Absolution
By ANISH KOKA, MD
Like many cities, Philadelphia is a city defined by its neighborhoods. I practice in two neighborhoods separated by a few miles but leagues apart in every other way. One of the hospitals is a tertiary care facility in the heart of Center City – a well to do upcoming part of town – and the other is a small community hospital a few miles South. The patients at the two locations are quite different, and the mechanism of health care delivery is also starkly different. Medical care at the Center City campus is provided mostly by employed physicians, and care at the community hospital is provide...
Source: The Health Care Blog - August 2, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
A doctor turns to social media for organ donation
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
A couple of months ago I received a Facebook invitation to “like” a page. That was not unusual, and usually the pages are on silly or obscure topics, but this page was different. The name of the page was New Kidney for Stu.
Stuart Himmelstein, MD, FACP, is one of my Facebook friends. Stu is a solo internist in private practice in Delray Beach, Florida. He is also a past Governor of the Florida Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP), which is how I met and got to know him. His ACP service is just one of his many contributions to...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - July 29, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/yul-ejnes" rel="tag" > Yul Ejnes, MD < /a > Tags: Physician Nephrology Source Type: blogs
How Focusing on Strengths Instead of Weaknesses Changes Your Brain
You're reading How Focusing on Strengths Instead of Weaknesses Changes Your Brain, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
The key to human development is building on who you already are”
― Tom Rath
Let me ask you a question.
How many of your New Year’s resolutions focus on fixing a weakness?
My guess is most of them.
Am I right?
It’s human nature to focus on our shortcomings. And by doing so, we sabotage ourselves.
Research clearly shows that people experience faster growth and development when they n...
Source: PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement - July 28, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: IlkaEmig Tags: career confidence featured happiness productivity tips psychology build strengths change your brain overcome weaknesses pickthebrain self improvement top motivational quotes Source Type: blogs
Rural America: A Primer for Washington Officials, Columnists and Dartmouth Economists
By NIRAN AL-AGBA
Earlier this week , physicians in small private practices and rural areas breathed a collective sigh of relief. There is a possibility the implementation of changes to physician reimbursement (known as MACRA) could be delayed. Thank you, Mr. Slavitt, for listening. I am grateful to Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) for keeping our rural needs in mind. We have a window of opportunity for rural health care to survive but we must communicate our needs as physicians and patients’ loud and clear.
Whether in reference to health care or public education, trying to increase quality while simultane...
Source: The Health Care Blog - July 22, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Clinical Updates, Tips on Business and Billing, Draw Attendees to ASHA Connect
Editor’s note: This is the first of two posts from the ongoing ASHA Connect Conference in Minneapolis. This post focuses on the health care side of the conference. The second, to come on Monday, will focus on the schools side.
For speech-language pathologists in private practice and health care, attending ASHA Connect is a slam-dunk: The sessions give them hands-on information they can use right away. The sessions—smaller and more in-depth than those at the ASHA Annual Convention held in November—offer specific clinical strategies and business tips, attendees say.
This is the first year for ASHA Connect, which began...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - July 8, 2016 Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Carol Polovoy Tags: Events Speech-Language Pathology Uncategorized Health Care Source Type: blogs
CMS + MIPS/APM = Death of the Private Practice Physician
By NIRAN AL-AGBA
Small, independent private practices are closing, increasing numbers of physicians are retiring early, and fewer medical school graduates are choosing primary care. The old-fashioned practice my father and I have built is a dying entity. Parents say coming to see us for an appointment feels more like a visit with a friend than a medical encounter. I am fighting for the subsistence of rural primary care practices. Most will not survive MACRA proposed changes to the reimbursement structure.
Seven days ago, I attended an “informational listening session,” sponsored by the Center for Medicare and...
Source: The Health Care Blog - July 5, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized CMS MACRA Reporting Small Practice Source Type: blogs
MACRA Comment: CMS + MIPS/APM = Death of the Private Practice Physician
By NIRAN AL-AGBA
Small, independent private practices are closing, increasing numbers of physicians are retiring early, and fewer medical school graduates are choosing primary care. The old-fashioned practice my father and I have built is a dying entity. Parents say coming to see us for an appointment feels more like a visit with a friend than a medical encounter. I am fighting for the subsistence of rural primary care practices. Most will not survive MACRA proposed changes to the reimbursement structure.
Seven days ago, I attended an “informational listening session,” sponsored by the Center for Medicare and...
Source: The Health Care Blog - July 5, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized CMS MACRA Reporting Small Practice Source Type: blogs
The Physician’s Case For Trump
By ANISH KOKA, MD
Brexit has been hailed as a turning point in the history of Western Democracy by a collection of liberal and conservative elites that decry the vote of a disenchanted and ignorant populace. The greatest threat to democracy in the modern age turn out to be the very same people that make up the democracy. We are told these are the same forces that propel Donald Trump forward. It is a convenient narrative that extinguishes any real debate on policy. If you support Brexit or Donald Trump you are an uninformed, xenophobic bigot. Yet here I am – an Indian immigrant, a physician, and a lifelong d...
Source: The Health Care Blog - June 30, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Anish Koka newtag Source Type: blogs
The Healthcare Efficiency Myth – What Really Happens When Doctors And Hospitals Join Forces
For much of the history of U.S. medical care, hospitals and physicians have existed as separate financial entities. Physicians in the U.S. have typically been self-employed, as solo or group practitioners and not as hospital employees. An internist like me … Continue reading →
The post The Healthcare Efficiency Myth – What Really Happens When Doctors And Hospitals Join Forces appeared first on PeterUbel.com. (Source: blog.bioethics.net)
Source: blog.bioethics.net - June 30, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Peter Ubel Tags: Health Care healthcare costs healthcare insurance Medicare Obamacare Peter Ubel syndicated Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Dropping Out is NOT the Answer
I like Dr. Pamela Wible. I think she’s doing fantastic work bringing attention to the tragedy of physician and medical student suicide. We also have similar practice styles (solo, unhurried visits, total communication) although hers is a subscription practice and I still make do with insurance. Also, she’s monetized it with the title Ideal Micropractice, an organization which costs $250 a year to join. After 26+ years, I’m pretty comfortable with my version, which is ideal for me, and can’t see paying for the privilege of sharing what I’ve learned. (I just offer it for free to anyone who asks....
Source: Musings of a Dinosaur - June 8, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: notdeaddinosaur Tags: Medical Source Type: blogs
Sloppy Risk Adjustment and Attribution Guarantee MACRA Won’t Work
By KIP SULLIVAN
I just finished reading the 962-page MACRA rule CMS released late in April. I was prepared for the mind-numbing complexity of the document. What I was not prepared for was CMS’s glib treatment of two fundamental issues: The woeful inaccuracy of the scores CMS will use to punish and reward doctors, and the cost to doctors of participating in ACOs, “medical homes” and other “alternative payment models” (APMs)
These are not peripheral issues. If CMS dishes out financial rewards and punishments based on inaccurate data, MACRA will, at best, have no impact on cost and quality and may well have a negat...
Source: The Health Care Blog - June 5, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized ACOs Kip Sullivan MACRA MIPS Source Type: blogs
House Ways and Means Committee Hearing on MACRA Implementation – Grave Concerns about Impact on Small Practices
Discussion
Impact on Small Practices
The impact of MACRA on small practices was one of the most talked about practices. Members like Chairman Tiberi and Representative Sam Johnson spoke about feedback from their districts, and wanted to know how smaller, solo, rural practitioners will be able to succeed under the new payment models. Mr. Slavitt stated that this is one of the areas in which CMS is seeking feedback, but mentioned some aspects of the current proposal that may help. He mentioned that the proposal allows for reporting to occur through registries that small providers may already be participating in, and that...
Source: Policy and Medicine - June 1, 2016 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan - Policy & Medicine Writing Staff Source Type: blogs
Do Small Physician Practices Have a Future?
There’s a lot to absorb in the proposed rule for implementing “MACRA”—the sprawling, bipartisan law passed in 2015 aimed at moving Medicare physician payment from rewarding volume to rewarding value. One question attracting scrutiny is whether the reforms will favor larger practices at the expense of smaller ones. This debate was partly prompted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s own projections that the law would reduce payments for most solo practices.
(Source: The Commonwealth Fund: Blog)
Source: The Commonwealth Fund: Blog - May 26, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: blogs
Slavitt’s “Data Paradox”
By KIP SULLIVAN
Andy Slavitt began his statement at the Datapalooza conference with encouraging words for those of us who believe that the measurement craze has been a disaster and that MACRA will make it worse.
Slavitt claimed to be in favor of electronic medical record “reform” that “works with doctors, not against them.” He seemed to say he understood MACRA could aggravate the damage that “meaningful use” and the pay-for-performance fad have already inflicted on doctors.
He even accurately summarized the lousy results to date of the measurement craze. He said doctors feel all the data entry “took time ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - May 17, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Technology Can’t Solve Slavitt’s “Data Paradox”
By KIP SULLIVAN
Andy Slavitt began his statement at the Datapalooza conference with encouraging words for those of us who believe that the measurement craze has been a disaster and that MACRA will make it worse.
Slavitt claimed to be in favor of electronic medical record “reform” that “works with doctors, not against them.” He seemed to say he understood MACRA could aggravate the damage that “meaningful use” and the pay-for-performance fad have already inflicted on doctors.
He even accurately summarized the lousy results to date of the measurement craze. He said doctors feel all the data entry “took time ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - May 17, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
