In 2009 the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was signed into law. This law committed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to facilitate and accelerate the transformation of health information technology (health IT). And now 96% of non-federal acute care hospitals and 78% of office-based physicians utilize certified health IT… [Read More]
Healthcare Data Security: It’s about More than Money
So who should be concerned about healthcare data security? Insurance companies and self-insured employers, obviously. They are the ones who will be footing the bill for fraudulently obtained healthcare. And, big picture, all of us as employees, since we share in the cost of employer-based coverage. Oh, and governments: media reports of Medicaid and Medicare fraud… [Read More]
On the Heels of healthcare.gov, Here Comes ICD-10
Another announcement from CMS, the government agency that brought us healthcare.gov.: Effective 10/1/2014, ICD-10, the long-awaited and delayed new medical procedure code system, will replace ICD-9. ICD-10 will have about 68,000 available and expandable codes (with flexibility for adding new ones) as compared to ICD-9’s rigid 13,000 code system. Digits 1-3 will indicate category; digits… [Read More]
