Reminder: SLR not accepting 2014 meaningful use attestations until April The California Department of Health Care Services reminds physicians that the State Level Registry (SLR) will not be accepting 2014 meaningful use attestations for the Medi-Cal Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program until April 1, 2014. This restriction only applies to 2014 meaningful use attestations. Physicians who are in the first participation year of the program and are adopting, implementing or upgrading (AIU) to a certified EHR rather than demonstrating meaningful use can submit 2014 AIU attestations beginning January 1, 2014. For more information, visit www.medi-cal.ehr.ca.gov. January 14, 2014 Medi-Cal Department of Health Care Services, EHR, Electronic Health Record, Meaningful Use, Health Information Technology 0 0 Comment Read More »
CDPH launches new public health reporting gateway The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recently launched an online portal for public health reporting called the CDPH Health Information Exchange (HIE) Gateway. The gateway will serve as a single point of entry for data submission to many state public health programs, including the California Immunization Registries (CAIR) and the California Reportable Disease Information Exchange (CalREDIE). The goal of the gateway is to improve upon data exchange, analysis and reporting capabilities, while helping hospitals and health care professionals meet the public health reporting objectives under the Centers for Medicare ... October 28, 2013 General Public Health, Reporting Diseases, Health Information Technology 0 0 Comment Read More »
Are your business associate agreements up-to-date? Physician practices must review and update business associate agreements to comply with new HIPAA regulations. HIPAA requires a physician practice to enter into a written business associate agreement with any third party contractors or vendors that may create, receive, maintain or transmit protected health information on behalf of the physician practice. These agreements describe how the business associate will use and protect the protected health information it receives from the physician practice. The new HIPAA regulations, known as the HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule, implement many of the key provisions of ... October 23, 2013 General HIPAA, Medical Records, Health Information Technology 0 0 Comment Read More »
House of Delegates Highlights House of Delegates acts on hospital care The California Medical Association (CMA) House of Delegates has voted to take action on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) "outpatient patient observation" status, finding it to be a practice that places undue financial burden on patients, complicates the practice of medicine and often results in physicians receiving reduced payments for services provided. ​Resolution 211-13, which received strong support on the floor of the House, was submitted as an emergency resolution and asked that CMA request that CMS eliminate its "outpatient patient ... October 14, 2013 General Advocacy, California Political Action Committee, CALPAC, Electronic Health Record, Health Information Technology, MICRA, Professional Liability, EHR, House of Delegates, Insurance/Reimbursement 0 0 Comment Read More »
FDA issues final guidance on mobile medical apps The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued final guidance for developers of mobile medical applications (apps) or software programs that run on mobile communication devices and perform the same functions as traditional medical devices. According to an agency press release, the FDA intends to focus its regulatory oversight on a subset of mobile medical apps that present a greater risk to patients if they do not work as intended. "Mobile apps have the potential to transform health care by allowing doctors to diagnose patients with potentially life-threatening conditions outside ... September 25, 2013 General Health Information Technology, Food and Drug Administration 0 0 Comment Read More »
Are you ready for the next HIPAA compliance deadline? The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released new regulations in January 2013 that made important changes to the privacy and security requirements under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). These new regulations, known as the HIPAA Omnibus Rule, implement many of the provisions of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. Covered entities have until September 23 to comply with these changes. Physician offices will, at minimum, need to review and update their business associate agreements, office privacy and security policies and ... August 22, 2013 General Health Information Technology, HIPAA 0 0 Comment Read More »
