Stephanie Bouchard
Healthcare costs are in a constant state of expansion yet physicians do not understand how much the care they recommend costs and they are not getting the training they should have so that they will understand those costs and what they can do to responsibly contain them, said Steve Weinberger, MD, executive vice president and CEO of the American College of Physicians, in an opinion piece published in September in the ACP’s Annals of Internal Medicine.
The ad starts off pretty tamely, with an older woman sitting on the edge of examination table in a doctor’s office. Her doctor asks her if she has any questions. She says no.
Rates to live in long-term care facilities continue to rise, according to a new market survey of nursing homes, assisted living centers and adult day and home care services.
The holiday bonus is a tradition both disdained and welcomed, by employers and employees alike, but in recent years, it has become more and more a memory.
It is believed that in its deliberations on how to reduce the federal deficit, the Joint Selection Committee on Deficit Reduction is considering permanently fixing the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. Many within the medical community have vigorously urged the super committee and Congress to repeal the SGR, and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted to recommend a repeal to Congress.
Results of the National Committee for Quality Assurance's (NCQA) annual State of Health Care report indicated that while quality measures overall remained static from 2009 to 2010, some significant gains were made by preferred provider organizations (PPOs).
Watching Conrad Murray on trial for allegedly unintentionally killing pop star Michael Jackson allows us to indulge in voyeurism, but some also regard the trial as presenting an allegory of sorts, that has particular significance for doctors.
The Medicare physician payment fee for 2012 is not as bad as predicted, but the lesser cut will be cold comfort to physicians.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its final rule updating the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) for 2012. In a press release, CMS noted that the final changes are a result of the agency seeking to "improve payment accuracy" while still supporting patient access.
Informed consent forms can eliminate or negate negligence, said James Gottesman, MD, during a speech this week at the Medical Group Management Association conference in Las Vegas.