U.S. docs lagging on interoperability

With help from Arthur Allen (@arthurallen202), Sarah Owermohle (@owermohle) and Mohana Ravindranath (@ravindranize)

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Quick Fix

— U.S. docs lagging on interoperability: American primary care physicians are middle of the pack when it comes to interoperability, an international Commonwealth Fund survey says.

— Surprises for health IT: The deal to address surprise bills includes higher spending on health data systems and telehealth grants, among other items.

— Hahn confirmation expected: And FDA commissioner nominee Stephen Hahn is set for Senate confirmation as soon as today.

And more. But first, the jump.

eHealth tweet of the day: Farzad Mostashari @Farzad_MD “On explaining lack of data sharing, @CrisJRoss invokes Hanlon’s razor, so I fixed it for him:

‘Never ascribe to incompetence that which is adequately explained by financial incentives’”

WEDNESDAY: It’s holiday party season, at least for your correspondent. Any good party tales? Share by email at [email protected]. Discuss festivities socially @arthurallen202, @dariustahir, @ravindranize, @POLITICOPro and @Morning_eHealth.

Driving the Day

U.S. DOCS LAGGING ON INTEROPERABILITY — American primary care physicians aren’t besting their international peers on data-sharing, a new survey conducted by the Commonwealth Fund shows.

The survey, published in Health Affairs, examined doctors’ attitudes to care coordination in 11 rich nations and found that American physicians aren’t getting information as often as their colleagues, and don’t have the same access to tech tools.

While 48 percent of American doctors said they received notifications when their patients had been seen in the emergency department, 84 percent of Dutch doctors got the notifications, and doctors in three other countries — Norway, the U.K. and New Zealand — also did better than their U.S. colleagues.

Tech-wise, just over half of American doctors reported being able to electronically exchange patient clinical summaries, lab and diagnostic test results, and medication lists with doctors outside their practices. Physicians in the U.K., New Zealand, Norway and the Netherlands enjoyed better electronic exchange than Americans.

French physicians were more likely to have electronic exchange capabilities for clinical summaries and lab and diagnostic test results, but not medication lists.

The lagging U.S. performance comes after a decade-long infusion of cash, talent and attention stemming from the Obama-era stimulus act.

In Congress

SURPRISE BILLING PACKAGE INCLUDES SOME EHEALTH GOODIES: The big surprise billing deal, S. 1895 (116), includes a lot of, well, surprises for the health IT sector. Among them are cash infusions for public health data systems, telehealth grants for maternal care and all-payer claims databases.

But in one prominent area — a Government Accountability Office study on data held outside of HIPAA — is getting poor reviews from some former HHS officials. The GAO study is pointless since ONC reported on the issue in 2016 and the law has “not changed one iota since then,” tweeted ONC’s former chief privacy officer, Lucia Savage.

“Honestly, this is so disappointing. How many meetings do we need to have on the same topic?” tweeted Genevieve Morris, a former deputy national coordinator at ONC and chief health information officer at the VA who is running for Congress as a Republican in Maryland. “It’s time for action not talk.”

HAHN CONFIRMATION VOTE EXPECTED THIS WEEK — The Senate is expected to vote on the FDA commissioner nominee today, capping a speedy confirmation process for the Texas oncologist.

Hahn was nominated on Nov. 1 and found himself in front of the Senate HELP committee for a hearing on Nov. 20. He largely skated through questions on food and drug policy, sometimes pleading ignorance of FDA regulations and dodging persistent questions on e-cigarette policy.

Hahn is expected to win confirmation in the GOP-controlled Senate, even as Republicans and Democrats alike have pushed for answers on where the administration stands with e-cigarettes.

Elsewhere in Congress — Some other matters capturing legislators’ attention:

— Hearing aids letter: Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are wondering where FDA rules on over-the-counter hearing aids are, sending a letter to acting FDA Commissioner Brett Giroir earlier this month demanding action. The products have been a passion project for the senators for years.

— Former VA nominee filing for Congress run: Ronny Jackson, the former White House doctor and brief nominee for Veterans Affairs secretary, is running for Congress in Texas.

Inside the Humphrey Building

VERMA, AZAR SNIPING DEEPENS — The White House is fixated on the increasingly vicious and public spat between CMS administrator Seema Verma and her boss, HHS Secretary Alex Azar, with aides discussing the practical aspects of potentially replacing one or both officials, POLITICO’s Nancy Cook reports.

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney has called Azar and Verma to the White House for a meeting on Thursday in an attempt to mediate the duo’s months-long personality and policy clashes. Already, Trump told Azar and Verma to knock it off and get along — to no avail, said two senior administration officials.

Our colleagues Rachana Pradhan, Dan Diamond, and Adam Cancryn reported Tuesday that Verma has raised accusations of gender discrimination against both Trump administration HHS secretaries. This comes after a Monday revelation from The Wall Street Journal that the source of some damaging stories about Verma may have been Azar’s office. Democratic Rep. Joe Kennedy has called for Verma to resign over POLITICO reporting that the administrator sought for the government to reimburse her stolen jewelry.

— Acting IG to leave: HHS’ acting inspector general, Joanne Chiedi, is due to retire on Dec. 31, the second departure of that office’s leader in the space of a year, our colleague Dan Diamond reports.

OIG will be responsible for information blocking enforcement whenever HHS finalizes those rules (hopefully not during Christmas). The administration hasn’t nominated a permanent replacement; Christi Grimm, the office’s chief of staff, will serve as the next acting inspector general.

— White House holding mental health summit: The Trump administration will hold a gathering on mental health care next Thursday, our colleague Brianna Ehley reports. The summit will discuss matters including homelessness and low reimbursement rates.

Health IT Business Watch

PUBLIC HEALTH GROUPS CAMPAIGNING AGAINST FACEBOOK MISINFO — Law firms seeking participants in a lawsuit over an AIDS drug are spreading misinformation on Facebook and Instagram, a group of 50 patient and health groups charge in a letter this week to the social media giant’s leader, Mark Zuckerberg.

GLAAD first alerted Facebook about the issue a few months ago when it flagged a series of ads targeting users of Truvada, a medication used both for HIV prevention and to treat HIV-positive patients.

Those ads imply the FDA-approved prescription drug affects bone density and causes kidney issues when used for prevention; research shows that those side effects generally only occur in HIV-positive patients who are using it for treatment, said Peter Staley, founder of the PrEP4All Collaboration. By conflating the two uses, the ads could discourage HIV-negative men from taking preventive measures.

Elsewhere in the business world — Some other updates to share:

— Google/Fitbit deal to be reviewed: The Justice Department will review Google’s pending purchase of the gadget manufacturer Fitbit, Reuters reports. The company’s proposed acquisition has attracted blowback from privacy-minded Democrats. The review comes as privacy advocates also raise alarms over the firm’s partnership with Ascension.

— Outcome Health exec pleads guilty: Ashik Desai, an executive at high-flying startup Outcome Health, has pleaded guilty to his role in an alleged $1 billion fraud scheme at the company, the Chicago Tribune reported. The company placed screens in doctors’ offices that were supposed to deliver advertising and other content — but it’s been accused of inflating its success.

— Personnel notes: Google parent company Alphabet has added a biologist to its board of directors, and Google hired the chief medical officer for wearables startup AliveCor to its health team, CNBC reports. … Health information network CommonWell has named Paul Wilder, formerly of Philips Interoperability Solutions, as its new executive director. … WEDI, a health IT standards nonprofit, has announced its new board, and the sole new member is Joseph Bell of eSolutions. … Startup Podimetrics, which is trying to reduce diabetic foot ulcers, has named Kenneth Kizer, a former undersecretary of the VA, and Ronald Geraty, formerly Alere CEO, to its board of advisers.

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