Bonus Features – July 16, 2023 – 95% of patients are concerned about data breaches affecting their medical records, 81% incorrectly assume PHI collected by digital health apps is protected under HIPAA
This article will be a weekly roundup of interesting stories, product announcements, new hires, partnerships, research studies, awards, sales, and more. Because there’s so much happening out there in healthcare IT we aren’t able to cover in our full articles, we still want to make sure you’re informed of all the latest news, announcements, and stories happening to help you better do your job.
News
The Sequoia Project and AHIMA are co-sponsoring the Data Usability Taking Root initiative, which will aim to implement data usability guidance published by a Sequoia Project workgroup with input form more than 260 organizat...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - July 16, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Brian Eastwood Tags: Healthcare IT Accelecom Arcadia AT&T Availity Brightside Health Cerner Christine Swisher ClearDATA CMS CommonWell Health Alliance Cotiviti CVS CareMark Dave Wichmann Dr. Amy Compton-Philips eClinicalWorks eCW eLovu Health Source Type: blogs
HHS Again Suspends Disbelief: The Medicaid Program Will Ignore the Greatest Health Threat to Medicaid Beneficiaries
BY DAVID INTROCASO
In May the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) simultaneously published two proposed Medicaid rules (here and here) intended to improve moreover access and quality. Both discussed at length the agency’s commitment to “addressing health equity.” The first sentence in both identified health equity as a Medicaid program priority. The proposed “ensuring access” rule stated CMS “takes a comprehensive approach to . . . better addressing health equity issues in the Medicaid program.” CMS went on to state “we are working to advance health equity by designing, implementing,...
Source: The Health Care Blog - July 12, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Health Policy Biden Administration Centers for Medicare and Social Services Climate Change David Introcaso Source Type: blogs
Aledade Secures $260 Million Series F Financing Round to Expand and Enhance Services for its Nationwide Network of Primary Care Practices
Company Adds Two Board Members and a Senior Executive to Lead its Medicare Advantage Business
Aledade, the largest network of independent primary care practices in the country, today announced the closing of a $260 million Series F funding round to enhance and acquire services and technology to support its practices. The round was led by new investor Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Venrock, Avidity Partners, OMERS Growth Equity, and Fidelity Management & Research Company.
The funds raised in this financing will be used to further accelerate the growth of Aledade’s primary care network and strate...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - July 10, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Healthcare IT News Tags: Health IT Company Healthcare IT Aledade Avidity Partners Dr. David Blumenthal MD MPP Dr. Efrem Castillo Farzad Mostashari MD Fidelity Management & Research Company Galym Imanbayev MD Health IT Funding Health IT Fundings Health IT Inv Source Type: blogs
Bonus Features – July 9, 2023 – Providers spend 11% less time writing clinical notes than they did three years ago, 54% of surgeons unsure about first-to-market products, and more
This article will be a weekly roundup of interesting stories, product announcements, new hires, partnerships, research studies, awards, sales, and more. Because there’s so much happening out there in healthcare IT we aren’t able to cover in our full articles, we still want to make sure you’re informed of all the latest news, announcements, and stories happening to help you better do your job.
News and Research
The Connected Health Initiative released recommendations for state-level policymakers to strike a balance between protecting personal health information and supporting the use of digital health tools. Overall, ...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - July 9, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Brian Eastwood Tags: Healthcare IT Carenet Health Clarify Health Connected Health Initiative EHR Association Epic Epic Research Ethicon Harvard Medical School Healthcare IT Today Bonus Features HIMSS Inovalon Laudio Lauren Struck Loyal MCG Health Source Type: blogs
Rationing Health Care
Lately we ' ve touched upon the absurd cost of medical services in the U.S. -- we spend twice as much as the next biggest spender and three or four times as much as others -- and we ' re less healthy for it. There are a few reasons for this, but here I ' m going to touch the third rail.In the United States, in contrast to other nations, if the FDA approves a treatment, insurance has to pay for it. The FDA does not consider cost, but only whether there is evident of clinical benefit that outweighs risks or (non-financial) harms. The definition of benefit and harm, and how to value them, is of course far from obvious, but we...
Source: Stayin' Alive - July 7, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Medicare Advantage Plans Can Leverage Virtual Cardiometabolic Care
BY RICHARD FRANK
By relying on virtual cardiometabolic solutions for continuous care, Medicare Advantage can produce better outcomes, curb costs, enhance member satisfaction — and improve Star ratings in the process.
By Richard Frank, MD, Chief Medical Officer Vida Health
Medicare Advantage is a hot market. Enrollment is steadily climbing and Medicare Advantage (MA) members now make up half the Medicare population. Though members keep rolling in, competition among MA plans is tight and turnover remains high. Nearly 16% of MA members switch plans at least once during their first year, while over a third end up sw...
Source: The Health Care Blog - July 5, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Health Policy Cariometabolic conditions Medicare Advantage Richard Frank Source Type: blogs
What Are The Current Regulatory Changes And Compliance Requirements That ASCs Need To Be Aware Of In Their Billing Practices?
The following is a guest article by Isaac Smith, Billing, Coding, and Reimbursement Specialist at Medcare MSO
ASCs are types of medical facilities that are subject to stringent regulations. Each ASC is responsible for ensuring that they are in compliance with the numerous statutes and regulations that are in place at both the state and federal levels. These laws regulate everything pertaining to ASCs, from their day-to-day operations to the manner in which they are compensated.
ASCs must stay current on healthcare regulations that affect billing. New CMS and AMA guidelines, coding changes, and reimbursement methods have be...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - June 29, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: Administration Ambulatory Healthcare IT Regulations Revenue Cycle Management AMA ASC ASC Billing ASCs Regulatory Changes CMS Conditions for Coverage CPT Emergency Preparedness HOPD ICD-10-CM Isaac Smith Medcare MSO Medica Source Type: blogs
Should doctors prescribe Leqembi (lecanemab) to women with early Alzheimer ’s Disease? The evidence-based answer is probably No
Welcome to a new edition of SharpBrains e‑newsletter, featuring this time a range of interventions for brain/ cognitive/ mental health plus a few brain teasers to test our perception and cognitive skills.
#1. Should doctors prescribe lecanemab (Leqembi) to women? The answer, given available evidence, is probably No
Huge (and mostly overlooked) red flag regarding newly approved “anti-Alzheimer’s” drugs: “To put it bluntly, if lecanemab doesn’t work in women it would be unethical to supply it to women. Recall this costly immunotherapy comes with substantive risks, including high incidence of ARIA and even death....
Source: SharpBrains - June 28, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health SharpBrains Monthly eNewsletter Technology & Innovation ADHD-symptoms Alzheimers-disease Anti-Alzheimer’s Drugs anti-amyloid drugs ARIA Brain Teasers brain teasers for adults cognitive-behavioral-therapy cognit Source Type: blogs
Pomelo Care Secures $33M, Partners with Leading Health Plans, Employers and Academic Medical Centers to Deliver Value-Based Care and Improve Maternal and Newborn Health
Backed by Andreessen Horowitz and First Round Capital, Pomelo Care has Built an End-to-End, Value-Based Virtual Maternity Care Platform and is on Track to Cover 2M Lives this Year
Pomelo Care, a virtual medical practice that improves maternal and newborn health outcomes, today announced $33 million in Seed and Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. The capital will fuel Pomelo’s continued partnership expansion with major health plans, including several Medicaid managed care organizations, employers and leading academic medical centers on the front lines of the national maternal health crisis.
Pomelo’s multispeci...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - June 23, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Healthcare IT News Tags: Health IT Company Healthcare IT Adam Boehler Allen & Company LLC Andreessen Horowitz BoxGroup Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation CMMI Elevance First Round Capital Health IT Funding Health IT Fundings Health IT Investment Source Type: blogs
3 Ways Consumers are Putting the Pressure on Health Plans
The following is a guest article by Mike Pattwell, Principal Business Advisor, Value Based Care at Edifecs
Consumers are at the heart of healthcare — their fears are forcing healthcare innovators to shift priorities to deliver consumer-centric digital health offerings. This is true today, tomorrow, and far into the future.
With inflation brings financial concerns that lead to cost-cutting efforts often resulting in poorer health outcomes from millions of Americans. Consumers are looking for smarter ways to save on healthcare, forcing insurance providers to make marked changes to the way they conduct outreach and how they...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - June 21, 2023 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Author Tags: Communication and Patient Experience Health IT Company Healthcare IT Telemedicine and Remote Monitoring APIs Application Programming Interfaces Consumers Edifecs EHR FHIR Health Plans Healthcare Consumers Healthcare Insurance Compa Source Type: blogs
Growing controversy over role of FDA and Medicare in promoting anti-amyloid drugs given limited benefit, high cost, severe side-effects
The War Over Whether Medicare Should Pay For The New Anti-Alzheimer’s Drugs (Forbers):
The powerful Alzheimer’s Disease lobby is fighting a multi-billion-dollar battle on two fronts. It is quietly trying to limit restrictions the Food and Drug Administration puts on the use of new drugs aimed at slowing the progression of the brain disease. And it is publicly pressing Medicare to pay for the widespread use of the monoclonal antibodies FDA already has conditionally approved as well as others in the pipeline.
While the FDA approves drugs for use, it doesn’t decide who pays for them. And, for now, the Centers for Medica...
Source: SharpBrains - June 21, 2023 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Alzheimer's experts Alzheimer’s Disease Anti-Alzheimer’s Drugs Biogen brain swelling Eisai europe FDA lecanemab Medicare Source Type: blogs
The Truth About Medicare Advantage Saving Medicare
BY GEORGE HALVORSON
We know from the current annual report from the Medicare trustees that Medicare Advantage is saving Medicare, and that Medicare will be a much stronger program as Medicare Advantage continues to grow.
When we look at actual numbers from that report, we see that Medicare Advantage cost Medicare $403.3bn last year.
The report shows that Medicare is growing 6.7% each year in total revenue. We see that Medicare Parts A and B have expense growth that slightly exceeds 8%, and that Medicare Advantage is projected to have expense growth of 4.2% for the year.
That means we’re losing money from the ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - June 21, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Health Policy George Halvorson Medicare Medicare Advantage Source Type: blogs
The cost of costs
The reason insurers impose deductibles and copays is to discourage utilization. They believe, no doubt correctly, that if people have to spend their own money they may choose not to get as many medical services or buy as many medications. The problem with this reasoning is that people aren ’t wise shoppers for medicine. Now, I’ll be the first to shout it from the rooftops that as a nation, we spend far too much on medical services that are low value or worthless. In fact, I will do so (metaphorically) later in this book. But it’s not because consumers of medicine aren’t wise s hoppers, and making them pay out...
Source: Stayin' Alive - June 17, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
The Republican Study Committee Budget on the Key Drivers of Spending and Debt
Romina BocciaThe House and Senate both have budget committees. And yet, neither chamber has released a budget this year. Against this backdrop, it’s refreshing to see the Republican Study Committee (RSC) continue its nearly 30‐year tradition of producing an alternative conservative budget proposal. Titled “Protecting America ’s Economic Security, ” the RSC under chairman Kevin Hern (R‑OK) and Budget and Spending Task Force chairman Ben Cline (R‑VA) proposes to balance the federal budget, cut taxes, slash red tape, and boost work.The growth in the federal debt is directly tied to increases in spending for...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - June 16, 2023 Category: American Health Authors: Romina Boccia Source Type: blogs
A massive national failure
Over the decades, the U.S. has built a Rube Goldberg contraption out of employer provided health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and some smaller bits and piece that has resulted in, officially, about 90% of Americans having insurance.Great news! That means we can all afford the medical services we need and nobody has to go broke because they get sick or are injured in a car crash or shot by somebody exercising their Second Amendment rights! Err, no. Sadly it does not mean that. As a matter of fact, four out of ten insured adults surveyed in 2023 said they had skipped or delayed some type of care in...
Source: Stayin' Alive - June 16, 2023 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
