This week, we saw some positive things happening in the world of healthcare IT. Incentive payments distributed and results released illustrating the value of EHRs are just a couple of the optimistic news items we share this week. Of course, there are still challenges — namely the reality of Stage 2 and the transition to ICD-10. Read on for this week’s Healthcare Industry. Did you see something interesting in the news this week? Let us know!

Big Changes Come with Stage 2

At the Denver Health IT Summit, health IT professionals discussed what the requirements of Stage 2 mean to them. If Stage 1 Meaningful Use / MIPS meant providers had to demonstrate the capability to perform core measures, Stage 2 is where they will actually have to perform them. For providers who have been relying heavily on their vendors, this appears to be an overwhelming proposition.

CMS Has Paid More Than $9.3 billion in Medicare EHR Incentive Program Payments

This week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shared the latest EHR incentive totals. Between May 2011 and June 2013, CMS has paid over $9 billion in incentives to qualifying providers. More than 405,000 eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals are registered in the incentive program. Since January 2011, 49 states have launched their Medicaid EHR Incentive programs.

Recommendations for Engaging Physicians in ICD-10

A recent article in ICD-10 Watch provides thoughts on how to encourage physicians who are behind on ICD-10 readiness. Recommendations include:

• Minimizing memorization
• Avoiding medical coder inquiries
• Enabling physicians to teach themselves
• Choosing the right technology

This article offers helpful recommendations on ways to accommodate the needs of your healthcare providers for a successful ICD-10 transition.

Study Demonstrates How Detailed Data in EMRs Can Be Used to Reduce Readmission

A study in the British Medical Journal Quality and Safety illustrates that using EHR data to categorize high-risk and low-risk heart failure patients can help save lives, reduce preventable readmissions, and make better use of scarce healthcare resources. These findings are a result of a test done at a large Texas hospital that saw a 5% drop in readmission rates. This is a positive illustration of the value of EHRs and the importance of data in healthcare and prevention.