May 2nd 2024
State becomes first to officially recognize PA title change
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.
You can help set expectations on EHR liability
April 25th 2013With a national EHR system, you can seize the opportunity to help establish the appropriate standard of care, one that opens up a new era of patient care while also setting reasonable parameters on what a healthcare provider should be responsible for when an errant entry lurks in the medical file.
The PQRS challenge: Will quality metrics improve care or create more reimbursement red tape?
April 10th 2013Your reimbursement likely will be tied to outcomes soon. Some experts say that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) penalties for not participating in the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) signal that the pay-for-performance trend is not fading away-likely will be adopted by private payers.
What the U.S. can learn (and will likely ignore) from other countries about controlling health costs
April 10th 2013In an attempt to get past politics and ideology, a group of researchers recently published a report in Health Affairs that examined the health systems in Canada, England, France and Germany for insights on how the United States could better control costs.
Perspective: Technology, life issues altering what it means to be a physician
March 25th 2013Jay Wolfson, DrPH, JD, is the Distinguished Service Professor of Public Health and Medicine and associate vice president for health law, policy, and safety at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He recently spoke with Medical Economics Editor-in-Chief Lois A. Bowers, MA, about the ways in which your future colleagues are being educated-and why.