Maverick's Update

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! The spring holiday falls during the Christian season of Lent, when strict rules that forbid meat-eating or alcohol consumption are waived to properly celebrate Saint Patrick — the patron saint of Ireland. Between the crazy weather, Russian planes colliding with drones, and a scary run on major banks, we can all use a little green-colored revelry. In the One Thoughtful Paragraph, we look at how March Madness aptly describes what is happening in digital health.

Other health information policy news that isn't likely to lead to a big party:

• President Biden released his presidential budget, including allocations for improving cybersecurity, public health resilience, and increasing funding for health data and experience improvements.
• HHS requested $78M to fund its Office of Civil Rights in 2024, a $38M increase from last year, to manage the 28% increase in HIPAA privacy complaints.
• Right after the comment period closed on the proposed rule that would mandate electronic prior authorization processes, the director of the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT said that provider electronic health record systems may be required to facilitate electronic prior authorization as part of their certification criteria that makes them qualified for use in the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program.

One Thoughtful Paragraph