Opinion

Tying doctor's pay to the quality of the care rendered is called “incentive alignment,” and it is critical to achieving value and to properly balance healthcare’s cost, quality and access.

Following feedback from physicians, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Thursday it will allow providers to choose the level and pace at which they comply with the rules for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).

A loophole exists that allows a physician to avoid being reported to the NPDB if a malpractice plaintiff agrees to dismiss the practitioner from a lawsuit or claim, leaving a hospital or other corporate entity as the sole defendant.

The findings may not come as a surprise to many in the medical community like Miriam Laugesen, MD-an associate professor of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health-but even the smallest disparities build up in the bigger picture, she explains.

This is a call to action for all doctors. Practice owners are now facing many of the challenges small retailers in America faced not too long ago. Consumer demand has shifted the landscape in favor of larger product selection with online access. Doctors are being forced to adapt to the new rules of the game or get left behind.

Small- and medium-size practices need to address risk assessments as the federal government steps up its HIPAA enforcement.

Healthcare practices should have business associate agreements (BAAs) in place and review them regularly to remain HIPAA compliant.

In what is believed to be the first such action by someone holding his post, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, is sending a letter to the nation’s 2.3 million prescribing physicians urging them to help solve the growing opioid epidemic.

Citing unprofitability, UnitedHealthcare announced it would pull out of South Carolina at the end of 2017. It was followed by Coventry, a subsidiary of Aetna, which served 14 of the state’s 46 counties.

A practice’s immunization program requires constant attention and oversight. Here are seven best practices to consider.

If you have yet to hear about Pokémon Go, the new app that is taking over the world-it topped 15 million downloads in just its first week-you probably will or have already started seeing its results in the form of your patients.

The most effective care happens when patient engagement is central to the process, not just a check mark on a box related to a business decision or government mandate.

As older adults adopt social media physicians and caregivers can utilize this as a way to improve communication and connectedness with older adults reduce some of the loneliness and social isolation experienced by this population.

Today, we stand in solidarity against the causes of physician suicide. We must shine a light on the causes and either force them to change or make them irrelevant.

MOC, frustration with insurance company payment fees and physicians being bought by pharmaceutical companies are the hot topics readers discuss in this issue's Your Voice.

The Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) ushers in a new age of “value-based payment reform” and forces the question, “How does one become more interdependent without losing one’s identity?”

We have a large patient population with diabetes, and we are still struggling with how to code each of the manifestations. Can you give us a good guideline to help with our coding?

A Pennsylvania physician is lobbying Congress to act on a new proposal that would require doctors to report defective medical equipment to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Aledade’s Farzad Mostashari answers Medical Economics readers’ questions on various struggles facing physicians regarding health IT.

Why engaging patients in the process is key to succeeding under value-based care.

Ignoring social media is no longer possible if your practice wants to reach patients where they are.

Move your practice margins.

A new law in Oklahoma-and proposals in other states-looks to limit the power of maintenance of certification

Farzad Mostashari, MD, recently sat down with Medical Economics to weigh in on topics ranging from how his former employer can truly make value-based care attainable for solo and small practices as well as the true fate of private medicine.

Many practices are not sure how best to approach and prepare for compliance with the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) payment reforms. Here are some short-term changes practices can implement to prepare.