May 1st 2024
CEO Witty apologizes for effects of the massive cyberattack, but Senate Finance Committee chair says the company ‘let the country down.’
Like it or not, drug makers have right to your prescribing information
June 29th 2011The U.S. Supreme Court said that a Vermont law prohibiting sale of prescription data to drug companies interfered with the pharmaceutical industry's First Amendment right to market its products. A recent survey suggests that the decision will not come as good news to many physicians who feel as if their privacy is being invaded.
Making clinical integration work
June 25th 2011To many physicians, the current healthcare environment is complex and overwhelming. From accountable care organizations, global capitation, and value-based purchasing to episode payments, episode groupers, and bundled payments, the terminology seems to be addressed to larger organizations than small primary care groups.
Patient EHR requests require quick turnaround by practices
June 15th 2011When patients request copies of their electronic health records from your practice, the clock starts ticking. This Q&A gives you the new information on the minimum information required and how quickly you must provide it. Also find out why you soon may have to inform patients when their health information is viewed.
Just as you suspected: Medicare's geographic adjustments aren't very accurate
June 15th 2011Location, location, location doesn?t just apply to real estate; it also is a factor in how Medicare calculates payments to your practice. But how accurate and consistent is that process? Not very, according to a recent Institute of Medicine Report. Find out what the IOM recommended and what they?re proposing to improve accuracy.
Reform efforts have spurred dramatic drops in malpractice lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Texas
June 15th 2011Likely coming to a state near you: Medical malpractice reform. Why have malpractice case filings dropped more than 45%?nearly 70% in Philadelphia?since two significant rule changes implemented by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court? And what has been the effect of a Texas proposition that put a cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice claims?
Data on care you provide could become public under proposed rule
June 15th 2011The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) wants to publicize data about the care you?re providing as a primary care physician so that consumers and business could compare your cost and quality to other providers. The claims data would be derived from both Medicare and private sector insurers. Find out more while there?s still time to influence the final rule.
Bill would require opioid CME for docs
June 10th 2011A bill introduced recently by Sen. Jay Rockefeller would require physicians and other healthcare providers seeking to obtain or renew a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration registration number to complete CME related to responsible opioid prescribing practices.
RomneyCare: Canary in the coal mine not looking very healthy
June 8th 2011The continuing pressure on the primary care system will be significant if so-called RomneyCare in Massachusetts is a harbinger for national healthcare reform, as some critics have claimed. Read on to see how primary care physicians there have coped.
Meaningful use checks are coming, and time is running out to get on board
June 8th 2011Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services mailed the first Medicare checks to physicians who had attested that they had achieved meaningful use of their electronic health records (EHRs). What effect will these payments have on you and your colleagues? Will everyone rush out to buy EHRs now or will they let this opportunity pass them by? Read on to find out.
Bill would require education for opioid prescribers
May 12th 2011A bill introduced recently by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va, would require physicians and other healthcare providers seeking to obtain or renew a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration registration number to complete CME related to responsible opioid prescribing practices.
Primary care physicians most likely to earn electronic health record incentives
May 10th 2011As a physician practicing family or internal medicine, you are more likely than your colleagues in other specialties to qualify for Medicare or Medicaid-related incentives for achieving meaningful use of electronic health records.