HHS is searching for the best idea for a system that captures essential data from durable medical equipment, such as loss of power, GPS location and privacy-protected user information during emergencies.
Thousands of people in the U.S. rely on electrically powered durable medical equipment to meet their medical needs at home and often have to find help in shelters or emergency rooms during extended power outages, according to HHS.
The department's office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, or ASPR, kicked off the Ideation Challenge, a contest to find ideas for determining the location and the status of durable medical equipment—such as oxygen concentrators and portable ventilators—to help users in emergencies. The system should also gather the power level and battery life of the equipment and the time and date. HHS envisions a network that's accessible to all those who use durable medical equipment in their homes and sends data securely to other secure information systems.
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The American College of Physicians is nervous about where HHS is headed with the criteria for meaningful use of electronic health records.
The organization wrote a letter to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology addressing “what has been released for Stage 2 and what we have been told to expect for Stage 3” in the federal EHR meaningful-use program.
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HHS has more than a mobile strategy. It also has 33 mobile apps to back up its plan, and recently sent out an e-mail to tout them.
It's all part of a larger Digital Government Strategy launched by the Obama administration in May 2012 based on the premise that “all Americans should be able to access information from their government anywhere, anytime and on any device.”
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Stepped-up federal funding resulted in more seniors receiving training in how to stop Medicare fraud in 2012, but the latest annual survey of the $20 million program shows it produced $134,000 in actual savings.
Many illegal schemes rely on seniors who aren't savvy in how fraudsters and opportunists can use Medicare numbers to bill for care and equipment that is unneeded or never delivered. The Obama administration greatly increased the funding in 2010, 2011 and 2012 to bolster the so-called Senior Medicare Patrol program, which educates them with a branch in each U.S. state, plus Washington, D.C. and three territories.
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Healthcare fraud may be growing, but the number of fraud cops who work to stop it is shrinking.
The Center for Public Integrity reports that HHS' Office of the Inspector General, which generates an $8 return for every dollar invested in battling fraud, is shedding staff members by the hundreds because of recent budget cuts.
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