Bernie Monegain

Half of U.S. doctors spend substantial time dealing with restrictions insurance companies place on their patients' care, according to a new survey published Thursday.

The House health reform bill unveiled on Thursday includes a provision for implementing a unique device identification system that healthcare providers say could save $16 billion a year.

The Premier healthcare alliance has launched a new program designed to help hospitals and health systems control costs and increase profitability while also improving patient care.

To keep patients safe and save hospital costs, the St. Joseph's/Candler Health System in Savannah, Ga., is rolling out Web-based technology to track infections.

Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster, Md., has implemented software aimed at streamlining operations and reducing costs.

Doctors must be paid on the basis of outcomes, not for how many services they provide - and patients, too, must be held accountable for their health, says Joseph Kvedar, MD.

At about the same time the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-9 Tuesday to approve its healthcare reform bill, Medical Group Management Association President and CEO William F. Jessee, MD, took the stage in Denver to tell his audience healthcare reform can't occur without payment reform.

Medical Group Management Association members rate Medicare Part B as the top performer in a survey of member satisfaction with major health plans.

Yet another threat of a Medicare payment cut makes it hard for physician practices to budget and could have “serious ramifications” for practices across the country, said William F. Jessee, MD, CEO of the Medical Group Management Association.

Ezekiel Emanuel, a White House adviser on healthcare policy, says high-touch is the way to fix the nation’s failing – and costly – healthcare system. In his keynote talk at the Medical Group Management Association in Denver on Sunday Emanuel called for doctors to change their ways of practicing medicine.