By MICHELLE RONAN NOTEBOOM 

New Life for ACOs

CMS announces that 89 new organizations were selected to participate in the Medicare Shared Savings program, bringing the total number of participating ACOs to 424. The announcement comes on the heels of a recently released proposed rule that reflects an increased focus on primary care and improved incentives for participation. Were the pundits who predicted an early death for ACOs wrong?

Massachusetts Modifies Meaningful Use Mandate

The Massachusetts Board of Registration modifies a provision requiring providers to attest to Meaningful Use in order to retain their medical licenses. The final regulations establish multiple ways in which physicians can demonstrate proficiency using EHRs, including taking a three-hour continuing education class on EHR or registering with the state’s HIE.

ICD-10 Testing Continues

CMS reports that about 25% of ICD-10 claims were rejected during a week-long test period in November, though many of the testers intentionally included errors to make sure the claim would be rejected.

Mobile and Healthcare IT to Drive Telehealth Growth

The global telehealth market is forecasted to grow at 18.88% CAGR during 2014-2019, according to a findings from ReportsnReports.com. Growth will be driven by high demand for high-quality healthcare and remote patient monitoring.

Show Me the Money

Avhana Health, developers of a clinical decision support platform and a startup from the DreamIT Health accelerator, raises nearly $750,000 in seed funding.

Capella Healthcare selects RelayHealth to provide clinical patient information exchange for its 13 acute care and specialty hospitals across six states.

Total Child Health, the creator of CHADIS, joins the Allscripts Developer Program and will offer a certified solution that integrates with Allscripts TouchWorks.