use in the exact way that EHR technology was tested and certified – *FICTION* (mostly)
- See the jointly posted ONC and CMS FAQs (#24 or 10473)
Statement 7: Certifications “expire” every two years – *FICTION*
- A certification represents a “snapshot.” It indicates that EHR technology has met specific certification criteria at a fixed point in time. In other words, an EHR technology would not “lose its certification” after a given time period. If, however, certification requirements change (e.g., new and/or revised certification criteria are adopted), the snapshot the certification represents would no longer accurately reflect that the EHR technology meets the changed requirements.
- In our certification program rules, we indicated that we anticipated adopting new and/or revised certification criteria every two years to coincide with changes to the meaningful use objectives and measures under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. We did not, however, set a specific expiration for certifications. Rather, we explained that once the Secretary adopts new and/or revised certification criteria, EHR technology may need to be tested and certified again. In other words, the previously taken snapshot would no longer accurately represent what is required to meet the adopted certification criteria and, thus, would no longer be sufficient to support an EP or EH’s ability to achieve updated meaningful use requirements.
- For more information about the validity of a certification, please refer to the Temporary Certification Program final rule (75 FR 36188) and the Permanent Certification Program final rule (76 FR 1301).

As someone who has played a roll in drafting all of ONC’s regulations, I take pride in making our rules readily understandable and as easy to read as possible. Sometimes, though, no matter how hard we try to convey a regulation’s intent, there is always another believable interpretation. Hopefully, this blog helps clear up a few points and furthers your personal understanding of our rules.
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To post comments directly on ONC’s Health IT Buzz blog post, click here.

CMS to Announce 3 new Innovation Programs May 17

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Mike Squires

Pioneer ACO Model, Advanced Payment Program, Advanced Development Learning Session
Washington, DC — April 17, 2011. At a Brookings Institution event hosted by Mark McClellan on ONC’s Beacon Communities today, Joe McCannon, Senior Advisor to the Administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced three programs to be more formally announced later today with more details:

1. Pioneer ACO Model: will tap groups experienced in coordinated care working together loking in first two years for higher level of share savings and higher level of risk. By third year, if successful, the model will move to population-based model.

2. Advanced Payment Program: proposal to provide advance on shared savings with strong oversight.

3. Advanced Development Learning Sessions: four sessions proposed, starting June 20, 2011, with intense curriculums including executive teams to dive into what’s needed. First session on June 20 will focus on preparing for coordinated care opportunities.

More info to come later from CMS Innovation Center http://innovations.cms.gov and from the major news sources covering health IT and CMS. Will catch up later on this at e-Healthcare Marketing.

CONFERENCE CALL MAY 17, 2011: 1:30PM EDT
Emailed May 17, 2011 by CMS.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced three Affordable Care Act initiatives designed to help put doctors, hospitals and other health care providers on the path to becoming Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) and improve health care for Americans with Medicare.

First, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center) is requesting applications for a new Pioneer ACO Model, which provides a faster path for mature ACOs that have already begun coordinating care for patients and are ready to move forward.

Second, the Innovation Center is seeking comment on the idea of an Advance Payment Initiative that give certain ACOs participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program access to their shared savings up front, helping them make the infrastructure and staff investments crucial to successfully coordinating and improving care for patients.

Finally, providers interested in learning more about how to coordinate patient care through ACOs can attend free new Accelerated Development Learning Sessions. The Accelerated Development Learning Sessions will teach providers interested in becoming ACOs what steps they can take to improve care delivery and how to develop an action plan for moving toward providing better coordinated care.

Together with the Medicare Shared Savings Program, the initiatives announced today give providers a broad range of options and support that reflect the varying needs of providers in embarking on delivery system reforms. CMS issued a proposed rule to implement the Medicare Shared Savings Program in March 2011 and is continuing to encourage and accept comments from providers and the public that will help strengthen the final rule.

These initiatives are part of a broader effort by the Obama Administration, made possible by the Affordable Care Act, to improve care and lower costs.

For more information about the announcement, click here.

For a fact sheet, click here.

For additional information about all of these initiatives, visit the Innovation Center website.

Reminder -Please join us on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 for a conference call with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Donald Berwick and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Acting Director Dr. Richard Gilfillan to discuss new efforts to improve care for Medicare beneficiaries through Accountable Care Organizations.

WHO: Dr. Donald Berwick, Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Dr. Richard Gilfillan, Acting Director, CMS Innovation Center

Peter Lee, Deputy Director, CMS Innovation Center

WHEN: Tuesday, May 17, 2011, 1:30 PM EDT
DIAL: 1-800-837-1935
PASSCODE: 68658167

HIT Pro: Health IT Professionals Exams Open May 20

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Mike Squires

The Health IT Professionals Exams Open May 20, 2011.

HIT Pro Competency Exams

Competency Examination Program
Accessed May 15, 2011.

In April 2010, ONC awarded $6 million in a two-year cooperative agreement to Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA)

to develop health information technology (health IT) competency examinations for individuals completing short-term, non-degree training programs, and members of the workforce with relevant experience or others types of training.

These competency examinations will enable health IT professionals, employers, and other stakeholders to assess their own health IT competency levels or the competency of their health IT staff members, as appropriate. The examinations may also be used by employers to identify training gaps and personnel needs integral to achieving meaningful use of electronic health information.

About the Exams

The Health IT Professionals Exams will be open to individuals beginning on May 20, 2011. The six exams, aligned with the roles and training provided by the Community College Consortia, will each consist of 125 multiple-choice questions to be completed in three hours. The exam blueprints below detail the topics covered in each exam:

Taking the Exams

The test specialist Pearson Vue will hold each exam at one of its 230 nationwide test centers (locate the nearest center

). Individuals taking the May exam will receive their results in the mail four-to-six weeks after they take it. The September exam will provide live scoring.

Individuals can make reservations to take exams with Pearson Vue either by telephone (888-944-8776) or online

. At that point, individuals may cancel or reschedule their reservations up to 48 hours before the appointment. In the absence of an emergency, individuals who fail to make their appointment will be charged a fee and will lose the free voucher.

The cost of the first exam for individuals without a voucher is $299. The cost for individuals re-taking an exam or taking an additional exam for another role is $199.

Vouchers for the Exams

Free exam vouchers, enabling individuals to take their first exam at no cost, will be available for students trained through the Community College Consortia program and for other individuals with relevant experience, training, or education in health care or IT. Vouchers will be available soon through Pearson Vue’s Voucher Store

and may be ordered by the following institutions:

Members of the Community College Consortia
Other accredited academic institutions
State and local employment agencies
Health care providers

These institutions may distribute vouchers to individuals who meet the aforementioned criteria. The vouchers will expire four months after being ordered.

Learn more about ONC’s Competency Examination Program:

Get the facts about the Health IT Workforce Development Program

Frequently Asked Questions

Original Funding Announcement

For questions relating to the Competency Examination Program, email HITCompetencyExam@hhs.gov.

Link to HIT Pro Site: http://www.hitproexams.org/

CMS Publishes PDF of EHR Incentive Program FAQs: 85 Pages, May 2

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Mike Squires

85 Pages of FAQs for EHR Incentive Program (pdf)
Click here for PDF version updated on May 2, 2011
Since May 2 PDF, some FAQs have updated electronically on CMS Web site, and links to online FAQs are below.

CMS FAQs

Leading FAQs: When’s the money coming for Eligible Professionals under the Medicare Program?
Medicaid Programs are rolling out on state-by-state basis.

Excerpted on May 14, 2011:
For the 2011 payment year, how and when will incentive payments be made to Eligible Professionals?

Published 10/18/2010 10:36 AM | Updated 04/26/2011 05:42 PM | Answer ID 10160

For the 2011 payment year, how and when will incentive payments for the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs be made?

For eligible professionals (EPs), incentive payments for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program will be made approximately four to eight weeks after an EP successfully attests that they have demonstrated meaningful use of certified EHR technology. However, EPs will not receive incentive payments within that timeframe if they have not yet met the threshold for allowed charges for covered professional services furnished by the EP during the year. Payments will be held until the EP meets the $24,000 threshold in allowed charges for calendar year 2011 in order to maximize the amount of the EHR incentive payment they receive. If the EP has not met the $24,000 threshold in allowed charges by the end of calendar year 2011, CMS expects to issue an incentive payment for the EP in March 2012 (allowing 60 days after the end of the 2011 calendar year for all pending claims to be processed). Payments to Medicare EPs will be made to the taxpayer identification number (TIN) selected at the time of registration, through the same channels their claims payments are made. The form of payment (electronic funds transfer or check) will be the same as claims payments.

Bonus payments for EPs who practice predominantly in a geographic Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) will be made as separate lump-sum payments no later than 120 days after the end of the calendar year for which the EP was eligible for the bonus payment.

Please note that the 90-day reporting period an EP selects does not affect the amount of the EHR incentive payments. The Medicare EHR incentive payments to EPs are based on 75% of the estimated allowed charges for covered professional services furnished by the EP during the entire payment year. If the EP has not met the $24,000 threshold in allowed charges at the time of attestation, CMS will hold the incentive payment until the EP meets the threshold as described above.

Medicare EHR incentive payments to eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) will also be made approximately four to eight weeks after the eligible hospital or CAH successfully attests to having demonstrated meaningful use of certified EHR technology. Eligible hospitals and CAHs will receive an initial payment and a final payment. Eligible hospitals and CAHs that attest in April can receive their initial payment as early as May 2011. Final payment will be determined at the time of settling the hospital cost report.

Please note that the Medicaid incentives will be paid by the States, but the timing will vary according to State. Please contact your State Medicaid Agency for more details about payment.

When will CMS begin to pay incentives to EPs, eligible hospitals, and CAHs for using certified…..

Published 08/13/2010 04:12 PM | Updated 04/18/2011 11:14 AM | Answer ID 10066

When will the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) begin to pay incentives to eligible professionals (EPs) and eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) for using certified electronic health record (EHR) technology?

Payments for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program are expected to be available as early as May 2011. Attestation for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program opened on April 18, 2011. Registration for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program began on January 3, 2011 and is available online at https://ehrincentives.cms.gov. Please note that although the Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs began January 3, 2011, not all states are ready to participate at this time. Information on when registration will be available for Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs in specific States is posted at http://www.cms.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms/40_MedicaidStateInfo.asp.

For more information about the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, please visit: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/EHRIncentivePrograms.

Online FAQs for CMS EHR Incentive Program

Path To Payment
Eligibility
- Eligible Professionals (EPs)
- Eligible Hospitals
Registration and Attestation
Certified EHR Technology
Meaningful Use
Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Basics
Medicaid State Information
Medicare Advantage

All EHR Incentive Program FAQs

e-Healthcare Marketing

Health Information Exchange, Electronic Health Records and Personal Health Records

Author Archives: Mike Squires

About Mike Squires

ONC and CMS @HIMSS12 Annual Conference & Exhibition — Las Vegas

HIMSS Schedule of Events

Theater Booth Sessions – Exhibit Hall, Booths 14624/14824

ONC “Talk to the Expert” Sessions – Exhibit Booth #14824

Engage with ONC during the Conference Online

For More Information

ONC Appoints Muntz and Murphy in Reorg

DIRECTORY as of 1/9/2012
Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

ONC’s Wil Yu: ‘Proof of Concept Testing through Innovation Exchanges for Health IT’

www.healthit.gov: Sneak Preview of ONC site for non-geeks

eHI: 2011 National Forum on Health Information Exchange: July 14

HHS and ONC: Investing in Innovations (i2) Initiative

ONC Blogs on multi-EHR certification and other issues

CMS to Announce 3 new Innovation Programs May 17

HIT Pro: Health IT Professionals Exams Open May 20

CMS Publishes PDF of EHR Incentive Program FAQs: 85 Pages, May 2

About Mike Squires

HIMSS Schedule of Events

Theater Booth Sessions – Exhibit Hall, Booths 14624/14824

ONC “Talk to the Expert” Sessions – Exhibit Booth #14824

Engage with ONC during the Conference Online

For More Information

DIRECTORY as of 1/9/2012 Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

DIRECTORY as of 1/9/2012
Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology