AHIMA has published a new toolkit, “Amendments in the Electronic Health Record,” that provides guidance on how to maintain the integrity and accuracy of an electronic health record system (EHR) when staff use the system’s amendment functionality.

Today the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the final rule that changes the implementation deadline for the transition to ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS from October 1, 2013 to October 1, 2014. HHS concluded that delaying ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS by one year does the least to disrupt existing implementation efforts and minimizes the costs of delay while affording the small provider community an additional year to become compliant. AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon, MBA, RHIA, FACHE, CAE, said in a press release, “ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation is inevitable, but today’s news gives the healthcare community the certainty and clarity it needs to move forward with implementation, testing, and training.”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) have released final rules and requirements for the stage 2 meaningful use EHR Incentive Program.

With the recent release of the stage 2 “meaningful use” EHR Incentive Program measures and standards, new challenges and exciting opportunities are knocking at healthcare providers’ and vendors’ doors. The HITECH Act, published in 2009, launched the EHR Incentive Program, which promotes the adoption and meaningful use of health IT software by US healthcare providers. While providers have the opportunity to receive incentive payments for early adoption of certified software, those not adopting certified EHR systems will be financially penalized starting in 2015. Based on the timeline given in the final rule, providers should begin working to demonstrate meaningful use in 2013 in order to be compliant by 2015.

The use of health information technology (IT) and patient-centered principles play a role in the overall improvement of care, according an Agency for Helathcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) report. Published June 2012 through the AHRQ-developed Johns Hopkins University Evidence-Based Practice Center (EPC), the report found “substantial evidence exists” that health IT applications featuring patient-centered care components have a positive effect on healthcare outcomes.

According to a new whitepaper from NET(net), healthcare organizations pay more for technology than any other industry. Of the 30 industries sampled in the survey, “healthcare organizations pay an average 17% more than that of the other 29 industries…and 33% more than the industry with the lowest average costs,” according to the authors.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released an interim administrative simplification final rule for electronic funds transfer (EFT) and remittance advice (ERA)­­, open for public comment until October 9. The implementation and use of these newest operating rules is expected to encourage electronic payments and to reduce administrative inefficiencies associated with continued paper and manual processes.

The American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) has awarded the Journal of AHIMA an award for editorial excellence.