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E-Newsletter • January 2025 |
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Editor's E-Note
Happy New Year! We’re starting the year with a look at upgrades to Alameda County’s (California) Social Health Information Exchange. The exchange connects various entities within the county to better coordinate and provide a more holistic view of patients’ health. The upgrades are expected to streamline care by connecting consumer records from thousands of patients with dozens of local health care and social service organizations.
In addition to reading our e-newsletter, be sure to visit For The Record’s website at www.fortherecordmag.com. We welcome your feedback at edit@gvpub.com. Follow For The Record on Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, too.
— Dave Yeager, editor |
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A Technical Leap Forward With Innovaccer
Alameda County’s (California) board of supervisors approved a three-year contract with Innovaccer, a health IT company, to be used by Alameda County Health (AC Health) to make critical advancements in its Social Health Information Exchange (SHIE).
An innovative undertaking launched in 2017 as part of the county’s Whole Person Care pilot, the SHIE is a data-sharing infrastructure connecting multiple data sources across community organizations, MediCal managed care plans, county agencies, and social and health services providers. By supporting timely access to critical information such as housing status or hospitalization, the SHIE provides a holistic view of a client’s health.
“We are excited to bring the SHIE into the future,” says Colleen Chawla, agency director for AC Health. “This new platform, powered by Innovaccer, will support increased efficiency, security, and accuracy in our data exchange efforts, which ultimately helps us to better coordinate care for the people we serve and to comply with state mandates.”
In partnership with AC Health’s information systems team, Innovaccer will support the enhancement of the SHIE, which contains over 950,000 consumer records and coordinates with more than 50 local health care and social service organizations across 250 community programs.
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Quarterly Update to CPT 2025
The American Medical Association has added 21 new proprietary laboratory analyses codes and 40 new Category III codes to CPT 2025, effective April 1, 2025. However, these codes won’t appear in the CPT code book until the 2026 edition, says AAPC.
‘All of Us’ Research Program Highlighted
The National Institutes of Health’s “All of Us” Research Program is partnering with participants and their communities to support community engagement, research competency, and health equity. The Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association highlighted 36 papers on the program’s work in December 2024, AMIA reports.
Survey Says Upcoding a Key Concern in 2025
The Association of Clinical Documentation Integrity Specialists report 90% of 4,000 HIM professionals surveyed said upcoding was a key concern for 2025. Eighteen percent of respondents reported feeling pressure to engage in fraudulent coding, while 99% of respondents expect to see whistleblower cases filed under the False Claims Act to rise significantly over the next decade.
HHS Releases Plan for the Use of AI
Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued an artificial intelligence (AI) Strategic Plan. The plan establishes a roadmap for responsibly integrating emerging AI technology to maintain its commitment to safety, effectiveness, equity, and access. Building on existing work across departments, the plan hopes to develop policy and regulations, allocate resources, and conduct outreach to cultivate AI in the workplace. |
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HIMSS Unveils Enhanced Membership Program
HIMSS has announced the launch of its enhanced membership program. Dedicated to fostering collaboration among a curated diverse network of health care professionals, the enhanced HIMSS membership program provides access to digital maturity assessment tools, professional development, educational resources, and networking opportunities. Learn more »
HHS Division Releases Health Care Safety Dashboard
The National Action Alliance for Patient and Workforce Safety at Health and Human Services (HHS) launched the National Healthcare Safety Dashboard, a resource that aggregates hospital safety data from four measurement sources to better understand the current state of patient and workforce safety. The dashboard makes data more transparent and accessible to provider organizations, patient advocates, policymakers, and others to make informed decisions. Learn more » |
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