December 2014

MEDICARE EHR MEANINGFUL USE PENALTY NOTICES ON THEIR WAY TO 257,000

On December 21, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began issuing letters to physicians and other health professionals eligible to participate in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program notifying them of a 1% Medicare payment penalty they will incur in 2015 for

Iowa Board of Medicine’s proposed telemedicine rule has been filed – hearing and public comments set for January 15

At its December meeting, the Iowa Board of Medicine (IBM) voted to formally file its proposed rule establishing standards of practice for physicians who use telemedicine. A public hearing on the proposed rule will be held

CMS announced in November the formation of a new Office of Enterprise Data Analytics (OEDA) and named Niall Brennan as the OEDA’s chief data officer. The OEDA’s overarching goal is to harness CMS’ vast data resources for internal and external use as CMS continues to move away from volume-based to value-based care.

Brennan, who has

PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE MEDICARE SHARED SAVINGS PROGRAM (MSSP) – COMMENTS DUE BY FEBRUARY 6 – SHARED SAVINGS BY IOWA ACOS

On December 1, 2014, CMS released a rule proposing several significant changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and calling for input on options under consideration to encourage greater participation in two-sided risk

Physician Practices Must Remain Vigilant in Responding to Subpoenas for Mental Health Information

Review of In the Interest of A.M. v. Thomas, Iowa Supreme Court, November 21, 2014

Summary. In a case it calls one of first impression, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a subpoena to compel the testimony of a psychotherapist regarding the