Breaking News & Announcements

Reminder: Deadline for Eligible Professionals to Register Intent for a Public Health Measure is March 1 02-26-2015
If you are an eligible professional participating in the Medicare or Medicaid EHR Incentive Program and are planning to meet one of the Stage 2 public health...
CMS Announces Extension for EPs Participating in PQRS via EHR and QCDR (QRDA III format) 02-26-2015
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is pleased to announce that the submission deadlines for the PQRS reporting methods below have been...
New EHR Attestation Deadline for Medicare Eligible Professionals: March 20, 2015 02-26-2015
Eligible professionals now have until 11:59 pm ET on March 20, 2015, to attest to meaningful use for the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive...
CMS Working to Support Transition to ICD-10 02-26-2015
The International Classification of Diseases, or ICD, is used to standardize codes for medical conditions and procedures. While most countries already use...
Public Health Objectives: Reporting Requirements in Stage 1 and Stage 2 02-12-2015
Public health registry reporting is required for providers participating in the EHR Incentive Programs. Objectives include submitting data to an immunization...
ONC issues draft nationwide health IT Interoperability Roadmap 02-02-2015
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) today released Connecting Health...
Better, Smarter, Healthier: In historic announcement, HHS sets clear goals and timeline for shifting Medicare reimbursements from volume to value 01-28-2015
In a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on January 26, 2015, it was announced that in a meeting with nearly two...
2015 PQRS Payment Adjustment and Providers who Rendered Services at RHCs/FQHCs 01-28-2015
On November 10, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began distributing letters to Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS)...
Eligible Professional 2014 Attestation Deadline on February 28; Prepare for Attestation 01-28-2015
If you are an eligible professional participating in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, you have until February 28, 2015 to attest to demonstrating...
Review Updated Information on Reporting Menu Objectives 01-22-2015
CMS has released updated guidance on the how eligible professionals should select menu objectives for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record...
ACT NOW to Join the New Practice Transformation Network in Pennsylvania 12-22-2014
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center announced that it will be funding Practice Transformation Networks (PTN) to provide...
HHS awards $36.3 million in Affordable Care Act funding to reward and expand quality improvement in health centers 12-09-2014
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell today announced $36.3 million in Affordable Care Act funding to 1,113 health centers in all 50...
Use DIRECT to Meet the Summary of Care Measure 12-04-2014
DIRECT is a form of secure e-mail that provides the standards and services necessary to securely push content from a sender to a receiver. DIRECT benefits...
How to Report Once in 2014 for Medicare Quality Reporting Programs 11-13-2014
Providers participating in the 2014 PQRS program may be eligible to report their quality data one time only to earn credit for multiple Medicare quality...
CMS Releases Final Payment Rules for the Medicare Program 11-03-2014
In a press release issued on October 31, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the release of final rules outlining how...
HHS Secretary announces $840 million initiative to improve patient care and lower costs 10-23-2014
New initiative will support networks that help doctors access information and improve health outcomes In a press release from the Department of Health and...
CMS Announces Spotlight on 2014 CAHPS for PQRS Survey 10-13-2014
Are you part of a group practice of 25 of more eligible professionals participating in PQRS via the Group Practice Reporting Option (GPRO) in 2014? Consider...
CMS Announces Hardship Exemption Application Submission Period Reopened Until November 30 10-09-2014
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its intent to reopen the submission period for hardship exception applications for...
REC Program Reaches Important Milestone 10-02-2014
The Regional Extension Center (REC) program, established in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, was tasked with the goal of providing...
Eligible Hospitals: Meeting Meaningful Use in 2015 with 2014 Edition Certified EHR Technology (CEHRT) 10-02-2014
The 2015 program year for the EHR Incentive Programs began on October 1, 2014 for eligible hospitals. Medicare eligible hospitals beyond their first year of...
PQRS GPRO Registration Extended Until October 3 10-01-2014
The Physician Value-Physician Quality Reporting System (PV-PQRS) registration system will remain open until Friday, October 3rd, 2014 11:59 PM EDT and can be...
Medicare EHR Incentive Program Attestation Deadline for Hospitals is November 30 10-01-2014
Hospitals participating in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program have until November 30, 2014 to attest to demonstrating meaningful use of the data collected...
New and Updated FAQs for the EHR Incentive Programs Now Available 09-24-2014
To keep you updated with information on the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, CMS has recently added one new FAQ and updated seven FAQs to the CMS...
Volunteers Sought for ICD-10 End-to-End Testing in January: Forms due October 3 09-24-2014
During the week of January 26-30, 2015, a sample group of providers will have the opportunity to participate in ICD-10 end-to-end testing with Medicare...
PA REACH Proud Partner in National Health IT Week 2014 09-17-2014
National Health IT Week is September 15-19, 2014. Initially designed to raise national awareness of health information technology, National Health IT week...
Learn More About Patient Electronic Access Requirements 09-04-2014
If you are an eligible professional participating in the EHR Incentive Programs, you will be required to meet Patient Electronic Access measures. Patients’...
Review Final Rule to Determine Your CEHRT Participation Options for Program Year 2014 09-04-2014
On August 29, 2014, CMS released a final rule that allows providers participating in the EHR Incentive Programs to use the 2011 Edition of certified electronic...
​HHS Final Rule Sets ICD-10 Compliance Date to October 1, 2015 08-01-2014
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a rule today finalizing Oct. 1, 2015 as the new compliance date for health care providers, health...
Visit the eCQM Library Page to Review the Combined 2015 CMS QRDA Implementation Guide 07-30-2014
The Combined 2015 QRDA Implementation Guide for eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs) to use for reporting...
Learn More about Summary of Care Meaningful Use Requirements in Stage 2 07-17-2014
If you are an eligible provider participating in the EHR Incentive Programs, you will have the option of reporting the Summary of Care menu objective in Stage...
Group Practices Can Now Register for Group Practice Reporting Option for 2014 PQRS Participation 07-17-2014
Eligible professionals (EPs) who wish to participate in the 2014 PQRS program as a group practice can now register for the group practice reporting option...
Review Your 2014 PQRS Interim Claims Feedback Data 07-17-2014
If you are an individual eligible professional who has reported at least one PQRS quality measure this year via claims-based reporting, you can now view first...
$800,000 HIPAA settlement in medical records dumping case 06-25-2014
Parkview Health System, Inc. has agreed to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule...
NEWS ALERT: Former ONC Chief Launches ACO Startup, Aledade 06-18-2014
Company will help primary care physicians form Accountable Care Organizations to deliver better care at lower cost Backed by a $4.5 million investment led by...
From Coverage to Care initiative helps people make the most of their new health coverage 06-18-2014
“From Coverage to Care” outreach to engage doctors and new patients  On June 16, 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a...
Stolen Laptops Lead to Important HIPAA Settlements 04-24-2014
Two entities have paid the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) $1,975,220 collectively to resolve potential violations...
Five Steps to Addressing Heartbleed in a Medical Practice 04-17-2014
by: Adam Kehler, PA REACH Privacy & Security Specialist What is Heartbleed? You may have read about a new vulnerability that has been released called...
Learn More About the Batch Reporting Option for 2014 04-17-2014
Are you part of a group practice with multiple eligible professionals or part of a system of eligible hospitals participating in the Medicare Electronic Health...
Eligible Professionals Must Start Medicare EHR Participation in 2014 to Earn Incentives 04-17-2014
If you are an eligible professional for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, 2014 is the last year you can start participation in the Medicare EHR Incentive...
Changes in Stage 1 MU Criteria that Begin in 2014 04-17-2014
Are you a Medicare eligible professional who is participating or planning to participate in Stage 1 of the Medicare or Medicaid EHR Incentive Program this...
New & Updated EHR Incentive Programs FAQs 04-10-2014
CMS has recently added three new FAQs and four updated FAQs to the CMS FAQ system to keep you updated with information on the Medicare & Medicaid EHR...
2014 CEHRT Hardship Exemption Guidance Now Available for EPs 04-10-2014
If you are an eligible professional (EP) and you are unable to implement EHR Technology certified to the 2014 edition certification criteria in time to...
Obama Signs 'doc-fix' Bill - Delays ICD-10 Compliance Deadline 04-10-2014
The Associated Press reports that on Tuesday, April 1, 2014, President Barack Obama signed into law legislation to give doctors temporary relief from a flawed...
HHS Releases Security Risk Assessment Tool to Help Providers with HIPAA Compliance 03-28-2014
On Friday, March 28, 2014, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the release of a new security risk assessment (SRA) tool to help...
2014 CEHRT Hardship Exception Guidance Announced Today 03-11-2014
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today issued guidance for eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals that are...
Next Edition of EHR Technology Certification Criteria Issued 03-06-2014
Progress by HHS increases interoperability and supports clinical and delivery reforms On February 21 2014 the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for...
​​NEW Health IT Literature Review Report and Interactive 03-05-2014
ONC recently updated its Health IT Dashboard with the results of a comprehensive literature of the impacts of health IT titled: Health Information Technology:...
HHS Issues HIPAA Guidance on Sharing Information Related to Mental Health 02-27-2014
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released new guidance explaining how the HIPAA Privacy Rule operates to protect individuals' privacy...
Happy 4th Birthday to the REC Program 02-14-2014
This month marks the 4th birthday of the Regional Extension Center (REC) Program, and what a four years it’s been. In a HealthIT Buzz blog post, ONC’s Mat...
New EHR Attestation Deadline for Eligible Professionals: March 31, 2014 02-07-2014
CMS is extending the deadline for eligible professionals to attest to meaningful use for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program 2013 reporting year from 11:59 p.m....
Dr. Nilesh Patel Recognized as 2013 Hypertension Control Champion 02-07-2014
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Million Hearts® initiative recognized Dr. Nilesh V. Patel, from Audubon, PA, as one of nine Champions of the...
PA REACH Partners with PA Department of Health on CDC Grant 02-06-2014
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has been awarded a grant from the CDC to prevent and control diabetes, heart disease, obesity and associated risk...
2014 is the Last Year Eligible Professionals Can Earn a PQRS Incentive Payment 01-30-2014
This is the last year eligible professionals can earn an incentive payment for satisfactorily reporting PQRS quality data to CMS, and this year’s participation...
ONC Releases New Practice Transformation Video for Providers 01-28-2014
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) recently released a new video which discusses how Regional Extension Centers across the country,...
Medicare EPs Must Attest by February 28 at 11:59 p.m. to Receive 2013 Incentive 01-23-2014
If you are an eligible professional (EP), the last day you can register and attest to demonstrating Meaningful Use (MU) for the 2013 Medicare EHR Incentive...
HHS Makes Progress on Health IT Safety Plan with Release of the SAFER Guides 01-16-2014
New tools will help providers and health IT developers make safer use of EHRs A new set of guides and interactive tools to help health care providers more...
HHS Names New ONC Chief 12-20-2013
Karen DeSalvo, MD, will take over national coordinator for health information technology,HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on Thursday, December 19,...
CMS Announces New Meaningful Use Timeline 12-09-2013
Regional Extension Centers Continue to Offer Providers Support On Friday December 6, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
NEWS ALERT: MU Deadline Pushed Back 1 Year 12-06-2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is giving providers another year to show they've met the Stage 2 criteria of the federal...
New and Updated FAQs for the EHR Incentive Programs 11-25-2013
To keep you updated with information on the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, CMS has recently added nine new and three updated FAQs to the CMS...
PA REACH Provider Selected as Million Hearts® Challenge Finalist 11-22-2013
Dr. Nilesh V. Patel, a solo provider and PA REACH partner, was recently selected as a finalist for the national 2013 Million Hearts® Hypertension Control...
CMS Has Meaningful Use Resources for Pediatricians 10-02-2013
This July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that more than 300,000 providers have received payment for successfully...
Compliance Date for HIPAA Omnibus Rule – September 23, 2013 09-24-2013
In January 2013, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services issued a HIPAA Omnibus Rule which implemented a number of provisions of the Health...
National Health IT Week - September 16-20, 2013 09-16-2013
Initially designed to raise national awareness of health information technology, National Health IT week offers the opportunity for some celebration in its...
EHRs Scarce at Assisted-Living Facilities 09-12-2013
By Joseph Conn      Posted: September 11, 2013   A small minority of the nation's assisted-living and other residential care communities used...
New & Updated FAQs for the EHR Incentive Programs from CMS 09-05-2013
To keep you updated with information on the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, CMS has recently added four new and five...
Steps to Avoid Negative Payment Adjustments under PQRS and Value Modifier 09-05-2013
Physicians and other health care professionals who provide Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) covered professional services need to be aware of...
Learn More About Submitting Quality Data for the EHR Incentive Programs for 2013 09-05-2013
Providers must report clinical quality measures (CQMs) to CMS to demonstrate meaningful use under the EHR Incentive Programs. For the 2013 reporting year,...
PA REACH Attends ONC Million Hearts® Conference 08-15-2013
Several members of the PA REACH team attended the ONC Million Hearts® Conference held in Washington, D.C. on August 14 and 15, 2013. The ...
Doctors and hospitals’ use of health IT more than doubles since 2012 05-22-2013
More than half of America’s doctors have adopted electronic health records HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced that more than half of all...
Guidance for EPs: How to Participate in Both the Medicare EHR Incentive Program and PQRS in 2013 and Beyond 05-16-2013
Providers who treat Medicare patients and bill for Part B services on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) may be eligible for two incentive programs at...
ONC Interoperability Training Courses Offered Online 05-02-2013
The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) has developed training modules around the Stage 2 Meaningful Use (MU) Rule to train Eligible Professional (EPs)...
CMS Stage 2 Toolkit Now Available 03-20-2013
The CMS Stage 2 Toolkit is now available for download from the CMS Web site. This Toolkit is an interactive document that provides users with resources...
CMS Has Added New and Updated EHR Incentive Program FAQs to the CMS FAQ Website 02-07-2013
To keep you updated with information on the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, CMS has recently added two new and four...
HHS announces first HIPAA breach settlement involving less than 500 patients 02-07-2013
The Hospice of North Idaho (HONI) has agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) $50,000 to settle potential violations of the...
HIPAA Omnibus Rule Released 01-28-2013
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released the much-awaited Omnibus Rule with modifications to HIPAA as required by the HITECH Act of...
Take Advantage of Resources to Help Providers Enroll in the Medical Assistance EHR Incentive Program 12-28-2012
As part of the Medical Assistance EHR Incentive program, you will need to complete the enrollment application at CMS and then complete the Pennsylvania MAPIR...
2013 Medicare Physician Schedule Update from CMS 12-20-2012
The negative update of 27 percent under current law for the 2013 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2013.   Medicare...
Get Paid for 2012: Stay Informed of Key Program Deadlines for the EHR Incentive Programs 12-17-2012
December 31 Deadline: The reporting year ends on December 31, 2012 for eligible professionals (EPs) participating in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive...
2012 Consumer Health IT Summit: Expanding Access to Health Information 09-26-2012
In case you missed it, ONC opened National Health IT Week on Monday September 10, 2012 with a consumer summit to highlight recent progress and catalyze future...
Health IT Promotion Goes Direct-To-Consumer 09-14-2012
Most U.S. physicians are in the process of implementing electronic health records, motivated by the incentives provided through the HITECH Act.  As physicians...
ONC Launches a New Privacy & Security Game 09-12-2012
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONC) Office of the Chief Privacy Officer (OCPO) has released its first web-based...
Stage 2 Meaningful Use - Learn About It 09-11-2012
The 2014 Edition S&CC final rule completes the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) second full rulemaking cycle to...
National Health IT Week (September 10-14, 2012) Educational Opportunities 09-10-2012
The Seventh Annual National Health IT Week is being held September 10-14, 2012. Health IT Week brings together the entire health IT community under one...
Sixty Two RECs Changing Health Care, One Provider at a Time 09-10-2012
America’s health care system is making progress in embracing health information technology (health IT). That’s according to a July 2012 study by the National...
Find Out How the Stage 2 Rule Affects Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Participant 09-06-2012
On August 23, CMS announced the final rule for Stage 2 of the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs. The rule provides new...
PA REACH is a Proud Partner in National Health IT Week 2012 09-06-2012
The Pennsylvania Regional Extension & Assistance Center for HIT (PA REACH) — as a partner in the advancement of health information technology to help...
CMS Finalizes One-Year Delay on ICD-10 to October 2014 08-24-2012
The federal government has finalized a one-year delay in the compliance deadline for the nationwide conversion to ICD-10 code sets. The delay, first proposed...
HHS Announces Next Steps to Promote Use of EHRs and Health Information Exchange 08-24-2012
On August 23, 2012, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the next steps in the Obama administration's work to help doctors and...
CMS Releases Stage 2 Meaningful Use Final Rule 08-23-2012
On August 23, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the final rule for Stage 2 of meaningful use in the EHR Incentive Payments Program....
DIRECT Grant Program Enrollment Deadline Extended to 10/31/12 08-13-2012
PA REACH received confirmation from the Pennsylvania eHealth Collaborative (PAeHC) that the deadline to enroll in Pennsylvania's DIRECT grant program, which...
ONC Permanent Certification Program for Health Information Technology 07-24-2012
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is pleased to announce the selection by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office of the...
Health IT Certification Bodies and Test Labs Accredited 07-19-2012
The first accreditations of Health Information Technology Certification Bodies and Test Laboratories have been announced.In June 2011, the Office of the...
Steps to Assess How the ICD-10 Transition will Affect your Organization 07-13-2012
Although the final rule on the proposed ICD-10 deadline change has yet to be published, it is important to continue planning for the transition to ICD-10. The...
Hospital Health Exchange Goes Live 07-12-2012
Doctors regionwide begin sharing data July 10, 2012 11:53 pm By Bill Toland / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette...
PA REACH East's Peter Mercuri Elected to Delaware Valley HIMSS Board of Directors 07-02-2012
PA REACH East Coordinator Pete Mercuri was recently elected to a two-year term on the Delaware Valley Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society...
PA REACH MUVers Participate in Health IT Events at the White House 06-22-2012
On June 18 and 19, 2012, the U.S. Department and Health and Human Services (DHHS) hosted two national Health IT events: the Health IT Vanguard Conference and...
More than 100,000 health care providers paid for using electronic health records 06-19-2012
CMS and ONC surpass 2012 goals for EHR adoption and use More than 100,000 health care providers are using electronic health records that meet federal...
Toolsets Available to Help Pharmacists and Physicians Implement E-Prescribing 06-19-2012
Two toolsets, one for physicians in small practices and one for independent pharmacies, for supporting e-prescribing implementation are now available from the...
PA REACH’s HIT Privacy and Security Officer Selected for National HIMSS Privacy and Security Committee 06-12-2012
PA REACH's HIT Privacy and Security Officer Nathan Gibson was recently selected by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) to be part...
PA REACH Providers Invited to Health IT Town Hall Meeting at the White House 06-01-2012
PA REACH is thrilled to announce that four of our Meaningful Use Vanguard (MUVer) providers have been invited to attend a Health IT Town Hall Meeting at the...
Health IT Buzz Blog: What to do if you have a question about your certified EHR 05-31-2012
Health IT Buzz Blog: May 25, 2012   The ONC Certification Program staff receives comments and questions by phone and e-mail that are related to the adoption,...
Medicare Electronic Prescribing Payment Adjustment Hardship Exemption 05-22-2012
In 2009, CMS implemented the Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program, which is a program that uses incentive payments and payment adjustments to...
Dr. Donald Wilson Receives Distinguished Service Award from PAeHI 04-24-2012
Dr. Donald Wilson, Medical Director for Quality Insights of Pennsylvania and PA REACH, was recently honored by the Pennsylvania eHealth Initiative (PAeHI) with...
New health care law provisions cut red tape, save up to $4.6 billion 04-17-2012
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a proposed rule that would establish a unique health plan identifier under...
PA REACH Privacy & Security Specialist Featured on National Panel 03-27-2012
ONC’s Mobile Device Roundtable: Safeguarding Health Information On March 16, 2012, the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) hosted a Mobile Devices...
CMS Announces Extension of Enforcement Discretion Period for Updated HIPAA Transaction Standards Through June 30, 2012 03-15-2012
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Office of E-Health Standards and Services (OESS) is announcing that it will not initiate enforcement action...
Pennsylvania Health Professionals and Hospitals Receive Over $177 Million for Using EHRs in a Meaningful Way 03-14-2012
PA REACH Helps Pennsylvania Providers Qualify for Meaningful Use and Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Payments As part of a nationwide transformation to an...
HHS Secretary Sebelius Announces Next Stage for Providers Adopting EHRs 03-01-2012
On Friday, February 24, 2012, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the next steps for providers who are using electronic health...
Stage 2 Meaningful Use Announced 02-24-2012
The Department of Health and Human Services has sent to the Federal Register two notices of proposed rulemaking for Stage 2 of the electronic health records...
HHS Announces Intent to Delay ICD-10 Compliance Date 02-16-2012
As part of President Obama’s commitment to reducing regulatory burden, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen G. Sebelius announced that HHS will...
CMS Has Updated the EHR Information Center with Enhanced Functionality 02-02-2012
CMS is proud to announce that after a review of collected feedback, enhancements and changes have recently been made to the EHR Information Center Interactive...
One Year Milestone for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs Marked on Tuesday, January 3, 2012 02-02-2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012 was the one-year anniversary of the start of registration for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive...
GE to Discontinue Centricity Advance EHR System 01-31-2012
GE Healthcare is pulling the plug on its Web-based Centricity Advance electronic health-record system for office-based physicians, the company announced....
Dr. Mostashari Hits the NPR Airwaves: Moving Health Care Into The Information Age 01-30-2012
On January 10, 2012, Dr. Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, was a guest on the Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU 88.5 FM, the...
Meaningful Use Top 10 Special Report from iHT2 01-18-2012
Recently the Institute for Health Technology Transformation (iHT2) conducted an analysis of the most current data sets provided by the Centers for Medicare and...
PA REACH East - In The News 01-18-2012
The Moscow Villager - Posted Jan 12, 2012 The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced recently that the network...
Understanding Meaningful Use Core Measure 14 for Eligible Professionals 11-23-2011
Meaningful Use Core Measure 14 for EPs evaluates whether a provider's electronic health record (EHR) system can exchange key clinical information...
Hamilton Health Center Makes National News for MUVer Award 11-03-2011
Hamilton Health Center Honored as a Meaningful Use Vanguard (MUV) by PA REACH East Hamilton Health Center was recently featured in articles that were carried...
Recent Data Breaches - Important Lessons Learned 11-03-2011
Adam Kehler, PA REACH, HIT Privacy & Security Specialist In the interest of staying current on trends in data breaches, I would like to call attention to...
PA REACH East Hosts MUVer Ceremony to Honor Eight Pediatric Practices 10-28-2011
Eight Philadelphia area pediatric practices were recognized at a ceremony hosted by the Pennsylvania Regional Extension & Assistance Center for HIT (PA...
PA REACH East Hosts MUVer Ceremony at Pocono Medical Center 10-19-2011
Twelve area medical practices were recognized at a ceremony hosted by the Pennsylvania Regional Extension & Assistance Center for HIT (PA REACH) for their...
PA REACH East Hosts First Meaningful Use Vanguard Ceremony 09-16-2011
Philadelphia Area Health Care Providers Recognized as Leaders in Transition to Electronic Health Records Nine Philadelphia area medical practices were...
Medicare Providers Must Begin to Revalidate By March 2013 08-12-2011
All providers and suppliers who enrolled in the Medicare program prior to Friday, March 25, 2011, will be required to revalidate their enrollment under new...
RECs Help Small Practices Achieve MU 05-17-2011
Implementing an EHR and achieving meaningful use is a whole lot easier with a helping hand   The April 26, 2011 Physicians Practice online newsletter...
Health Care Organizations Release Updated Guide to E-Prescribing 04-29-2011
Five partner organizations issued an updated 2011 edition of A Clinician’s Guide to Electronic Prescribing. This “how-to” guide helps health care professionals...
First Practice Working with PA REACH East Achieves Meaningful Use 04-21-2011
Congratulations to Fredericksburg Community Health Center for becoming the first provider working with PA REACH East to successfully attest and...
MGMA Issues Findings on Doc EHR Use 04-08-2011
Ambulatory-care physicians who have implemented an electronic health record system are largely satisfied with their purchases, and their satisfaction increases...
CMS: Want ACO Savings? Start with Meaningful Use 04-05-2011
Health information technology and its meaningful use will glue together many of the key elements of accountable care as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid...
Mapping workflow before EMR selection 04-05-2011
A lot of studies have recently come out looking at productivity declines that are typical following the implementation of EMRs. Everyone expects the decrease...
The Benefits of Health Information Technology: A Review of the Recent Literature Shows Predominantly Positive Results 04-04-2011
An unprecedented federal effort is under way to boost the adoption of electronic health records and spur innovation in health care delivery. We reviewed the...
Direct Project Specifications Achieving Widespread Adoption: Could Positively Impact Care Coordination Soon for Millions of Americans 03-31-2011
The Direct Project announced that over 60 health care and health IT organizations, including many state-based and private-sector health information exchanges,...
HHS Unveils Quality Improvement Strategy 03-25-2011
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has unveiled its National Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care, a detailed road map the...
New survey shows EHRs benefit even small providers 03-15-2011
A survey of studies from recent years shows that health information technology has benefited healthcare providers, even small practices, refuting other recent...
ONC Announces Launch of "Direct Project" Pilots 03-01-2011
View the press conference announcing the launch of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONC) Direct Project with...