The Regulatory Occupations Evaluation Committee (ROEC) was formed due to a law passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 2010 that required an evaluation of the need for and function of every professional licensing agency administered by the State of Indiana. They met a few times in 2011 to evaluate the Health Facility Administrators Board (HFAB), which issues professional licenses to Indiana Health Facility and Residential Care Administrators.

All covered entities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) must be ready to implement the Version 5010 transaction standards on January 1, 2012. A critical step to reaching this milestone is testing Version 5010 transactions prior to going live. Providers are encouraged to conduct (external) Level II testing. CMS has posted a new fact sheet. External testing with business partners in the new Version 5010 format will ensure compliant transactions occur prior to the deadline.

Physicians who practice part-time in a nursing home or another long-term care facility and have limited electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) opportunities will not be penalized for their failure to adopt e-prescribing in their practices, according to the final rule for the 2011 Medicare Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the rule in early September.