May 2nd 2024
State becomes first to officially recognize PA title change
Physician groups welcome transparency prompted by Sunshine Act, but concerns remain
March 25th 2013The comprehensive, nationwide effort that the Physician Payment Sunshine Act represents is desperately needed, says Steven Nissen, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic. Others, however, have concerns about privacy, accuracy in reporting, and patients' ability to understand reported information.
Legislation would change Medicare recovery audits
March 19th 2013The Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2013, introduced to Congress today, is designed to address critical operational problems that exist with the Medicare recovery audit program and ensure that Medicare recovery auditing is efficient, transparent, and fair, according to its co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.
ACO success will be aided by population health definition, researchers argue
March 19th 2013Accountable care organizations aim to control healthcare costs, enhance quality in healthcare, and improve population health. But what does "improving population health" really mean? This is the question asked in a viewpoint article in the March 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Sequestration will hamper CDC disease prevention efforts
March 4th 2013The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ability to protect individuals from preventable infectious diseases is likely to be hampered by sequestration, and analysts from research and consulting firm GlobalData argue that the cuts ultimately will fail to accomplish the goal of decreasing federal spending.
Sequestration's 2% Medicare cuts loom over physicians
February 27th 2013As it looks increasingly likely that Congress won't reach a deal this week to head off broad cuts to federal programs known as sequestration, physicians should begin preparing themselves for across-the-board 2% cuts to Medicare reimbursement.
Number of insured young adults increases significantly after ACA
February 26th 2013The Affordable Care Act is expected to increase the number of insured Americans by more than 30 million by the time it’s fully implemented, but one provision of the act already has resulted in the addition of an estimated 3 million insured.
Demand for PCPs exceeds supply by at least 10% for 7 million Americans
February 25th 2013Numerous studies have highlighted shortages in primary care and have predicted even greater supply problems after the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented. A new study published in Health Affairs puts the shortage in new perspective, however.
10 treatments or procedures to avoid, according to AAFP
February 21st 2013The American Academy of Family Physicians has released five new things to avoid as part of the ABIM Foundation’s Choosing Wisely campaign, adding to the existing list of five tests, medical procedures, or treatments that have been deemed to possibly do more harm than good.
Fraud efforts recover $4.2 billion in FY2012, according to federal government
February 11th 2013The government’s healthcare fraud prevention and enforcement efforts led to charges or convictions of providers and others and also removed almost 150,000 providers from Medicare's billing system, according to a new report from the federal government.