HLN Learnings  Newsletter
CMS Promoting Interoperability in 2021: All good things must come to an end?
We have spent  years  involved with the management of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services ( CMS ) Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Programs which were created by the  HITECH Act  (2009). But the provisions of the HITECH Act are due to expire on September 30, 2021. Read our blog on this momentous event.
New Report: Top Challenges Facing HHS Includes Harnessing Data
In November 2019 the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a new report,  Top Management and Performance Challenges Facing HHS . Divided into six major sections, this report reviews the OIG’s observations with respect to financial integrity of HHS programs, value and quality, protecting the health and safety of beneficiaries as well as the public at large, harnessing data to achieve these goals, and working across government.
Update to ICE Open Source Immunization Forecasting Software
A new release of the Immunization Calculation Engine ( ICE ) was issued over the past few months and the latest version (v 1.21.1 ) is now available. ICE is a state-of-the-art open-source software system that provides clinical decision support (CDS) for immunizations for use in Immunization Information Systems (IIS), Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Personal Health Record (PHR) Systems. This release included important updates to the  HPV Vaccine Group and some other minor changes .
Read our new feature article about open source and public health in Medical Research Archives
HLN Conference Update
HLN attended The Sequoia Project’s annual meeting  in Washington, D.C. TEFCA and Information Blocking were the big topics of the day. It was a very substantive meeting and there was vibrant back and forth discussion and exchange of ideas between and among the presenters and the other meeting participants. See our blog and  this report that summarizes the meeting .
2019 Association of Immunization Managers Leadership Conference: HLN was a bronze sponsor of the AIM annual Leadership Conference which took place in New Orleans beginning on December 10, 2019. With over 200 participants, this year marked the twentieth anniversary of AIM.