For Physicians. By Physicians.™
For Physicians. By Physicians.™
In recent years, few major bills have commanded as much support as the 21st Century Cures Act, which sailed to passage by votes of 392 to 26 in the House followed by a 94 to 5 in the Senate. Former President Obama signed the bill on December 13, 2016. The bill addresses the following three areas: research and drug development, behavioral health, and healthcare access and quality.
The NIH receives $4.8 billion for precision medicine and biomedical research in brain disease and cancer. The approval of new drugs and medical devices should happen more quickly. Researchers can now waive the requirement for “informed consent” in specific cases in which the devices being tested do not pose any health risks beyond those of normal everyday life and would not influence a patient’s care in any way.
In the behavioral health area, the mental health parity provision requires insurance companies to cover mental health treatments to the same extent and in the same way as medical treatments. Grants for community mental health resources and suicide prevention and intervention programs are also included.
Lastly, the legislation requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to report to Congress on the current and potential uses of telehealth in the Medicare program and to assist Congress in its ongoing assessment of Medicare coverage of telehealth services.
There were several health information technology specific policies that will be critical for US healthcare in the upcoming decades including (HIMSS)
Increasing innovation and competition by allowing more choice in care and treatment
Reducing burden as well as advancing interoperability through new application programming interface (API) requirements, and promoting patient access to their electronic health information (EHI)
Perspective: The 21st Century Cures Act — A View from the NIH
Sweeping Health Measure, Backed by Obama, Passes Senate
The 21st Century Cures Act: pharmacoeconomic boon or bane?
21st Century Cures Act | HIMSS
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