There has been a lot of talk about Meaningful Use / MIPS Stage 2 delays. This week, we feature news of the decreased likelihood of a delay, in addition to concerns expressed about the abundance of federal mandates. In the midst of these stories of concern, we also feature some helpful articles, that provide recommendations for working towards meeting the enforced federal mandates.

Want to know about Meaningful Use / MIPS delays? Ask the CMS.

Healthcare IT News reports this week on statements made by the director of the ONC’s Office of Policy Planning, Jodi Daniel. She responded to an anonymous question about Meaningful Use / MIPS delays, at the American Medical Informatics Association Annual Symposium.

“We are very focused on making Stage 2 work,” Daniel said Monday during a town hall-style session with ONC leadership. She stated that any possible delay would be determined by the CMS and that the regulatory process to delay Meaningful Use / MIPS Stage 2 could take a year or more, so it appears that a delay is highly unlikely.

Vocal CIO expresses concerns over increasing government mandates

John Halamka, author of Life as a Healthcare CIO and CIO at Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, talked to Fierce Health IT about his concerns over the increasingly overwhelming healthcare mandates and the ever-decreasing amount of time required to implement those mandates. He points to the work required for Meaningful Use / MIPS Stage 2, ICD-10, Omnibus HIPAA, and the Affordable Care Act and comments that it’s too much for many hospitals to handle.

His solution — more delays and pilot tests. For more on his opinions read the Fierce Health IT article or visit Halamka’s blog.

New guidelines for data and patient record safety

Guidelines for the prevention of medical identity theft were released by the Office of the Attorney General of California. Healthcare Informatics provides details about the new guidelines in a recent article. The new guidelines,”Medical Identity Theft: Recommendations for the Age of Electronic Medical Records,” provide details about best practices for healthcare providers and related organizations in the management of patient information. With the increase in breaches we’ve seen recently, this is a helpful guide that should be read by anyone who deals with PHI.

Make your ICD-10 testing matter

ICD-10 Watch published recommendations for ways to get the most out of ICD-10 testing. The article provides best practices for testing in order to ensure accuracy and expose limitations during the planning period, so when the transition to ICD-10 actually happens, providers are prepared.