Hospital mergers don ’t work
There is a growing body of evidence that hospital mergers lead to higher prices for consumers, employers, insurance and the government. It is imperative to educate patients and lawmakers as to how the consolidation of hospitals and medical practices raise costs, decrease access, eliminate jobs and, ultimately, reduce care quality as a result. Lawmakers should focus on this “first pillar” of cost control as they go back to the drawing board.
In 2010, there were 66 hospital mergers in this country. Since the Affordable Care Act went into effect, the rate of hospital consolidation has increased by 70 percent. By creating ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 14, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/niran-s-al-agba" rel="tag" > Niran S. Al-Agba, MD < /a > Tags: Policy Hospital Source Type: blogs
Prescribing opioids safely: How to have difficult patient conversations
Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., and opioids account for over 60 percent of those deaths. While opioids are effective pain medications when used in the proper setting, concerns arise when the patient’s condition lasts longer than three months, and prescribing more medication does not necessarily result in better pain control.
Building a strong doctor-patient rapport can help facilitate conversations with patients about opioid prescriptions and reduce risks that could lead to malpractice suits. The Doctors Company reviewed 1,770 claims that closed between 2007 and 2015 in which patient h...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 14, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/roneet-lev" rel="tag" > Roneet Lev, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Pain management Source Type: blogs
10 Things Every Alzheimer's Caregiver Needs to Know and Discuss with Their Doctor
TheAmerican Geriatrics Society has published a list of ten things doctors and their patients should consider, know and understand.I think it is important forevery caregiver of a person living with Alzheimer's, or a related dementia, todiscuss these 10 issues with the doctor. Doing this in advance might be one of the most important caregiverdecisions you can make.It might also be a good idea toshare this article in support groups, and bookmark (save) it so you can find it when you need it.What is Alzheimer's Disease?By Carole Larkinhttp://www.alzheimersreadingroom.comI think this is an important list of things that nee...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - April 13, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: rtdemarco at gmail.com Tags: alzheimer care care of dementia patients dementia help for caregivers elderly dementia care geriatrics health help alzheimer's help with dementia help with dementia care life news memory care facility Source Type: blogs
Physicians and opioids: Part of the solution, but challenges ahead
With more than 200 million prescriptions for opioid medications being written every year, it’s hard to escape the notion that physicians must share some of the blame for creating the opioid epidemic facing the nation.
The criticism has come from many quarters. Editorial writers have pointed the finger of blame, as have high-ranking elected officials. More than a third of the American public think doctors are at fault, and even members of our own profession have acknowledged the unwitting complicity of physicians.
There’s no denying it. Despite our well-intentioned motivation to care for our patients and treat their pai...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - April 13, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: James S. Gessner, MD Tags: Addiction Health Health care Mental Health Source Type: blogs
President Trump Meets with Democrats on Drug Prices
President Donald Trump recently met with several Democratic lawmakers regarding rising drug prices, including Representative Elijah Cummings and Peter Welch. Representative Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has been an outspoken critic of the pharmaceutical industry and drug pricing.
During the meeting, which was also attended by HHS Secretary Tom Price and Dr. Redonda Miller, president of Johns Hopkins Hospital, President Trump allegedly told the lawmakers that he is interested in taking action with respect to U.S. drug prices and believes it may be an area of potential b...
Source: Policy and Medicine - April 13, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan - Policy & Medicine Writing Staff Source Type: blogs
Mice Raised in a Germ-Free Environment Exhibit Less Age-Related Inflammation and Longer Average Lifespans
The research I'll point out here is an interesting data point to add to what is known of the impact of a life-long exposure to pathogens on aging and longevity. Researchers raised mice in a germ-free environment, and found that they did not suffer anywhere near the same age-related increase in inflammation, and the average life span increased. You might compare it with another recent study in which germ-free mice developed less metabolic waste in brain tissues over a lifetime. The research here focused on the interaction between gut microbiota and the immune system over the course of aging, a topic that has been explored t...
Source: Fight Aging! - April 12, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs
Translating the language of hospital administrators
Thanks to internist Steven Mussey for translating the language of hospital administrators.
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 12, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/admin" rel="tag" > Admin < /a > Tags: Video Hospital Source Type: blogs
I failed my patient, and it ’s a burden I’ll carry with me
This happened in my first couple years of practice, but I will never forget her.
I stood at the doorway of the funeral home, a 26-year-old mother lying in the open casket was off to the side. Standing out among the crowd of mourners was a tall man holding his one-year-old daughter, her curly locks of hair bouncing as he moved.
Soon after they were married, she became pregnant. They were a bright, young couple that had planned to have a large family and wanted to start right away. I was a fairly new doctor, not yet married myself, and embarrassingly, a bit envious of their relationship. They had an ease about them as if bin...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 12, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/andrea-eisenberg" rel="tag" > Andrea Eisenberg, MD < /a > Tags: Physician OB/GYN Source Type: blogs
Removing jargon: Why are physicians singled out?
My voice recognition software insists on typing “when needed” when I say “PRN,” and the other day I saw an orthopedic note that said, “before meals joint.” I was sure that the straight-laced orthopedic surgeon did not intend to tell the world anything about anybody’s cannabis use. Instead, it was obvious he had spoken the words “AC joint,” meaning acromioclavicular (on top of the shoulder). But AC can also mean “before meals,” (ante cibum).
Hospitals and health care credentialing bodies make us use plain English instead of medical terms and abbreviations. They say it is to avoid confusion. I think it ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - April 12, 2017 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/a-country-doctor" rel="tag" > A Country Doctor, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Primary care Source Type: blogs
Medicaid Responds To The Opioid Epidemic: Regulating Prescribing And Finding Ways To Expand Treatment Access
Medicaid programs are at the center of the opioid epidemic. Nearly 12 percent of adults covered by Medicaid have a substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder. Available data suggest that Medicaid beneficiaries are prescribed painkillers at higher rates than non-Medicaid patients and have a higher risk of overdose, from both prescription opioids and illegal versions including heroin and fentanyl. In addition to the human toll, abuse of opioids has significant financial effects. In 2010, Arizona Medicaid paid for more than half of all opioid-related emergency department admissions, and in 2012, 81 percent of the $...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - April 11, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: Amy Bernstein and Nevena Minor Tags: Costs and Spending Medicaid and CHIP Public Health opioid epidemic preferred drug lists prescription drug abuse prescription drug monitoring programs prior authorization requirements Section 1115 Waivers Source Type: blogs
Open Payments Starts Review and Dispute …On A Saturday
With the close of Open Payments submission just behind us, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plans to publish the Open Payments Program Year 2016 data and updates to the 2013, 2014, and 2015 program years on June 30, 2017.
As such, the review and dispute period for the Program Year 2016 Open Payments data publication begins on Saturday, April 1, 2017 and will last until Monday, May 15, 2017. Physicians and teaching hospitals must initiate their disputes during this 45-day review period in order for any disputes to be addressed before the June 30th publication.
Physician and teaching hospital review o...
Source: Policy and Medicine - April 11, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan - Policy & Medicine Writing Staff Source Type: blogs
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: " Medication errors in hospitals don ’t disappear with new technology " . Government: " It's the doctors' fault. " I am cited.
In conclusion:While I wish the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article was longer, in its limited space its author did touch upon the major relevant issues well regarding the PA Patient Safety Authority study and its implications towards national Health IT policy.ONC ' s Dr. Andrew Gettinger ' s responses, however, seems to reflect an unwillingness of he and the government to acknowledge Bad Health IT. His repsonses also appear to show a lack of appreciation of the complaints about EMRs from nearly 40 medical societies. " It ' s the doctors fault " for not training enough.He does acknowledge that better IT would be a g...
Source: Health Care Renewal - April 10, 2017 Category: Health Management Tags: Andrew Gettinger MD Donald Rucker Healthcare IT experiment healthcare IT risk ONC Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Siemens Healthcare Steve Twedt Source Type: blogs
How Should The Trump Administration Handle Medicare ’s New Bundled Payment Programs?
Conclusion
The Department of Health and Human Services has several options for addressing Secretary Price’s prior objections to the hospital-at-risk structure of the CJR and EPM models that could maintain the integrity of these payment reform initiatives. In our view, however, the Department does not have a good alternative to the mandatory structure used for CJR and EPM that could preserve the integrity of the models tests and the scope of their potential impact. Making these models optional would be a severe blow to efforts to use bundled payments to improve care delivery in orthopedics and cardiac care, and to the cha...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - April 10, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: Tim Gronniger, Matthew Fiedler, Kavita Patel, Loren Adler and Paul B. Ginsburg Tags: Costs and Spending Featured Medicare Quality bundled payment Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative CMS Innovation Center Comprehensive Care for Joint Care Model Episode Payment Model oncology care model Seema Varma tom pri Source Type: blogs
The Children of Medicaid
This article was originally published on Complex Child.
Compiled by Susan Agrawal
I’ve been continually surprised by how many people think Medicaid is just for poor families on welfare. Those of us who parent children with complex medical needs know that Medicaid is so much more than that. After all, 72% of Medicaid enrollees are children, people with disabilities, and the elderly, and these groups account for 84% of spending.
Medicaid provides vital services for children, including home nursing care and therapies, that are not otherwise covered. In this article, we will share just a few of the children with medical co...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - April 10, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
#PutUnitedOutOfBusiness
United Airlines just crossed a line. Please read thisarticle from USA Today, and watch the disturbing video clips:LOUISVILLE — A video posted on Facebook late Sunday evening shows a passenger on a United Airlines flight being forcibly removed from the plane before takeoff at O’Hare International Airport.The video, posted by Audra D. Bridges at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, is taken from an aisle seat on a commercial airplane that appears to be preparing to take flight. The 31-second clip shows three men wearing radio equipment and security jackets speaking with a man seated on the plane. After a few seconds, one of the men grabs t...
Source: Dalai's PACS Blog - April 10, 2017 Category: Radiology Source Type: blogs
