Top Story

• CMS postpones HIPAA operating rules deadline
  Enforcement of HIPAA operating rules for transactions has been moved to April, according to a CMS Office of E-Health Standards and Services statement. "Industry feedback suggests that HIPAA-covered entities have not reached a threshold whereby a majority of covered entities would be able to be in compliance with operating rules by Jan. 1, 2013," according to the agency. BeckersHospitalReview.com (1/4)     

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EHRs and MU

• EHR services provider assists docs in MU efforts
  IMedicor announced it has been tapped to be a consultant for the HITECH Act initiative because of its efforts to support the New Jersey HITEC organization. IMedicor's contract with NJ-HITEC has enabled the company to assist more than 300 primary care doctors in qualifying for meaningful use incentives from the ONC. DrBicuspid.com (free registration) (1/4)     

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Advancing Care With IT

• E-mail alerts remind docs to have end-of-life talks with patients
  E-mail reminders could prompt oncologists to have end-of-life conversations with patients who are terminally ill, according to a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study, which involved 100 patients with an advanced stage of lung cancer, found that one year after a system was launched to send e-mail alerts to doctors, more than one-third of the subjects had their end-of-life wishes noted in their EHRs, compared with 15% of patients whose end-of-life wishes were recorded before the e-mail program began. Reuters (1/3)     

• Strong social networks with practical support may improve adherence
  Having a strong social support network might improve prescription adherence, particularly if the network includes practical support, a study sponsored by CVS Caremark found. Practical support includes help with picking up prescriptions, reading drug labels, filling pill boxes and paying for prescriptions. Drug Store News (1/3)     

Technology Trends

• Officials investigate Kaiser for possible HIPAA violation
  A probe is being conducted by state and federal officials to determine whether a HIPAA privacy rule violation was committed by Kaiser Permanente after the California Department of Public Health found the firm failed to protect the health records of patients at a Southern California hospital. The potential data breach occurred when the company gave the files to Stephan and Liza Dean, who run a document storage firm and who warehoused the files for seven months without a contract in a space that was shared with another business. Los Angeles Times (tiered subscription model) (1/5)     

• BodyMedia unveils new data sharing device
  BodyMedia has unveiled a small and fashionable armband, called CORE 2, that features sensors to collect a wide variety of biometric information. The device can also transmit biometrics to the BodyMedia Web portal and mobile platforms through Bluetooth 4.0. Engadget (1/6)     

• Health care software firm expands with acquisition deal
  Defran Systems, a clinical management software firm, was recently purchased by Netsmart. Netsmart expects the acquisition to boost its efforts to offer a clinical and operational benchmarking service nationwide. Modern Healthcare (subscription required) (1/4)     

HIE

• N.Y. hospital introduces patient portal in EMR system
  Canton-Potsdam Hospital in upstate New York is enabling some patients to schedule appointments and access health records easily through the "patient portal" it is including in its EMR system. The portal is currently only available to patients at the hospital's clinics, but CPH "is hopeful to be able to offer a similar service to private practices in the future," officials said in a statement. NorthCountryNow.com (Potsdam, N.Y.) (1/6)     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by Health IT SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• Mobile apps seen as one of top medical trends for 2013 (The Wall Street Journal)

• Report breaks down 5 ACO payment models (BeckersOrthopedicAndSpine.com)

• Idaho hospice settles with HHS for violating HIPAA security rule (Modern Healthcare (subscription required))

• CMS to assess hospital preparedness in electronic quality reporting (Modern Healthcare (subscription required))

• Agency asks for feedback on ICD-10 testing program (BeckersASC.com)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Career Track

• ONC seeks members of 2 HIT workgroups
  Applications are being accepted by the ONC for possible members of the Health IT Policy Committee's Consumer Empowerment Workgroup and Health IT Standards Committee's Consumer Technology Workgroup. The workgroups, which were created to help consumers and patients understand the benefits of EHRs, have an application deadline of Jan. 14. Healthcare Informatics online (1/4)     

• Rosa named interim director of Fla. extension center
  The South Florida Regional Extension Center in Miami has tapped Amy Rosa to succeed Lisa Rawlins as its executive director on an interim basis. Rosa will be responsible for overseeing the center's involvement in health information exchanges and managing its steering committees, among other duties. Modern Healthcare (subscription required) (1/4)     

WEDI News

• WEDI HIX Virtual Event: An Overview of Health Insurance Exchange and What It Means to Your Business
  Join us for a day of online virtual education and networking with peers and experts in HIX at the free WEDI HIX Virtual Event: An Overview of Health Insurance Exchange and What It Means to Your Business on Friday, March 1, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Presentation topics include:
  • HIX 101
  • State Approaches
  • NPRM/Final Rules
  • Eligibility and Enrollment - Medicaid
  • Eligibility and Enrollment - GHP
  • Medicare Advantage: Lessons Learned
  • 834 and 820 Transactions
  • Financial Reporting
  • Technical Assistance for Carriers
  Add this free event to your calendar and sign up today! Registration is open!     

SmartQuote

If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. The covetous man cannot so properly be said to possess wealth, as that may be said to possess him." --Francis Bacon, British author and statesman