This has been a big week in healthcare. The news is full of stories related to the Affordable Care Act, and the resulting government shut down. You have likely heard enough on these topics, so instead of providing more coverage on these stories, our weekly roundup will focus on more positive news. However, I suggest that you watch the interviews conducted on Jimmy Kimmel, revealing that most Americans don’t know that Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act are the same thing. It is both entertaining and alarming.

Alright, on to other news…

Recommendations for Improving EHR Usability

The move to electronic health records (EHR) is a great opportunity that poses a number of challenges. Usability is a significant barrier. EHR design must have the user in mind, and in many cases, the existing systems have fallen short of this requirement. In a recent article in Healthcare IT News, Sue Bowman, Senior Director of AHIMA provides a list of recommendations for increasing EHR usability.

These recommended tactics may be helpful for the many hospitals looking to implement or transition to new EHRs.

Mostashari to Join the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform

Today is Farzad Mostashari’s last day as the head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. While his departure is a loss for the department of Health and Human Services, it’s not a complete loss for the healthcare IT industry. Modern Healthcare reported this week that Mostashari would be moving to the Engelberg Center at the Brookings Institute where he will focus on the improvement of care and patient health using health IT.

Find Out Who Has the Best Hospital IT Department

This week, Healthcare IT News announced the winners for Best Hospital IT Departments for 2013. The program, in its third year, examines a variety of attributes that contribute to a positive workplace environment. This year, over 5,000 IT employees from 107 hospitals, completed the 67-question online survey.

The winning hospitals and additional details can be found here.

Survey Shows that ICD-10 Implementation Issues Continue 

We are now less than one year away from the ICD-10 deadline and according to a new survey by coding vendor, Health Revenue Assurance Holdings (HRAA), many hospitals are under-prepared and at risk of exposing their organizations to dangerous claims denials. According to the report — covered by Healthcare Informatics — this is a result of a lack of understanding related to what ICD-10 codes will be accepted by payers.