Leader named in the fight against Ebola.

Obama has promised more action in the fight against Ebola and, as a result he has called on Ron Klain to lead efforts against the disease. Klain served as the chief of staff for both Vice President, Joe Biden and former Vice President, Al Gore. He left that post in 2011 and is currently serving as the president of Case Holdings in addition to his role as general counsel for Revolution.

NBC News reports that Klain is charged with protecting the U.S. from the disease and is responsible for coordinating the U.S. efforts to stop Ebola in West Africa.

ONC shines the spotlight on interoperability in its yearly report.

The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) submitted their annual report to Congress. One of the primary topics in the report is interoperability, most notably, the ten-year road map that the ONC is currently developing. The report highlighted the lack of uniform standards as a barrier to nationwide interoperability. It stated, “Electronic health information is not yet sufficiently standardized to allow seamless interoperability, as it is still inconsistently expressed through technical and medical vocabulary, structure, and format, thereby limiting the potential uses of the information to improve health and care.

What does the Meaningful Use / MIPS hardship exemption mean?

CMS has announced that it will re-open the Meaningful Use / MIPS hardship exemption submission period through November 30, 2014. This is for those who have been unable to demonstrate Meaningful Use / MIPS in time to avoid the 2015 Medicare payment adjustments. This extension is specific to eligible hospitals that were unable to attest by July 1, 2014 (and eligible professionals who were unable to attest by October 1, 2014) using the flexibility options provided in the CMS 2014 CEHRT Flexibility Rule. It is only available to providers who attest that they were unable to fully implement 2014 Edition CEHRT due to delays in 2014 Edition CEHRT availability. 

If you are among the group of healthcare providers who haven’t yet attested to Meaningful Use / MIPS because you are having issues obtaining and implementing 2014 certified software, and your challenges weren’t eased by the 2014 CEHRT Flexibility Rule, this extension offers you an opportunity to request an exemption. If you are currently participating, and struggling to meet phase 2 goals for the first time this year, this extension won’t help.