groups receive grant to promote patient safety
The Health Research and Educational Trust, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices and the Medical Group Management Association have received a grant from the Commonwealth Fund to implement educational Web-based tools for physician practices to reduce the risk of patient harm. The Pathways for Patient Safety tools will help improve communication, quality of services and safety practices, according to the presidents of the organizations.
Retail health clinics agree to AAFP standards
Three major retail health clinics have agreed to support the American Academy of Family Physicians’ five standards for quality of care delivered at the value-based facilities. Concerned that patients will use retail health clinics as a replacement for personal physicians, AAFP developed the standards to ensure that companies such as RediClinic, MinuteClinic and Take Care Health provide referrals and have strong connections to physicians in their areas.
Physicians avoid losses with claims error tool
Massachusetts-based physicians saved nearly $100 million in 2006 by avoiding claims denials, a medical practice software vendor has announced. athenahealth’s systems, including the athenaNet Web-based practice management tool, are intended to address physicians’ claims volumes by providing updates based on payer rules. Physicians can also use the tools to view rankings of payers based on financial and administrative performance. athenahealth said Massachusetts physicians’ savings on claims denials more than doubled since 2005.
medical colleges report financial industry impact
Medical schools and teaching colleges within the Association of American Medical Colleges had an economic impact of $451 billion on the healthcare industry in 2005, AAMC has announced in a new report. The 525 institutions represented in the report spawned more than 3 million full-time jobs and more than $20 billion in state tax revenues through income and sales taxes, corporate income taxes, and capital stock and franchise taxes. The report does not account for hospitals’ patient care-related spending nor their community service and physician training programs.