Top Story

• Agency asks for feedback on ICD-10 testing program
  CMS is developing an ICD-10 testing program and is asking for provider feedback via listening sessions. The Healthcare Billing and Management Association was tasked with defining the key concepts for ICD-10 preparedness and compliance. BeckersASC.com (1/3)     

	A Guide to Healthcare IT Disaster Recovery Prepare for and mitigate unforeseen events in your datacenter. Read how it's done at Adventist Health Systems. Inside: Steps to Deliver Highly Available Patient Care, Uncover Disaster Recovery Myths and Realities, Top 10 Disaster Recovery Best Practices, A Quick-Start Guide to Disaster Recovery, Disaster Recovery 101 - The Basics. Download now.

EHRs and MU

• Fla. hospital nabs Stage 7 EMRAM award from HIMSS Analytics
  Florida Hospital North Pinellas in Tarpon Springs, Fla., has received a Stage 7 EMR Adoption Model award from HIMSS Analytics. "Becoming only the second hospital in Florida to accomplish this high level of technological integration and advancement demonstrates our dedication to offering the highest quality and safest care to our patients," said Florida Hospital North Pinellas CEO Bruce Bergherm. Healthcare Informatics online (1/3)     

• Allscripts faces class action lawsuit in Fla.
  A class action lawsuit was filed by the Pain Clinic of Northwest Florida against Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, arguing that Allscripts sold its MyWay EHR system to around 5,000 small-group doctors from 2009 to 2012, even as the company was ending its support for the product. The lawsuit also alleges that the clinic's owner, Dr. Robert Joseph, was misled by Allscripts regarding the system's quality before he acquired it last year and that the system had "shortcoming and inherent defects." American City Business Journals/South Florida (1/3)     

Advancing Care With IT

• Meaningful use, ACOs among key trends for health IT this year
  The health IT industry is expected to strengthen its focus on patient involvement this year as a result of the Affordable Care Act. The new year also will see a greater emphasis on data analytics and interpretation, more provider groups in accountable care organizations and tougher, more complex meaningful use requirements, according to this article. Government Health IT online (12/31)     

• Startup boosts care of seniors through mobile platform
  Independa has raised $5 million from investors, including LG Electronics USA and City Hill Ventures, in a series A funding round for its Angela Personal Interaction Device. The cloud-based mobile platform, which is being tested at three communities that offer senior care, has a calendar feature that caregivers can use to enter data about patients' appointments and medications. MedCityNews.com (1/2)     

Technology Trends

• Legislator introduces bill to improve federal support for telemedicine
  Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., has introduced the Telehealth Promotion Act of 2012 that would boost federal financial support for telemedicine services. The bill, which has received support from the American Telemedicine Association, would improve current Medicare and Medicaid initiatives by launching new programs using telehealth to augment care. Healthcare IT News (1/3)     

• Data breach affects thousands of patients on the East Coast
  South Jersey Healthcare in New Jersey and Sentara Healthcare in Virginia have informed more than 64,000 patients that they may be affected by a data breach that occurred when an Omnicell employee's unencrypted laptop was stolen Nov. 14. The agreement between Sentara and Omnicell required the encryption of patient information, just as in the case involving the University of Michigan Health System, which recently contacted 4,000 patients affected by the same incident. Compromised data included patient names, birth dates, doctor names and medications. Modern Healthcare (subscription required) (1/3)     

• GetWellNetwork bought by private equity firm
  GetWellNetwork, a developer of communication systems for patient rooms, was recently acquired by Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe. GetWellNetwork is known for its PatientLife System that features several nursing functions, such as a dashboard that can be used to see profiles of patients and send messages. Health Data Management (1/3)     

• Lexmark expands with acquisition of Acuo Technologies
  Lexmark International has expanded Perceptive Software, a company it purchased in 2010, through its acquisition of medical imaging software provider Acuo Technologies. The deal, which will integrate the product lines of Acuo and Perceptive, will boost efforts to develop a new tool for additional medical content that is accessible through EHR systems, Lexmark said. Health Data Management (1/3)     

Events Calendar

Upcoming events are managed by the Health IT SmartBrief team.
Please email healthITevents@smartbrief.com to have your event added.

1/23	A World Congress Webinar: Obtaining FDA Approval for your Medical Mobile App World Congress, Jan. 23, Online, 1 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. EST

2/3	Leadership Strategies for Information Technology in Health Care HIMSS, Feb. 3, Harvard School of Public Health

2/19	National HIPAA Summit HCCA, Feb. 19 to 21, Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C. or online

Click here to view the complete calendar of events

Career Track

• Health management analytics firm names new CEO
  Dr. Robert Mandel has been promoted to CEO of Health Dialog, a population health management analytics developer. He previously served as market and business development executive vice president for the company and held positions at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tennessee and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts before that. Modern Healthcare (subscription required) (1/3)     

WEDI News

• WEDI launches new website to help industry implement health IT initiatives
  With the numerous health IT regulatory demands on the health care industry, there is a great need for access to critical information to help companies meet those demands. In support of helping the health care industry meet the requirements of HIPAA and the Affordable Care Act, WEDI is pleased to announce the recent launch of its new website. Visit www.wedi.org for more information on the myriad resources available. The new website includes:
  
  • Free access to WEDI's Knowledge Center, containing whitepaper and issue briefs on critical health IT topics
  • The ability to search the website by workgroup or topic
  • Access to a health IT innovative showcase that displays industry practices
  • A new health IT compliance guide and key regulatory timeframes
  • A vendor marketplace to search for vendor solutions
      

SmartQuote

Beware the fury of a patient man." --John Dryden, British poet, critic and playwright