May 1st 2024
CEO Witty apologizes for effects of the massive cyberattack, but Senate Finance Committee chair says the company ‘let the country down.’
Medical groups push liability reform bill
February 10th 2011The American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians and the American Medical Association were among the 100 medical and physician organizations that sent a supportive letter to the sponsors of HR 5, a medical liability reform bill introduced in January.
Hope must be part of the formula
January 10th 2011Congress has delayed primary care's Medicare reimbursement cut for another year. Rather that this being cause for celebration, however, it simply represents the reality that had the cut gone through, there wouldn't be much incentive to stay in the practice of medicine-and Congress knows that.
Academy rallies for longer Medicare patch
January 10th 2011Although the recently passed legislation that creates a 1-year extension of current Medicare physician payment rates is a step up from the series of shorter-term patches witnessed during 2010, it is "only one step toward a permanent solution to the flawed sustainable growth rate formula that threatens deep Medicare payment cuts and the financial viability of primary care physician practices," according to Roland Goertz, MD, president, American Academy of Family Physicians.
Docs petition for overdue payments
January 10th 2011Medical societies representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 57 national medical specialty societies have requested that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services use the $200 million from Congress to provide physicians with overdue Medicare reimbursements for payments that they should have received in 2010.
CMS launches medical home study
December 3rd 2010The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched a division last month charged with testing "new ways of delivering healthcare and paying healthcare providers that can save money for Medicare and Medicaid while improving quality of care," including the patient-centered medical homes, according to CMS.
Groups plan cuts if Medicare isn't fixed
November 19th 2010Nearly 7 out of 10 practices are likely to limit the number of new Medicare patients they accept unless Congress halts upcoming Medicare reimbursement cuts set to take place on December 1 and January 1, according to survey results of the MGMA.
MGMA report: EHRs boost practices' financial performance
October 28th 2010Medical practices that have implemented an electronic health record system report better financial performance than those that have not, according to the Medical Group Management Association?s newly released Electronic Health Records Impacts on Revenue, Costs, and Staffing: 2010 Report Based on 2009 Data.
What you need to know about new and 'improved' error rate calculations
October 8th 2010As part of the federal government's strict mandate to reduce waste in all departments and to eliminate fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have significantly revised and improved their calculations of Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) improper payments using "a more rigorous method" in calculating error rate.
Will we all be hospital or government employees?
September 24th 2010Today's independent physician is overwhelmed by the challenges posed by the 3 "big Rs": reimbursement, regulation, and recession. As a result, many are falling victim to hospitals, which see the opportunity to buy up individual practices unable to cope with the 3 Rs, and thereby control healthcare in their region.
EHR certification bodies named
September 24th 2010The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology of Chicago, and the Drummond Group Inc. of Austin, Texas, were named in August by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology as the first technology review bodies that have been authorized to test and certify electronic health record systems for compliance with the standards and certification criteria that were issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year.