Featured Report: Online site to test health apps for usability, trustworthiness

Online site to test health apps for usability, trustworthiness

Fierce Mobile Healthcare Nov,25,2013 by:+Greg Slabodkin An international health app website has been launched to help patients and the public find the most suitable mobile health apps, according to an article posted by PMLiVE. My Health Apps, which aims to help bring health apps into mainstream healthcare, promises to test every app it features for usability and trustworthiness. Read More

UCSF First To Receive Approval To Use Google Glass in Surgeries

iHealthBeat Nov,27,2013 by:+Staff The University of California-San Francisco has received approval from the Institutional Review Board to use Google Glass, Google's computerized eyeglasses, during surgeries, the Sacramento Bee reports.It is the first of such approvals in the U.S. by the board. Details of Approval Pierre Theodore, a cardiothoracic surgeon at UCSF, has performed 10 to 15 surgeries using Google Glass.The device sends de-identified radiographic images from a secure site. Surgeons then can use the images while performing surgical procedures (Craft, Sacramento Bee, 11/26). Read More

Medicare to pay flat rate for clinic visits

Modern Healthcare.com Nov,27,2013 by:+Joe Carlson and Beth Kutscher Despite criticism from hospitals and doctors, the CMS intends to pay flat rates for Medicare visits to outpatient clinics instead of payments that vary with the severity of the patient's condition. However, the agency decided not to enact a similar policy for emergency-room visits-at least for the time being. The 1,200-page outpatient prospective payment system rule for 2014, posted the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving, says the agency is changing its longstanding approach to paying for clinic visits because of a widespread concern that the old system encourages upcoding. Read More

EHR Incentive Program Healthcare Professionals Did You Know? Non-hospital-based physicians and other eligible professionals can obtain incentive payments of as much as $44,000 under Medicare or $63,750 under Medicaid. Under both Medicare and Medicaid, eligible hospitals may receive millions of dollars for implementing and meaningfully using certified EHR technology. About two-thirds (65 percent) of hospitals and 32 percent of office-based physicians plan to enroll in meaningful use programs by the end of 2012 in order to receive the maximum incentives, according to survey results announced Thursday morning. Fewer federal dollars will be available to hospitals and doctors that wait to adopt EHR technology, and failure to meaningfully use EHRs starting in 2015 will result in Medicare penalties. Watch this video about how to register for the EHR Incentive program. EHR Incentive Program Registration Do you need help with HIPAA and HITECH? Then download and Read our HIPAA Guide for for Doctors and Small Clinics that contains HIPAA security regulations and check lists that you can use to start your EMR network.