Open Payments Review & Dispute Resolution Ends May 20 for Physicians and Teaching Hospitals; No Extensions for Lost Disputed Records, Web Downtime
On April 6, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) opened the review and dispute period, during which healthcare providers can log-in to Open Payments and review the payments attributed to them. Originally, CMS announced on April 6, 2015 that physicians and teaching hospitals have 45 days from April 6, 2015 to voluntarily review data reported by drug and medical device makers about them, and, if necessary, dispute payments.
This week they clarified that the 45 day period ends on May 20, 2015. Payments that are disputed but not resolved within 15 days after the review period (June 3)�...
Source: Policy and Medicine - April 29, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Physician Payment Sunshine Act: CMS Submits Report to Congress on First Year of Open Payments
Over the weekend, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) submitted their annual report to Congress on the first year of Open Payments. Each year, CMS is required to submit a report to Congress summarizing the payments made by applicable manufacturers and group purchasing organizations to physicians and teaching hospitals, as well as any penalties CMS assessed based on noncompliance with the program. The document is an interesting “inside-look” into CMS’s activity, and offers the industry an idea of where the agency is headed with Open Payments, including program implementation improvements, and, perhaps...
Source: Policy and Medicine - April 27, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Teaching Health Centers: Targeted Expansion For Immediate GME Reform
We describe examples of current or proposed programs which illustrate the potential of these modifications.
Need for Immediate Targeted GME Expansion in Primary Care
There is broad agreement on the need for adequate numbers of physicians prepared to work in primary care, geriatrics and psychiatry in urban and rural underserved areas. A 12,000-31,000 shortage over current primary care physician supply in the next ten years is anticipated, depending on modeling considerations such as physician retirement rates and entrance of advanced practice nurses to take up some of the duties physicians currently perform. Regional and st...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - April 24, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Richard Rieselbach Tags: Costs and Spending Health Policy Lab Health Professionals Organization and Delivery Graduate medical education teaching health centers THCGME Source Type: blogs
Open Payments Dispute Resolution Call Reveals Tension Between Manufacturers and Covered Recipients
On Wednesday afternoon, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) held a teleconference for physicians and teaching hospitals to help them through the process of reviewing their Open Payments data and potentially disputing their information. Notably, CMS has streamlined their teaching tools for physicians to a manageable 38-page PowerPoint (from over a hundred pages before, see p. 200). CMS re-iterated their position that they will not be involved in mediating disputes. However, “CMS will monitor disputes and resolutions to inform the program auditing process,” they stated. “How many disputes are initiated...
Source: Policy and Medicine - April 17, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Today: CMS Learning Network Call: Prepare to Review Open Payments Reported Data
Wednesday, April 15; 2-3:30 pm ET
During this MLN Connects National Provider Call, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will provide a brief overview of Open Payments and describe the ongoing review and dispute period, when physicians and teaching hospitals are able to review data reported about them before it is published on June 30, 2015.
To Register: Visit MLN Connects® Upcoming Calls. Space may be limited, register early.
The Open Payments website has important information about the program, including educational materials. CMS encourages all physic...
Source: Policy and Medicine - April 15, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Time your next heart attack to conincide with national cardiology meetings
Surprisingly,high-risk patients with heart failure and cardiac arrest admitted to US teaching hospitals during dates of national cardiology meetings had lower 30-day mortality rates. The surprise is that outcomes improved despite the absence of the cardiologists who attended the meetings. While the cause of this correlation and the generalizability of the methodology are unclear, the finding is very significant.A Freakonomics podcast covering this study expressed the magnitude of this effect in a powerful comparison. While the combination of common interventions (beta-blockers, statins, aspirin, and blood thinners) reduce ...
Source: Bayblab - April 13, 2015 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Rob Source Type: blogs
Time your next heart attack to conincide with national cardiology meetings
Surprisingly, high-risk patients with heart failure and cardiac arrest admitted to US teaching hospitals during dates of national cardiology meetings had lower 30-day mortality rates. The surprise is that outcomes improved despite the absence of the cardiologists who attended the meetings. While the cause of this correlation and the generalizability of the methodology are unclear, the finding is very significant. A Freakonomics podcast covering this study expressed the magnitude of this effect in a powerful comparison. While the combination of common interventions (beta-blockers, statins, aspirin, and blood thinners) reduc...
Source: Bayblab - April 12, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Rob Source Type: blogs
Open Payments Issues For Physicians To Watch For In The Dispute Resolution Period
To comply with the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, drug and medical device manufacturers submitted their 2014 Open Payments reports to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday, April 3. On Monday, April 6, the dispute resolution process kicked off—physicians and teaching hospitals have a 45-day window until midnight May 21, 2015 to log-in to Open Payments, review any payments attributed to them, and potentially alert the manufacturers of any misreporting or other issues they find. This data will be published in a public database on June 30, 2015. Physicians and teaching hospitals aren’t required ...
Source: Policy and Medicine - April 9, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
ED Syncope Workup: After H and P, ECG is the Only Test Required for Every Patient.....
Conclusions: Many unnecessary tests are obtained to evaluate syncope. Selecting tests based on history and examination and prioritizing less expensive and higher yield tests would ensure a more informed and cost-effective approach to evaluating older patients with syncope._____________________________________________________________________________4) Reed MJ. The ROSE (Risk Stratification of syncope in the emergency department) Study. J Am Coll Cardiol, 2010; 55:713-721, doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2009.09.049 Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a clinical deci...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - April 8, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs
Emergency Department Syncope Workup: After H and P, ECG is the Only Test Required for Every Patient.....
Conclusions: Many unnecessary tests are obtained to evaluate syncope. Selecting tests based on history and examination and prioritizing less expensive and higher yield tests would ensure a more informed and cost-effective approach to evaluating older patients with syncope._____________________________________________________________________________4) Reed MJ. The ROSE (Risk Stratification of syncope in the emergency department) Study. J Am Coll Cardiol, 2010; 55:713-721, doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2009.09.049 Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a clinical deci...
Source: Dr. Smith's ECG Blog - April 8, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Steve Smith Source Type: blogs
Read it and weep - then get angry!
The Deadly Corruption of Clinical TrialsUpdate (4/3/2015): After nearly 11 years of obfuscation and denial surrounding the tragic death of Dan Markingson, the University of Minnesota has suspended enrollment in psychiatric drug trials. This comes in response to a blistering report issued by the Minnesota State Legislative Auditor that cites "serious ethical issues" and vindicates much of the reporting in the story below. Read more from Carl Elliott about the fallout from the report here.IT'S NOT EASY TO WORK UP a good feeling about the institution that destroyed your life, which may be why Mary Weiss i...
Source: PharmaGossip - April 4, 2015 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Read it and weep - then get angry!
The Deadly Corruption of Clinical TrialsUpdate (4/3/2015): After nearly 11 years of obfuscation and denial surrounding the tragic death of Dan Markingson, the University of Minnesota has suspended enrollment in psychiatric drug trials. This comes in response to a blistering report issued by the Minnesota State Legislative Auditor that cites "serious ethical issues" and vindicates much of the reporting in the story below. Read more from Carl Elliott about the fallout from the report here.IT'S NOT EASY TO WORK UP a good feeling about the institution that destroyed your life, which may be why Mary Weiss i...
Source: PharmaGossip - April 3, 2015 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
The Troubles at Cooper Continue, Lately Gruesomely, But Will Its Leadership and Governance Change This Time? - Part I: Historical Background
Allegations of Murder-Suicide by a Hospital System CEO This will be a hard series of posts to write. It wa triggered by the latest, and perhaps most gruesome chapter in the troubled history of the leadership of Cooper Health, the largest hospital system in southern New Jersey (known locally as South Jersey). As reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer on March 28, 2015,Cooper University Health System CEO John P. Sheridan Jr. stabbed his wife to death, set their bedroom on fire, and then took his own life, authorities have concluded, closing a six-month investigation into the deaths that shocked New Jersey's politica...
Source: Health Care Renewal - April 1, 2015 Category: Health Management Tags: anechoic effect boards of trustees conflicts of interest Cooper Hospital/ UMC crime governance health care corruption hospital systems leadership Source Type: blogs
Open Payments Submissions Due Today, March 31; Vermont Reports Due Tomorrow, April 1
Manufacturers must submit their Open Payments reports to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today, March 31. These records cover payments or other transfers of value from pharmaceutical and medical device companies to healthcare professionals given in 2014. This second year submission process is unique in that it covers an entire year of payments, rather than only five months’ worth, as was the case in the first round of Open Payments reporting.
Yesterday evening, CMS sent out an email confirming the deadline:
Tomorrow, Tuesday, March 31, 2015, is the final day for applicable manufacturers ...
Source: Policy and Medicine - March 31, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
CMS: Open Payments Data Submission and Attestation Period Open until Midnight April 3, 2015
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has just announced that the Open Payments data submission period will remain open until midnight (Eastern Standard Time) on Friday, April 3, 2015 to accommodate all applicable manufacturers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) that are in the final stages of data submission.
The Open Payments system is scheduled to open for review and dispute on April 6, 2015. This will be the start of the 45-day review and dispute process for physicians and teaching hospitals, which occurs after applicable manufacturers and GPOs submit their payment da...
Source: Policy and Medicine - March 31, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
