Articles of Interest CAC Improves Productivity and Accuracy by Mark Morsch Technology has finally arrived that drastically changes the process of medical coding. read more Why Doctors are Abandoning Medicare by C. L. Gray, M.D. Physicians will not be bullied into bankruptcy. Our system needs reform, but what's being hammered out in Washington is not the answer. Two weeks ago the Mayo Clinic shocked the nation when it closed the doors of one of its Arizona clinics to patients on Medicare. Just this past June President Obama himself praised Mayo as a model of medical efficiency noting that Mayo gives “the highest quality care at costs well below the national norm.” If Mayo feels compelled to walk away from this government-run program, others will surely follow. The nation must understand why. Doctors are leaving Medicare for two reasons: one obvious, the other more concealed. The first is simple—the math: 1) For the past decade Medicare consistently paid physicians 20% less than traditional insurance companies for identical service. 2) On January 1, 2010 Washington made hidden cuts to Medicare by altering its billing codes. 3) Medicare will cut physician reimbursement by another 21% on March 1. The CBO said this cut must take place if the Senate healthcare bill was to “reduced the deficit.” 4) Even more, Congress pledged to cut
Medicare by yet another $500 billion. Again, the CBO said this
additional cut must take place if the Senate healthcare bill was to
“reduced the deficit.” The second is more ominous—Washington’s increasingly abusive posture toward physicians. President Obama reflected this attitude last summer. On national television, he stated as fact a surgeon is paid between $30,000 and $50,000 for amputating a patient’s foot. In reality, a surgeon is paid between $740 and $1,140 to perform this
unfortunate, but often life-saving procedure. This reimbursement must
cover a pre-operative evaluation the day of surgery, the surgery, and
follow-up for 90 days after surgery—not to mention malpractice
insurance, salaries for clinic nurses, and clinic overhead. It is
frightening to think our president is so wildly misinformed even as he
stands on the cusp of overhauling American health care. But it gets
worse. read more "Sadly, this lawsuit is historic -- involving an unparalleled health care privacy breach and an unprecedented state enforcement of HIPAA," Blumenthal said. "Protected private medical records and financial information on almost a half million Health Net enrollees in Connecticut were exposed for at least six months -- most likely by thieves -- before Health Net notified appropriate authorities and consumers. "These missing medical records included some of the most personal, intimate patient information -- exposing individuals to grave embarrassment and emotional distress, as well as financial harm and identity theft. "The staggering scope of the data loss, and deliberate delay in disclosure, are legally actionable and ethically unacceptable. Even more alarming than the breach, Health Net downplayed and dismissed the danger to patients and consumers. "Failing to protect patient privacy blatantly violates federal law
and Health Net's public trust. We are seeking a preliminary order to
protect patients and consumers, and will fight for civil penalties." read more With the first full week of 2010 now behind us, it's becoming clear that the proposed "meaningful use" regulations published Dec. 30 indeed merely represent a proposal, and that the final rules certainly could change. On Friday, a work group of the federal Health IT Policy Committee indicated a willingness to consider the effect of the regulations on physicians trying to earn Medicare and Medicaid bonus payments starting in 2011. Notably, CMS is considering dialing back the number of quality measures physicians will be required to report on. "We would certainly try to reduce them as we get the comments back in," Tony Trenkle, director of the CMS Office of e-Health Standards, said at the meeting, Government Health IT reports. "The idea was to report out a suite of specialty measures and then invite comments for that. We are going to be looking at what they say about the measures--their operational readiness and their appropriateness and how they relate to health outcomes." read more Children Experience Big Waits When Accessing Care A whopping 90 percent of hospitals end up delaying appointments, losing patients or refering them elsewhere due to physician subspecialty shortages -- particularly in pediatrics, according to new survey data from the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI). Pediatric patients and families are reeling from this lack of access to care; 17 states lack at least one physician in one of 13 pediatric subspecialties, including developmental-behavioral, infectious disease, cardiology and neonatal-perinatal, according to the December survey, which NACHRI recently presented to a congressional caucus on children's health. read more Hopkins Tries Text Messaging to Reach Teens A number of pediatricians are excited about harnessing the power of text messaging to improve medication adherence, even among younger patients. In fact, Johns Hopkins Children's Center is considering a formal program to connect with a real SMS sweet spot; teenagers. Teen health expert Dr. Maria Trent is putting together a pilot to remind patients with pelvic inflammatory disease to take their meds, while another Hopkins physician, pediatric HIV specialist Dr. Allison Agwu, will conduct a formal study of texting appointment reminders. read more In Health Care Today, It's Electronic All the Way Despite telemedicine advances, doctor-patient relationship remains key, experts say By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter SATURDAY, Oct. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Imagine that you see a new mole and don't like the looks of it so you take a picture of it using your cell phone and e-mail it to your family doctor for an opinion. Or perhaps you have heart disease and take your blood pressure using a cuff that automatically uploads the data to your cardiologist's computer for review. Using electronic communications equipment to transmit medical information for consultation or examination -- known as telemedicine -- has come a long way from its beginnings as a means for rural areas to have access via teleconferencing to top-flight specialists. In fact, technology has advanced to the point that telemedicine is beginning to blur into the normal daily routine of a doctor, said Dr. Jason Mitchell, assistant director for the Center for Health Information Technology of the American Academy of Family Physicians. "Someday we won't even consider it telemedicine anymore," Mitchell said. "It'll just be part of the way we practice medicine." read more Arrogant, Abusive and Disruptive — and a Doctor "A hostile environment erodes cooperation and a sense of commitment to high-quality care", Dr. Angood said,"and that increases the risk of medical errors". read more |