AARP Report Fuels Debate Over Drug Pricing; AHIP, PHRMA, NCPA And PCMA Join In

A new report by AARP’s Public Policy Institute, which concluded that prices for Medicare’s most commonly used brand-named drugs dramatically increased in 2009, has prompted debate among several players in the health care sector. An insurance industry source says AARP’s finding that drug prices increased by 8.3 percent in 2009 is [...]

AMA Weighs in on ‘Meaningful Use’ Requirements For E-Records

When we wrote about the response to the government’s final “meaningful use” requirements for electronic medical records, there was a notable absence: the American Medical Association.
(Yes, we know the majority of the country’s licensed docs don’t belong to the group, but it’s still influential, spending more than $20 million on lobbying last year, according to [...]

AMA presses for changes to electronic health record regulations

The American Medical Association on Wednesday said federal regulations governing the adoption of electronic health records (EHR) create barriers for some physicians to shift to paperless records.
The regulations were released last week. They determine how hospitals and physicians’ offices can become eligible for federal incentive [...]

Firms ready for health IT push

Technology companies are ramping up their health care businesses ahead of an expected influx of equipment orders from hospitals and doctors who want to start using electronic health records.
Now that the Obama administration has finalized the rules by which health care providers can be reimbursed for the [...]

Doctor touts benefits of electronic health records

WASHINGTON — The federal government will pay out billions in Medicare and Medicaid incentives to health care providers that begin using electronic medical records over the next decade, and a Hudson Valley doctor expressed support Tuesday for the reimbursements that will allow others in the nation to follow his lead.
At a House Ways and Means [...]

How Will ‘Meaningful Use’ Factor Into Doctor and Hospital Rankings?

Would you be more likely to choose a medical provider that has embraced electronic medical records?
The first round of requirements for what constitutes “meaningful use” of digitized medical practices and procedures were released on Tuesday. By meeting the government’s benchmarks, medical practices and hospitals can qualify for [...]

eRx rate in NY state to see ‘explosive growth’

The electronic prescribing rate in upstate New York increased from 12 percent in 2009 to 17 percent in the first quarter of 2010, representing 3.6 million new and renewed prescriptions on an annual basis, according to a new report. The report suggests that this number will grow [...]

HHS releases digital records rules

The Obama administration’s release of long-awaited standards for digitizing medical records finally gave the green light to information technology companies that have been waiting to cash in on billions in stimulus dollars.
Between the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and health care reform legislation, about $27 [...]

EHR Rules Loosen Requirements; Multi-Campus Hospitals Get One Payment

HHS made it easier for hospitals and doctors to receive incentive payments for using electronic health records by reducing the number of requirements they must meet to be considered “meaningful users” of EHR in a pair of rules released today. But hospital are disappointed that CMS will give a single base payment to hospitals with [...]

Final rule on meaningful use finally released

Less than three months before the start of fiscal 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has finally released its final rule on “meaningful use,” which will drive the health IT industry’s installation ofElectronic Health Records (EHRs)under last year’s HITECH Act.
(To the right, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius, from the department’s Web site.)
The release was done [...]

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