A New Effort Creates a Coordinated Mental Health Delivery System for Veterans and Their Families

The North Texas Collaborative, a new organization formed by five D-FW agencies, aims to expand access to mental health care for area veterans and their family members.

CMS Finalizes $3.5 Billion Boost in Acute Hospital Spending in New Rule

The Trump administration finalized a rule that increases payment rates for general acute care hospitals by up to 2.9% and boosts add-on payments for new technologies in the next federal fiscal year. 

AI-Assisted EHR Documentation Will Need Human Help

A new study published in the Journal of American Medical Informatics Association this week shows that, although AI documentation assistants (or digital scribes) offer great potential in the primary care setting, they will need to be supervised by a human until strong evidence is available for their autonomous potential. 

VA Rolls Out New Patient-Appointment Tool, as Part of Electronic Health Record Modernization Transformation

A critical component of VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) effort, the Centralized Scheduling Solution (CSS) will be implemented at all VA health facilities to expedite patient-care coordination throughout the department.

Telehealth Boosts Mental Health Patient Engagement, Care Plan Compliance

Within just days of the COVID-19 state of emergency declaration, New York Psychotherapy and Counseling Center transformed 95% of its care to telemedicine. NYPCC has received positive feedback from both patients and clinicians on the move to telehealth.

VA Responds to COVID-19 With Schedule Revisions to Electronic Health Record Implementation

After delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) revised its previous schedule to convert facilities to its new electronic health record (EHR) capabilities with updated timelines for deployments in August in Columbus, Ohio, and October in Spokane, Washington. 

Tester, Blackburn Bill to Bring Reforms to VA Information Technology Programs Unanimously Passes Senate

The Senators’ Department of Veterans Affairs IT Reform Act would bring more accountability and oversight to the office within VA charged with delivering IT projects critical to providing care and benefits to millions of veterans and their families across the country.

Legislators and Healthcare Organizations Rally in Favor of Bipartisan Telehealth Bill

The legislation would eliminate most geographic and originating site restrictions on the use of telehealth in Medicare, authorize the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service to continue reimbursement for telehealth for 90 days beyond the end of the public health emergency and enable the HHS to expand telehealth in Medicare during all future emergencies and disasters.

Federal District Court Upholds CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule

On June 23, 2020, a federal district court upheld a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulation that requires hospitals to publicly report information regarding their standard charges, including privately negotiated charges with commercial health insurers, effective January 1, 2021.

With Coronavirus Cases Surging, VA's "Fourth Mission" Now Covers 46 States

As new Coronavirus hotspots have emerged across the country, the Department of Veterans Affairs has so far deployed nearly 1,000 of its own medical professionals to 46 states as part of its “fourth mission.”