Reimbursement

I recently had to reschedule a routine exam with my hospital-based primary care doctor and so decided to use the supposed rescheduling functionality on the patient portal to carry out this task. 

Characterizing patients as non-compliant has long been an excuse for physicians not fully engaging people, but that needs to change. Patient engagement activities are increasingly important, as practices get more involved in value-based care models such as accountable care organizations.

More than 83 percent of physician practices do not believe current Medicare physician quality reporting programs enhanced their physicians' ability to provide high-quality patient care, according to new research released Monday.

Many years ago, there was a saying in American politics to describe an important bellwether state: "As Maine goes, so goes the nation." Today the state is still an important indicator, especially in healthcare. 

The price transparency movement may be picking up speed, but consumers lack the ability and resources to translate and comprehend the information.

Facing the fact that just 5 percent of the patient population was responsible for nearly half of its spending, one health organization has tried some fairly radical changes.

Eight family-physician-related groups, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, have formed Family Medicine for America's Health, a coalition to improve the public perception of what they do and advance their interests through state and federal policies.

Medicare Advantage remains an attractive option for Medicare beneficiaries, and enrollment has increased substantially, by 66 percent in the past six years. Also increasing, it seems, is coding intensity for risk adjustments.

Just as American society's views and acceptance of transgender issues are evolving, insurers are facing choices, challenges and uncertainty in adapting coverage policies for LGBT.

At the behest of affected patients and providers, Intermountain Healthcare decided to build what it calls a Personalized Care Clinic, an initiative that has the look of a patient-centered medical home, but offers services for a specific patient demographic facing complex, ongoing medical issues.