Welcome to the weekly edition of Healthcare IT Today Bonus Features. This article will be a weekly roundup of interesting stories, product announcements, new hires, partnerships, research studies, awards, sales, and more. Because there’s so much happening out there in healthcare IT we aren’t able to cover in our full articles, we still want to make sure you’re informed of all the latest news, announcements, and stories happening to help you better do your job.
News and Research
The Connected Health Initiative released recommendations for state-level policymakers to strike a balance between protecting personal health information and supporting the use of digital health tools. Overall, the organization recommended taking a community-based approach to ensuring that PHI isn’t shared and used improperly while avoiding duplicative regulations or unnecessary restrictions on data sharing that’s directly tied to patient care.
The HIMSS EHR Association urged ONC to avoid moving too quickly with the Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability proposed rule. In a letter, the organization said the combination of tight timelines and compliance requirements would place an undue burden on vendors. The organization also called for better alignment of deadlines for developers to deploy new software versions and for providers to use them.
An Epic Research evaluation found that clinical notes in May 2023 were 8% longer than those in April 2020, despite 2021 CMS changes to evaluation and management (E/M) CPT billing codes aimed to reduce the administrative documentation burden. That said, 90% of providers spent less time writing clinical notes, with the average time spent writing decreasing 11%.
A survey of members of online physician community Sermo found that 54% of surgeons are hesitant to use first-to-market products without seeing robust clinical evidence first, as 68% said clinical evidence is a primary driver of whether they trust a new device or technology. The survey, commissioned by Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon, also found that 41% of surgeons believe their job is harder now that it was before the pandemic.
Research from Inovalon and Harvard Medical School highlighted growing differences in enrollment of fee-for-service Medicare and Medicare Advantage, which now accounts for 48% of all Medicare beneficiaries. The report found that Medicare Advantage enrollees are twice as likely to be non-White, have an average annual income that’s 11% lower, and were 50% more likely to be enrolled in an HMO plan before turning 65.
Partnerships
- Value-based care analytics company Clarify Health is integrating Ideon‘s provider network database into its competitive intelligence software.
- Clinical guidance provider MCG Health is making its Learning Management System available to Shearwater Health‘s nurse educators.
Product and Company News
- Operations management software maker Laudio rolled out at Northwell Health and Nebraska Medicine.
- Consumer engagement company Carenet Health hired Rhonda Gibler as Chief Sales Officer.
- Care utilization platform Loyal appointed Lauren Struck as Chief People Officer.
If you have news that you’d like us to consider for a future edition of Healthcare IT Today Bonus Features, please submit them on this page. Please include any relevant links and let us know if news is under embargo. Note that submissions received after the close of business on Thursday may not be included in Bonus Features until the following week.
