Ama advocates for med students and residents
The American Medical Association (AMA) successfully secured a number of provisions in the higher education reauthorization bill, known as the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007, which passed the House in February by a vote of 354-58. Among the provisions the AMA advocated for is a federal loan forgiveness that allows eligible medical specialists with five or more years of graduate medical education to qualify for up to $2,000 of forgiveness annually and up to $10,000 over five years of service.
CMS boosts efforts to improve nursing home care
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released plans for improving care in nursing homes and other facilities. The plans come by way of CMS’ latest contract for its Medicare Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs). This ninth and latest call for contracts will provide the agency with additional tools to better manage its QIOs by linking completed work to measurable outcomes over the entire three-year contract, to begin in August. According to CMS, organizations reapplying to participate must improve care in beneficiary protection, care transitions, patient safety and prevention.
CHT studies Telemedicine, Telephonic Consults
A position paper validating the importance of telemedicine and the role of telephonic medical consults has been released by The Center for Health Transformation (CHT). Co-authored by Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and founder of CHT; Rick Boxer, MD, healthcare policy analyst; and Byron Brooks, MD, telemedicine expert, “Telephone Medical Consults Answer the Call for Accessible, Affordable and Convenient Healthcare,” articulates the merits of telephonic communications between physicians and patients and substantiates the benefits for consumers, health plans, employers, government and other payers.
AAU, AAMC release guides on new financial policies
The Association of American Medical Colleges and The Association of American Universities have released “Protecting Patients, Preserving Integrity, Advancing Health: Accelerating the Implementation of COI Policies in Human Subjects Research.” They call on universities and medical schools to develop and implement institutional financial conflict of interest policies within two years, offer a model template and note the necessity for academic medical centers and major medical research universities to address conflicts of interest.