The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced that Medicare coverage policies would be revised “to support the use of [continuous glucose monitors] in conjunction with a smartphone, including the important data sharing function they provide for patients and their families.” In turn, the agency’s contractors, known as Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), modified
Incoming HHS Secretary Tom Price Brings Physician-Focused Perspective to Health IT
Tom Price, the Republican representative from Georgia, has been tapped by President-elect Trump as the new Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Rep. Price is himself an orthopedic surgeon and comes from a family of doctors and, as a result, is focused closely on the ways in which government regulations burden the doctor-patient relationship. At an American Enterprise Institute event this past June, Rep. Price criticized the Affordable Care Act for allowing the government, rather than doctors and patients, to control the manner in which healthcare is offered.
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Obama Administration Releases Final Data Security Policy Principles and Framework for Its Precision Medicine Initiative
Last week I published an article on the Inside Medical Devices Blog, discussing eight data security principles that companies participating in the Precision Medicine Initiative should aim to meet. The Administration’s guidance document additionally recommends a basic framework that organizations collecting, storing, and sharing patient information should adopt as current best practices. The full post
HHS Proposes Rule to Increase ONC Review and Oversight of Certified Health IT
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) recently proposed a rule to enhance ONC oversight and accreditation of health IT. Under the rule, the ONC’s primary goal would be to work with health IT developers to remedy any non-conformities with certified health IT. The proposed rule focuses on three areas:
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CMS Extends Meaningful Use Attestation Deadline
On February 11, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) extended the attestation deadline for health-care providers in the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Meaningful Use program. Originally, providers were required to attest that they met the requirements of the Meaningful Use Program by next Monday, February 29, 2016. That deadline has been extended by
CMS Acting Administrator Prioritizes Simplicity and Interoperability In Implementing MACRA
This week, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt set forth guiding principles that CMS will consider in crafting regulations implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). In January, Administrator Slavitt announced the end of the Electronic Health Records (EHR) Meaningful Use Program, which would instead be replaced by a “new regime culminating with the MACRA implementation.”
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CMS Commits to Investing in Medicaid Technology Systems
On January 11, 2016, Acting Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”), Andy Slavitt, highlighted investment in Medicaid as one of the “single biggest opportunities in the health care sector.”
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Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Releases Draft Report Calling for Further Research into Telehealth
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released a draft report conducting a literature review of studies researching the effectiveness of the current telehealth system. The report was initially requested by Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL) and John Thune (R-SD) to examine the value of telehealth and remote patient monitoring, with a focus on expanding
The AMA’s Telehealth Services Workgroup Convened for its Foundational Meeting to Discuss the Development of New Telemedicine Billing Codes
On October 8, 2015, the American Medical Association’s new Telehealth Services Workgroup met for the first time, as it began to consider ways to expand current telehealth service Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Codes. The AMA has recognized that the CPT code set must be updated to accurately reflect the telehealth services provided to patients, particularly as telehealth technology continues to advance and emerging telehealth services and remote patient monitoring becomes more important to the management of patient care.
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