Weekly Nephrology/Health IT News Roundup: July 22, 2011

Federal Budget Battle Won’t Threaten ‘Meaningful Use’ Dollars
Despite threats from fiscal conservatives to withdraw unspent money from President Obama’s stimulus legislation, HIMSS official says EHR incentive program is now officially an entitlement, and thus government is obligated to fund it.
 
Meaningful Use Paves Way For Health IT Megatrends
Even if you’re still struggling to comply with Stage 1 Meaningful Use requirements, there’s no time like the present to be looking ahead to Stages 2 and 3. The next stages of the HITECH Act’s Meaningful Use regs are coming, as are painful transformative challenges for healthcare providers.
 
Lawmakers Introduce Bill That Would Increase Meaningful Use Incentive Payments for Multi-Campus Hospitals
To improve fairness in incentive payments, lawmakers have introduced bi-partisan legislation that would allot higher incentive payments to multi-campus hospitals that meet meaningful use criteria.
 
CMS Releases ESRD PC Pricer Software
PC Pricer software just released by CMS allows users to enter information to predict reimbursement to a renal dialysis facility based on the type of dialysis and various patient characteristics.
 
FDA Defines Its Authority Over Mobile Medical Apps
The burgeoning mobile medical applications business gets a look at how the government plans to regulate some of the industry.
 
CDC Releases Infection-Prevention Guide for Dialysis Clinics
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week released an infection prevention guide and a checklist for healthcare providers in dialysis clinics and other outpatient settings.
 
Top-Ranked Hospitals for Nephrology
U.S. News surveyed nearly 10,000 specialists and examined data for almost 5,000 hospitals to rank the best in 16 adult specialties, including nephrology.
 
Top-Ranked Hospitals for Pediatric Nephrology
U.S. News ranked the top 50 centers for children with serious kidney disorders. Children’s Hospital Boston leads the pack.
 
IT Is Key to Preventing HAIs
A new whitepaper from GE Healthcare IT highlights the crucial role IT must play in preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), which affect 1.7 million inpatients each year and are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.
 
Steps Needed to Ensure That Home Medical Devices Are Easy-to-Use And Caregivers Are Well-Trained
A new report recommends steps the FDA and other agencies and professional associations can take to ensure that the medical devices and health information technology used in home health care are easy and safe for laypeople to use and that caregivers, whether formal or informal, are well-trained.
 
Staff Shortages Looming in Wake of Healthcare Reform
One consequence of the expanded access to healthcare facilitated by healthcare reform will be a shortfall in the necessary numbers of physicians and other advanced medical professionals.
 
Study Examines Factors in Pediatric Kidney Transplant Rejection
Avoiding HLA-DR mismatching appears to be beneficial in pediatric kidney transplant patients, however the likelihood of finding a matching donor must be considered against the wait time for a possible donation, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Surgery.
 
CMS Director Says Doctors Want ACOs
Jonathan Blum, deputy administrator and director for the Center of Medicare at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, says doctors see the inefficiencies in healthcare today and are eager to try accountable care organizations.