Welcome to HIMSS' Health IT Policy Update, bringing you the latest news on legislative and regulatory activities related to health IT from HIMSS' Government Relations office. We welcome your feedback, and if you're reading this complimentary newsletter online or receiving it as a forward, please subscribe.

Register Today for HIMSS 13th Annual Policy Summit (September 17-18, 2014)!
Early bird registration is now open through Aug. 9 for the HIMSS 13th Annual Policy Summit, Sept. 17-18, 2014, in Washington, DC. At this event, participants will hear from current national health IT thought leaders; learn about key Congressional health IT priorities; and network with
 

[Institute for e-Health Policy Summer 2014 Interns] (Top row, from left to right: Gabe Aquino, Sushen Thiyagarajan, Alex Cohn and supervisor Richard Hodge. Bottom row, left to right: Amena Ahmed and Esther Kim)

Education and Student Experiences - Central to HIMSS Core Mission 
The Institute for e-Health Policy summer Internship Program provides college and post baccalaureate students interested in healthcare and public policy the opportunity to gain hands-on professional experience to help advance their career goals. This summer we had the pleasure to work with five extraordinary interns.

Congressional Affairs

Senate Labor H. Approps Draft Report Language Questions Interoperability
A draft report from Senate Appropriations Committee had language that question Information blocking and interoperability. This report accompanied the Senate Appropriations Committee 2015 HHS spending bill.

Senate Labor H. Appropriations Bill Prohibits Funds for Patient Identifiers
Patient-data mismatches are a significant and growing problem.  According to industry estimates, between eight and 14 percent of medical records include erroneous information tied to an incorrect patient identity, costing hundreds of millions of dollars per year to correct and resulting in serious risk to patient safety. 

House Subcommittee on Health Holds Markup on Health IT-Related Bill
House Subcommittee on Health markup a bill  that would direct the Secretary of HHS to make recommendations for the development and use of clinical data registries that are integrated with clinical practice guidelines and best practices or standards of care.

House Holds Markup of Seven Health and Telecommunications Bills
The House Energy and Commerce Committee met to markup health-related legislation to include a bill related to health information technology.

House Holds Hearing on Telemedicine
Members of the subcommittee on Health and Technology received testimony on the use of telemedicine and its effect on small and solo physicians. The hearing examined the use of telemedicine and its possibilities for small medical practices.

Federal Affairs

CMS Releases Final Rule to Confirm New ICD-10 Compliance Date of October 1, 2015
Four months after President Obama signed into law a one-year delay in the ICD-10 code switchover, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced a final rule establishing October 1, 2015, as the new ICD-10 compliance date.

Next Federal Health IT Business Development Workshop Scheduled for September 16
The Federal Health IT Business Development Workshop is an all-day, interactive, event designed as “insiders” workshops that will help small, medium, and large businesses entering the Federal Health IT market as well as those with experience selling into the Federal Health IT space.

ARHQ Report Highlights Strategies for Implementing CDS in Hospitals
AHRQ has released a new report, “Findings and Lessons from AHRQ’s Clinical Decision Support Demonstration Projects”. The report focuses on case studies developed by Brigham and Women’s hospital and Yale University designed to demonstrate how hospitals can translate clinical knowledge and guidelines into formats that can be used by multiple electronic health systems. 

2014 DHITS Highlights EHR Acquisition and the Transformation to a More Globally Integrated Healthcare System
DHITS held a symposium at The Caribe Hotel in Orlando, Florida. This symposium provided critical information management and information technology (IM/IT) knowledge, shares innovative ideas, discusses lessons learned and new developments.

DHA Seeking Comments on Interoperability of Healthcare Data
One of DHA's goals is to achieve greater integration of our direct and purchased healthcare delivery systems to accomplish the Department's Quadruple Aim: achieve medical readiness, improve the health of our people, enhance the experience of care, and lower our healthcare costs.

Medicare Trustees Report Projects Extended Medicare Solvency
Report projects that the trust fund that finances Medicare’s Part A insurance coverage will remain solvent until 2030, four years beyond what was projected in last year’s report.

FDA Releases More mHealth Guidance
This draft guidance describes the FDA's intent to exempt certain class II and Class I medical devices that are subject to the reserved criteria of section 510(1) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

HIMSS News

Register Now to Learn More about Navigating the ONC HIT Certification Process
The CCHIT webinar is August 6 and offers a healthcare provider’s perspective from Dr. John Halamka

HIMSS and the AMA Introduce Podcast Series on Patient Engagement and Health Information Exchange
HIMSS and the American Medical Association (AMA) introduce a collaborative, three-episode series of discussions through the HIMSS HIE inPractice Podcasts

CMS Announces Changes to QIO Program
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is restructuring the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program to create a new approach to improve care for beneficiaries, families and caregivers.

HIMSS and CHIME Submit Comments to Standard Occupation Classification Revisions
HIMSS Submits Comments on the Standard Occupational Classification which classifies all occupations in the economy to provide a means to compare occupational data produced for statistical purposes across agencies.

ONC Says that new HIT Safety Center Will Not Regulate
ONC Says that new HIT Safety Center will not regulate the new Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Health IT Safety Center will not act as a regulatory body according to a July 8th letter submitted to House Republicans by ONC.