Senate passes med student loan relief bill
Medical students would be allowed to defer student loan debt repayment plans longer if the Higher Education Access Act of 2007 is signed into law. The Senate passed the legislation last month, following the House’s passage of a similar law on July 11. Under the bill, medical students could defer payments until after they complete an additional course of study, such as a fellowship or four-year resident training program. The bill would also eliminate the current three-year cap on economic hardship deferral.
Vendor testing physician cost saving system
An integrated practice management system for small physician practices that aims to generate savings and reduce administrative burden is currently in beta testing at Annapolis, Md.-based CBay Systems. The CBayPraxis system, to be released in coming months, will encourage small physician practices to outsource many of their back office functions, such as patient verification services, medical transcription and billing, the company said in a press release. The system is being developed based on a series of interviews CBay Systems has conducted with practices struggling with high administrative costs.
Study finds EMRs reduce malpractice rates, risk
Malpractice risk and premiums can be reduced if physicians implement electronic medical records, a new study by Boston-based Medical Records Institute and Professional Risk Associates has found. Nearly 20 percent of respondents said their malpractice insurer offers discounted premiums for practices with an EMR system. Additionally, 45 percent said they believe EMRs will make them less vulnerable to malpractice lawsuits. The survey represents 115 practices in 27 specialties from 36 states.
Tool gives doctors patients’ Medicare status
Physician practices can avoid unnecessary spending by checking Medicare patients’ eligibility and deductible status at the time of visit. ICS Software Ltd. has announced its Checkmedicare.com site, which allows physicians to view a patient’s eligibility status, remaining deductible amount to collect at the visit, whether the patient opted out of Medicare and switched to an HMO, and if so, which HMO the patient chose. Savings and efficiency are achieved by reducing the amount of staff time needed to determine eligibility status, ICS said.