Well, here’s an interesting observation. Not particularly decision-quality, but intriguing nonetheless. I was researching a the Final Rule /Federal Register on a question for one of our subscribers, when I came across the following quote (Federal Register / Vol 75, No 144, July 28, 2010, page 4492, column 1): “Specifically, since the ONC is establishing new …
Fierce Healthcare today picked up on a very important study from The American College of Emergency Physicians. “A patient’s best interests may not be motivating emergency room doctors to order tests as much as self-protection from medical liability lawsuits, a new survey from the American College of Emergency Physicians finds. More than 50 percent of …
While the penalties related to lack of e-prescribing compliance have not received a lot of notoriety as of yet, they are just around the corner. FierceHealthIT breaks down the new proposed exemptions from CMS in the following post: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed giving physicians additional “hardship” exemptions that will prevent them from being penalized …
The following summation of a talk by HIMSS chief H. Stephen Lieber covers broad ground including the federal healthcare reform and the broad-brush future of IT in the healthcare industry. Like Mr. Lieber, we agree healthcare IT is poised to make strides in healthcare heretofore unattainable. These comments carry some added weight given they come …
The following article comes from ModernHealthcare.com and covers a very controversial and important topic for providers. Certainly the intentions are good and there is plausible benefit from this move. However, there is ample room for misuse and improper interpretation of the data that could create significant problems for providers. We’re interested to get feedback from providers on …
Rule to Allow Access to Medicare Data on Providers Read More »
In what is starting to feel like the endless series of waivers when HIPAA was thrust upon doctors, Medicare is offering additional and welcome waivers. Physicians who see Medicare patients would have more opportunities to avoid being penalized for failing to prescribe medications electronically by a June 30 deadline under a proposed rule from the Centers …
The following is a synopsis based on new data provided by the American Hospital Association. “It’s grim times for state Medicaid programs: Thirty-three states have proposed cutting Medicaid payments to providers in fiscal 2012, according to a new survey conducted by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers. The trend suggests that hospitals will have to cope with …
With increasing volume, physicians are under attack for a variety of financial arrangements. The latest involves a group of Senators asking the OIG to look into PODs. While there may be some abuse of the POD arrangement, it’s time to refocus our efforts on a system that facilitates these conditions rather than demonizing physicians on a regular basis. …
From C3Partners, EverythingHITECH: We have been advising our readers for a while to expect CMS audits. We’ve even offered some advice on how to do that, within our Meaningful Use Monitoring tools (attend one of the webinars listed on this site to see how). But not many other writers have stepped up to the same perspective …
In a victory for pharmaceutical and data-mining companies, the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a Vermont statute that sought to outlaw the practice of pharmacies selling information to drug-makers about doctors’ prescribing habits. In a 6-3 decision (PDF) Thursday, the high court ruled that Vermont’s law violated constitutional protections on free speech even though lawmakers …
