April 18th 2025
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Two-thirds of physicians in ACOs say they've not benefited financially
June 12th 2013More than two-thirds (67%) of physicians who participated in an ACO last year reported no personal financial benefit, such as a bonus or shared savings agreement, as a result of their participation, according to a survey of about 3,500 physicians from a healthcare staffing firm.
Patients open to greater role for physician assistants & nurse practitioners, survey finds
June 10th 2013Some policy analysts have suggested expanding the roles of physician assistants and nurse practitioners as one potential way to help alleviate some of the burden on physicians, and a new study published in Health Affairs shows that consumers are open to that idea.
How medical schools consistently cover up their primary care failures
May 28th 2013It's called the "dean's lie," and Andrew Morris-Singer, MD, and his nonprofit advocacy group Primary Care Progress are out to expose this fallacy that gives Americans a false sense of security that the nation's primary care shortage is being addressed.
Phase out SGR with value- based models, ACP says
May 25th 2013Although the Congressional Budget Office recently downgraded the 10-year cost of repealing the sustainable growth rate (SGR) to $138 billion, the American College of Physicians (ACP) took to the Hill advocating a phased approach to repealing it and moving to value-based models.
Washington budget battle focuses on ACA
May 25th 2013Republicans sharply criticized U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in trying to jump start fundraising efforts to non-profits to implement the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The action follows repeated congressional budget denials for the healthcare law, now estimated at $1.3 trillion over 10 years, according a recent report in the Washington Post. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) called the effort “absurd” and demanded an inquiry.
Primary care physicians, nurses hold widely different views of NPs' quality of care
May 16th 2013A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that doctors and nurses hold vastly divergent views on the quality of care that NPs provide, whether NPs should lead medical homes and whether physicians and NPs should be paid the same amount for providing the same services.
Why accountable care organizations are like vegan barbecue
May 15th 2013Health policy analyst Jeff Goldsmith talks about why it’ll take more than just higher compensation to relieve the primary care shortage, what needs to happen for direct primary care to take off and why ACOs are "like vegan barbecue.”
Nearly half of working adults were uninsured or underinsured last year
May 14th 2013About half of all working adults were either uninsured or underinsured for at least part of last year-and that doesn’t just include low-income Americans. Nearly 60% of adults with moderate incomes were uninsured or underinsured, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.
Aging physicians should be required to undergo competency and health screening, study says
May 13th 2013Beginning at the age of 70, physicians' physical health, mental health, and cognition skills should be evaluated to determine whether they should continue practicing medicine, according to a paper recently published in the Journal of Medical Regulation.
Perspective: Cost control myths must be addressed to fix health system
May 10th 2013From misunderstandings about the role of healthcare inflation to cost controls in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), three economic myths must be addressed for the healthcare system to function properly, says Theodore R. Marmor, PhD, Yale University professor emeritus of public policy and management as well as political science. He recently spoke with Medical Economics Editor-in-Chief Lois A. Bowers, MA.
Primary care least likely to receive industry payments, Massachusetts study shows
May 2nd 2013Primary care was among the specialties least likely to receive payments from the medical device and pharmaceutical industries, according to an analysis of Massachusetts' records of industry financial relationships with physicians.
Could a patient-centered change to Medicare's injectable drugs policy save billions?
April 29th 2013Changing Medicare's policy to permit patients to self-administer injectable drugs in their homes could create "substantial savings" without inhibiting patient safety or treatment effectiveness, according to a recent NEJM editorial.