May 2nd 2024
State becomes first to officially recognize PA title change
Hundreds of organizations on board to test new bundled payment initiative
February 7th 2013More than 500 organizations have signed on to participate in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Bundled Payments and Care Improvement initiative, which will test whether bundling payments can result in better coordinated care and lower Medicare costs.
ACA health insurance market reform action still needed in 39 states
February 1st 2013Only 11 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws or issued regulations to implement the Affordable Care Act’s major health insurance market reforms that go into effect in 2014, according to a new Commonwealth Fund report.
Medicare's meaningful use 3 should focus on measuring improvements to health outcomes, ACP says
January 21st 2013Measurements for Medicare's meaningful use stage 3 should focus more on monitoring improvements in patient health than mandating a growing collection of functional measures, according to the American College of Physicians.
New HIPAA requirements complicate compliance
January 18th 2013The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released what one department official describes as "the most sweeping changes to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules since they were first implemented," but at least one organization is concerned that the requirements may be too burdensome for medical practices.
Americans have worse health than people in other high-income countries, says new report
January 15th 2013The United States spends more per capita on healthcare than any other nation, but on average, Americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than people in other high-income countries, says a new report from the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine.
Physicians urged to join discussion on gun policies
December 31st 2012With the nation grasping for ways to cope with the December massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, physicians are taking note and urging their colleagues to make their voices heard in the debates on gun control-even in the face on new legislation that aims to silence them.
Medicare acceptance rates on a downturn, and primary care physicians lead the way
December 13th 2012Primary care physicians (PCPs) accept fewer Medicare and Medicaid patients than specialists, reveals a new report, which also predicts an overall decline in acceptance rates of government insurance programs across the nation once the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is fully implemented.
Viewpoint: Physician offers solution to the payer problem
December 10th 2012Medical Economics readers discuss the hassle of pre-certification, advise new doctors to avoid primary care, talk about serving as a mentor, look at why physicians continue practicing, and argue that electronic health record systems should be rejected.