After spending an estimated $127 million over nine years on its outpatient scheduling system project, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has not implemented any of the planned system’s capabilities and is essentially starting over, according to a June 28 report published online by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The Ethics in Patient Referrals Act, known as the Stark Law, was passed almost 15 years ago to prevent physicians from benefiting from referrals that provide them financial gain. However, even after its passage, Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services still struggle with the law's provisions and restrictions.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) needs to resolve long-standing deficiencies in securing its information and systems, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The House Energy & Commerce Chair Henry Waxman, D-Calif., Ways & Means Committee Chair Sandy Levin, D-Mich., and Ways & Means Subcommittee on Health Chair Pete Stark, D-Calif., recently called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to perform a study regarding the effects of physician self-referral of advanced medical imaging and radiation therapy treatments on Medicare spending.
A report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on March 19 found that while the FDA is aware of the challenges it faces as an agency, it has been hesitant to implement strategic planning procedures to fix the problems.
A February report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on health information exchanges (HIEs) cited ways that sharing electronic personal health information about a patient has had a positive effect on the quality of care providers deliver to patients.
The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) interoperability efforts continue but the interagency program needs to implement improvements, according to a January report by the General Accountability Office (GAO).
Democrats from the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 30 unveiled a revised healthcare reform proposal—H.R. 3692, the Affordable Health Care for America Act—which the Congressional Budget Office estimated carries an $894 billion price tag for the federal government.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) Monday released a report outlining how profiling physicians to give them confidential feedback on their Medicare spending could potentially save money for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Although states are now using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to support Medicaid programs, they are worried about sustaining those programs once stimulus money disappears in 2011, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) review of stimulus spending.
The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 has had a disproportionately negative impact on radiologists’ private office MRI and CT practices compared with other physicians, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
The FDA has long maintained that resource constraints prevent it from meeting its responsibility to oversee the safety and effectiveness of medical products and devices. In a report issued in June, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) agreed.
The American College of Radiology (ACR) is asking its members to contact their Representative to request that a recent bill prohibiting physician self-referral be rolled into the healthcare reform bill introduced last week in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., has introduced HR 2962, the Integrity in Medicare Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Act of 2009, to the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill seeks to amend Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to exclude "certain advanced diagnostic imaging services" from the in-office ancillary services exception to the Stark Law's prohibition on physician self-referral.
A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released June 22 has revealed that "significant gaps" in access to screening and treatment services for breast and cervical cancer exist both between states and within states, according to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Advocacy Alliance.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., introduced legislation to establish a private, nonprofit corporation that will research and compare clinical outcomes of alternative therapies and health strategies.
The FDA is developing a plan to modernize its IT systems and infrastructure in response to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which revealed that the agency does not have such architecture in place to support its modernization efforts.
Although federal agencies reported increased compliance in implementing key information security control activities for fiscal year 2008, inspectors general are still noting shortcomings with implementation of information security requirements, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has named 13 members to the Health Information Technology Policy Committee, an advisory group established by the economic stimulus law that will make policy recommendations for the development and adoption of a nationwide health IT infrastructure, including standards for the exchange of patient data.
CHICAGO—The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is a "once in a lifetime event" for providers to grab economic incentives to adopt health IT, but the government still must define vague terms and settle on certification requirements, according to David W. Roberts, vice president of government relations for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
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