EHRs

HHS' interoperability rule, issued last year by CMS and finalized March 9, will require Medicare and Medicaid plans to adopt standard application programming interfaces that will help patients access their electronic health data more easily.

HHS on March 11 published a summary highlighting the changes made from its proposed interoperability rules to the final regulations, which were posted earlier this week.

Epic, Cerner, Google and Microsoft are just a handful of health IT companies speaking up about HHS' interoperability rules, which were finalized March 9.

HHS released its much-anticipated final rules on EHR interoperability, ruling against "information blocking" tactics by EHR vendors and giving patients more control over their medical records.

PatientKeeper, an EHR optimization software company, welcomed Philip Meer as its new CEO, per a March 9 news release.

Hospitals and health systems with an Epic EHR can use various tools within the system to help treat and prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to a March 9 company blog post.

The American Medical Association on March 9 announced it will "undertake aggressive action" over the next few weeks to review HHS' finalized interoperability rules and ensure the regulations meet the needs of patients and physicians.

Epic's EHR ambient voice technology will offer clinicians the ability to look up patient information and document care via voice command, according to a March 9 company blog post. 

The American Medical Association recently released a digital playbook to help physician practices navigate challenges associated with giving patients access to their electronic health information.

Epic is altering its travel policy and allowing some employees to work virtually in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to a March 6 Channel 3000 report.