The following are some of the biggest stories circulating in the health IT sphere this past week.
1. UPMC, Pitt ink commercialization agreement
Pittsburgh-based UPMC has reached a commercialization agreement with the University of Pittsburgh, which gives researchers a built-in licensing partner with built-in terms to help get treatments to patients as quickly as possible. Read more
2. Cerner opens database to local hospitals
Cerner has partnered with University of Missouri-Kansas City and Kansas City, Mo.-based Truman Medical Centers to offer the hospitals access to their database. The hospitals can compare patient observations to data in the database for population health research purposes. Read more
3. Physicians must attest to MU to participate in CMS' Oncology Care Model
CMS recently announced a new payment and delivery model for physician practices administering chemotherapy, but physicians who want to participate in the new model must be actively attesting to meaningful use. Read more
4. Apple Watch ditches some health functions
Apple decided to drop some of the health functions on its app due to issues with sensors. Read more
5. Epic to launch app exchange
Verona, Wis.-based Epic Systems announced plans to launch its own app store which will allow outside companies to develop applications that work with Epic's EHR platform, similar to the Apple App Store. Read more
6. Cerner ranked best EHR-based HIE
Black Book Rankings released its Health Information Exchange market research report, which named Cerner as the best vendor for EHR-based HIEs. Read more
7. Kaiser Permanente Hawaii reports potential data breach affecting 6,600
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, based in Kailua-Kona, has notified approximately 6,600 patients of a potential data breach after a box containing prescription paperwork fell out of a courier vehicle in Honolulu. Read more
8. Lawsuits against Community Health Systems combined
Five class-action lawsuits against Community Health Systems after a data breach in 2014 have been combined to streamline the legal process. Read more
9. Oregon sues Oracle again
The Oregon state government has filed a lawsuit against Oracle for suddenly dropping its website hosting for the state's Medicaid program. Read more
10. 800,000 HealthCare.gov enrollees received incorrect tax information
The federal government sent inaccurate tax information to approximately 800,000 people who signed up for health insurance through HealthCare.gov. The forms contained incorrect benchmark premiums, which are used with projected incomes to determine the tax credits consumers will receive to subsidize the cost of their premiums. Read more
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