In 2012, Massachusetts became the first state in the country to enact healthcare cost containment legislation referred to as Chapter 224 by establishing the Health Care Workforce Transformation Fund. The funds are to be used to support education and training initiatives for healthcare employers facing workforce challenges as they adapt their practices to meet the cost containment and quality improvement goals of Chapter 224. (more…)
ONC Advancing Interoperability
The HHS Office of the National Coordinator for HIT recently released the whitepaper “A 10-Year Vision to Achieve an Interoperable Health IT Infrastructure”. The whitepaper is an invitation to health IT stakeholders, clinicians, hospitals, public health, technology developers, payers, researchers, policymakers, individuals, and many others to join ONC in figuring out how to collectively achieve interoperability across the health IT ecosystem. (more…)
MultiPlan Awards Grants
The company MultiPlan Inc. a single gateway to a host of network and analytics-based solutions used to manage financial risks associated with healthcare claims has announced the recipients in the “2014 Rural Health Outreach Grant Program”. (more…)
NHS & GovLab Release Blueprint
The blueprint titled “The Open Data Era in Health and Social Care” developed for the National Health Service” (NHS England) shows how to initiate and accelerate an effective research and learning program to meet the needs of the open data era in health and social care. The blueprint was commissioned by NHS England and written by The GovLab, part of New York University and other world leaders involved in the field of open data usage. (more…)
$300 Million to Community Health Centers
The health center program administered by the HHS Health Resource and Services Administration will receive up to $300 million available under the Affordable Care Act. The funds will help the community health centers expand service hours, hire more medical providers, add oral health practitioners, and add behavioral health, pharmacy, and vision services. (more…)
“Health Datapalooza” Draws a Crowd
Health Datapalooza held June 1-3, 2014 attracted visionaries to discuss the responsible use of open health data. The sessions explored the policies, standards, practices, and collaborations that will enable data sharing across the health system. (more…)
MHCC Updates Activities
The Maryland Health Care Commission’s May 2014 update on the activities of the Center for Health Information and Innovative Care Delivery, reports that currently the Center’s staff is analyzing the data collected from the sixth annual “Health Information Technology Assessment of Maryland Hospitals” survey. The survey is used to assess health IT adoption among all 46 acute care hospitals in the state. (more…)