The ‘end-to-end’ testing sought by organized medicine will show whether Medicare claims incorporating the new and controversial ICD-10 codes actually get paid. Medscape Medical News
Tag: Family Medicine/Primary Care
Googling Patients: What if Something Bad Turns Up?
Suppose you see online photos showing your patient ignoring health advice or doing dangerous things that could compromise his treatment prospects. Should you change the treatment plan? Medscape Business of Medicine
SGR Bill Rolls Meaningful Use Into New Incentive Program
Medicare bonuses would max out at 12% and penalties at 4% in 2018 under a bipartisan bill that shifts reimbursement from fee-for-service to pay-for-performance. Medscape Medical News
Medicare Doc Pay Change Would Boost Patient Coordination
Expectations are high this year that Congress will finally reach an agreement to overhaul the way Medicare pays doctors for services, scrapping a method that’s been the target of criticism for more than a decade. Kaiser Health News
Medicare Will Reveal Individual Doc Pay Starting Mid-March
CMS said it will respond to requests for payment information on a case-by-case basis. Organized medicine favors transparency in principle, but fears the worst. Medscape Medical News
OIG Wants Medicare to Probe EHR Audit Logs for Fraud
Medicare should tell its various contractors to follow EHR audit trails to see who did what and when to patient charts, the watchdog agency has recommended. Medscape Medical News
Senate Passes 3-Month SGR ‘Doc Fix’
Now that lawmakers have kicked the SGR ‘can’ down the road, attention has shifted to bipartisan legislation that would repeal Medicare’s notorious formula for setting physician compensation. Medscape Medical News
Topol Reviews 2013: A Year of Revolutionizing Medicine
At the end of 2013, the biggest practice changers on the horizon deal with lab tests, personal genomics, doing away with iconic healthcare structures, and digitizing the human body. Medscape
End-of-Year Tax Tips: Act Fast!
There are still actions that doctors can take to lower their tax bite for their 2013 taxes. See if there are any that could help you. Medscape Business of Medicine
Physicians Who Dislike EHRs Cite Lower Productivity
Only 42% of physicians said in a recent survey they were satisfied with their digital charts, and not because they were seeing more patients. Medscape Medical News
Doctors Complain They Will Be Paid Less by Exchange Plans
Many doctors are disturbed they will be paid less — often a lot less — to care for the millions of patients projected to buy coverage through the health law’s new insurance marketplaces. Kaiser Health News
Don’t Freeze Medicare Rates, Docs Tell Congress
A proposal to repeal the SGR formula would freeze Medicare FFS rates for 10 years and phase in pay-for-performance. No, no, no, says organized medicine. It’s time for an FFS rate hike. Medscape Medical News
Report Lists Best Healthcare Apps for Consumers
Clinicians may routinely prescribe such mobile apps to patients, provided some barriers disappear. Medscape Medical News
New Bipartisan Plan to Repeal SGR Faces Tight Schedule
The proposal from Senate Democrats and House Republicans needs to piggyback onto a bigger bill, such as the one a special budget committee wants to produce by December 13. Medscape Medical News
Congress Reopens Government, Averts Default, Eases Doc Fears
The bill approved by contentious lawmakers reboots public health agencies and avoids Medicare and Medicaid payment delays, but it sets the stage for more fiscal standoffs around the corner. Medscape Medical News
Deadline to Avoid PQRS Penalty Extended to Oct. 18
Today had been the original deadline for physicians to ask CMS to calculate their PQRS scores from 2013 Medicare claims, which would spare them a 1.5% pay cut in 2015. Medscape Medical News
Debt Default Could Delay Medicare/Medicaid Pay
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew last week warned that failure to raise the debt ceiling, and a subsequent default, would threaten ‘timely’ provider reimbursement. Medscape Medical News
Implementing the ACA — What Clinicians Should Expect
Our newest update offers highlights from Medscape’s recent articles on how the ACA may affect clinical practice. Medscape Family Medicine
Do Your EHR Manners Turn Patients Off?
Having an EHR in the exam room sometimes interferes with the doctor-patient relationship; patients feel that they have less of the doctor’s attention than in the past. Here’s how to manage that. Medscape Business of Medicine
Is HIPAA Creating More Problems Than It’s Preventing?
HIPAA creates its share of issues, although some of those problems are due to overzealous risk managers bending over backward to avoid infractions. Medscape Business of Medicine