Aging Doctors: Time for Mandatory Competency Testing?
The American Medical Association's House of Delegates voted in its June meeting that the time has come to address the issue of aging physicians more systematically, perhaps with formal guidelines and...
View ArticleFTC and DOJ May Spoil Mega-Mergers Among Payers
Regulators at the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice will scrutinize any potential mega mergers among health insurance companies for signs of market dominance and the attendant risk...
View ArticleHealth IT Underused in Care Coordination
The capabilities of health information technology tools aren't always aligned with physician priorities, research finds. And the care coordination activities that matter most to clinicians aren't ones...
View Article2016 OPPS Proposed Rule Updates Two-Midnight Rule
CMS proposes that for stays expected to last less than two midnights, an inpatient admission would be acceptable on a case-by-case basis. Enforcement of the two-midnight rule would shift to quality...
View ArticleMassachusetts Bill Seeks to Limit Private Hospital Payments
A proposal to set a floor and a ceiling on health insurance payments is an effort to eliminate disparities, but the Massachusetts Hospital Association's noard of trustees calls the bill "overly...
View ArticleAetna's $37B Humana Acquisition Has Providers Wary
Market consolidation by health insurers is raising the specter of anti-competitive behavior and fears of patient harm among physicians, hospitals, and health systems.
View ArticleCMS: No ICD-10 Audit Claims for Specificity in Year One
For one year after implementation of ICD-10, CMS will not deny or audit claims just for specificity, as long as the code is from the appropriate family of ICD-10 codes. Similarly, physicians will not...
View ArticlePraise for Two-Midnight Rule Revision, but Pay Cut Grates
Hospitals are stunned by the proposed 2% cut in CMS's conversion factor. From Medpage Today.
View ArticleDivergent Paths to Better Patient Scheduling, Greater Access
Improved scheduling processes cost little and can open up pathways to better access to healthcare, researchers say.
View Article6 in 10 Physicians Work in Small Practices
Physicians in small, independent practices are still in the majority, but the trend continues toward employment at larger practices and health systems. "I wouldn't say the game is over for solo...
View ArticleASCO Aims to Score New Cancer Treatments on Value
The American Society of Clinical Oncology is working on a tool for assessing the value of new cancer treatment options based on clinical benefit, side effects, and cost.
View ArticleDrug Diversion's Long Tentacles
Hospitals have learned the hard way how devastating drug diversion can be—not just to their reputations, but to their patients and their bottom lines as well.
View ArticleMedicare's Advanced Care Reimbursements a First Step
A palliative care specialist is hopeful that CMS will attach appropriate reimbursement to time physicians spend talking with patients about their wishes for end-of-life care. But don't expect it to...
View ArticleAs Payers Merge, Hospitals Dream of their Own Health Plans
Hospital leaders will find that starting their own health plans is a great challenge and the right choice only in particular circumstances, analysts say.
View ArticleSlavitt's CMS Confirmation Could Face Opposition
The nomination of Andy Slavitt to administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest between the acting administrator and a...
View ArticleTools for Assessing Nursing Quality Include Surveys
Interest in using a variety of staffing and nursing engagement surveys as a reportable quality indicator is growing.
View ArticleBundled Payments' Disruptive Effects Detailed
Mandatory bundled payments for hip and knee surgeries would shutter one in four skilled nursing facilities and trigger "demand destruction in areas such as diagnostic testing, hospital stays, and...
View ArticleLatest Choosing Wisely Grantees to Focus on Patients
The importance of reducing unneeded medical testing and medications can be a complicated message for consumers to absorb, physicians say.
View ArticlePrimary Care, Psychiatry Top Recruiter's List
Specialists are no longer the key to generating healthcare revenues. Now the drivers are team-based healthcare and the chronic care model.
View ArticleStates Tighten Data Security Laws
Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, Illinois, and North Dakota have updated their data breach laws this year, and Alabama is on its way to becoming the 48th state to adopt such legislation in the wake of...
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