Alex Baker
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Alex Baker's Latest Blog Posts
Interoperability in Action: ONC Informs CMS Ruling on Hospital Measures for Public Health and Health Equity Reporting
Alex Baker | October 25, 2022
This is the second blog post in a two-part series that examines how policies finalized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in the 2023 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule are advancing the use of interoperable health IT. Previously, we looked at a new measure under CMS’s Promoting Interoperability Program that rewards hospitals for exchanging information under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, or TEFCA.
Read Full Post.Interoperability in Action: CMS Rule Builds on ONC Initiatives to Simplify Health Information Exchange
Alex Baker | October 13, 2022
On August 1, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced final changes to its payment program for acute care hospitals in 2023. The FY 2023 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule also included policies for the 2023 Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program, which rewards eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) for the meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology, and for the Inpatient Quality Reporting Program, which requires hospitals to report data in key areas.
Read Full Post.13 Areas to Improve Electronic Prior Authorization
Alex Baker | May 31, 2022
In January 2022, ONC issued a Request for Information (RFI) that sought public input on the ONC Health IT Certification Program and how it could incorporate standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria related to electronic prior authorization. Shortly thereafter, ONC charged the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC) with providing input and recommendations in response to this RFI. The Electronic Prior Authorization (ePA) RFI Task Force of the HITAC led consideration of the charge and developed a report and recommendations that were recently approved by the full HITAC.
Read Full Post.How Proposed Implementation Specifications for Application Programming Interfaces Would Help to Further Reduce Burden
Alex Baker | December 22, 2020
On December 10, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services released a notice of proposed rulemaking Reducing Provider and Patient Burden by Improving Prior Authorization Processes, and Promoting Patients’ Electronic Access to Health Information, which builds on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Interoperability and Patient Access final rule released earlier this year. This new proposed rule includes additional proposed requirements for payers to implement standards-based application programming interfaces (APIs) that can help address critical health care challenges such as improving the efficiency of prior authorization processes.
Read Full Post.New Case Studies Explore Communities Supporting Accountable Care
Alex Baker | October 31, 2014
A growing number of care providers across the country are participating in value-based payment arrangements that are helping to transition the nation away from traditional fee-for-service methods of paying for health care. While fee-for-service models offer little accountability for health outcomes, more and more providers are using new models that reward their ability to deliver higher quality care with greater efficiency.
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