CMS

Regenstrief Updates LOINC with 800 Concepts for Health Data Exchange

February 28, 2024 - Regenstrief Institute has issued its semiannual release of LOINC (Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes), which includes updates to support health data exchange for various interoperability use cases. LOINC is a global standard for health terminology created and maintained at Regenstrief Institute. LOINC release 2.77 includes...


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What Providers Can Expect for Information Blocking Enforcement

by Hannah Nelson

While the 21st Century Cures Act prohibited information blocking in 2016, healthcare interoperability has remained a persistent challenge across the country. The Cures Act defines information blocking as any practice likely to interfere...

CMS Releases Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule

by Hannah Nelson

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized the CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule (CMS-0057-F). The rule outlines requirements to streamline health...

HHS Releases Proposed Rule for Information Blocking Disincentives

by Hannah Nelson

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a proposed rule for public comment that would establish disincentives for healthcare providers found by the HHS Office of Inspector...

EHR Clinical Note Length Continues to Grow Despite Coding Changes

by Hannah Nelson

Despite EHR coding changes enacted in 2021 aimed at reducing documentation burden, an Epic Research report has found that the average EHR clinical note length has continued to increase. Researchers...

ONC Releases Draft USCDI+ Quality Data Element List for Comment

by Hannah Nelson

ONC recently published the draft USCDI+ Quality data element list for public comment. Through USCDI+ Quality, ONC seeks to extend the United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) standard to...

EHR Documentation Time Dips After CMS E/M Coding Changes

by Hannah Nelson

Clinician EHR documentation time went down slightly following changes to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) coding requirements, according to...

ONC, CMS Partner on Proposed Rules for HIE Interoperability

by Hannah Nelson

Two new proposed rules from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) aim to advance health information exchange (HIE) interoperability and streamline prior authorization processes. The...

HHS Proposes New Data Standards for Electronic Health Data Sharing

by Sarai Rodriguez

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have proposed a new rule to implement data standards, which would improve the electronic...

AHA Asks CMS to Halt National Healthcare Provider Directory Operation

by Sarai Rodriguez

The American Hospital Association (AHA) detailed several concerns and requested that CMS not proceed with the proposed national healthcare provider directory, the trade group said in a public comment...

CMS Publishes RFI for National Healthcare Provider Directory Data Hub

by Hannah Nelson

CMS has published a request for information (RFI) on establishing a National Directory of Healthcare Providers & Services (NDH) that could serve as a data hub for healthcare provider, facility, and...

CMS IPPS Policies Set to Advance Public Health Data Exchange

by Hannah Nelson

Policies in the CMS 2023 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule aim to advance public health data exchange, according to an ONC HealthITBuzz blog post. The 2023 IPPS rule expands the...

ACOs Call on ONC, EHR Vendors for CMS eCQM Reporting Support

by Hannah Nelson

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has made it a goal to move to electronic clinical quality measures (eCQM) by 2025. However, accountable care organizations (ACOs) often work with multiple EHR vendors and systems, which...

‘Meaningful Use’ EHRs May Be Key to Improved Quality of Care

by Hannah Nelson

The use of EHRs has resulted in improved quality of care, according to a study published in Journal for Healthcare Quality. In 2011, CMS established the “Meaningful Use” program, now known...

CMS Needs Better Medicaid Data Quality to Support Health Equity

by Hannah Nelson

Poor data quality is limiting the ability of CMS to measure health equity in the Medicaid program, according to a HealthAffairs article. CMS has made efforts to improve Medicaid administrative data...

DirectTrust Gains ANSI Approval for ADT Event Notifications Data Standard

by Hannah Nelson

DirectTrust announced that the Event Notifications via the Direct Standard has been approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a national data standard. DirectTrust developed...

NAACOS Launches ACO Digital Quality Measurement Task Force

by Hannah Nelson

The National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) has launched a new task force to develop recommendations for ACO digital quality measurement.   The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) aims...

AMA Applauds CMS Decision to Re-Open MIPS Application Period 

by Hannah Nelson

The American Medical Association (AMA) has released a statement regarding the CMS decision to re-open the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) application period. “The American Medical...

How Hospitals Should Approach EHR Self-Assessment, ONC SAFER Guides

by Hannah Nelson

Hospitals should form multidisciplinary teams to complete EHR self-assessment using ONC SAFER (Safety Assurance Factors for EHR Resilience) guides, according to an article published in JAMA. In August...

Should EHR Vendors Share Health IT Patient Safety Responsibility?

by Hannah Nelson

While a new CMS policy aims to improve patient safety through hospital self-assessment of EHR systems, EHR vendors should also be responsible for assessing their products to ensure they meet federal...