physician practice news from FierceHealthcare
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Medical practice revenues down in 2008, MGMA says
Last year, revenue for medical practices fell, marking the first time in several years the industry has seen such a decline, according to new research by the Medical Group Management Association.... Read more...
Study: Physicians turn to hospitals for help
An AHA study has found that physicians are turning to hospitals for help as they struggle with financial burdens and lowered incomes. The study, which surveyed 736 hospital chief executives, found... Read more...
Size, trust key to MDs in choosing billing firms
A new survey suggests that size and trustworthiness of the company are key factors when physicians choose a medical billing firm. Other factors that matter to physicians include that the billing... Read more...
160-physician group joins Essentia Health
Essentia Health of Duluth, MN is picking up a 160-physician practice which will add an additional 22 clinics to its footprint. The Dakota Clinic/Innovis Health, a Fargo, ND for-profit physician group... Read more...
AMA fights physician Medicare cuts
The American Medical Association has begun its latest no-holds-barred campaign to make Congress cancel a scheduled Medicare reimbursement cut. As part of its campaign, AMA is publicizing the results of its survey of 9,000 physicians, which found that more than half would to limit the number of Medicare patients they accept if the planned 10 percent cut is implemented. (Sure, there's a bit of grandstanding going on here--but the pain is real, too.) Patients aren't the only ones who would …
... Read more...MD groups seek new Medicare rate formula
The current system Medicare used to gradually bump up reimbursement rates for physicians isn't fair, and should be replaced by one which takes physician practice costs into account, a group of 87 medical organizations told Congress. The group, which includes the American Medical Association, notes that hospitals and nursing homes are paid based on their costs. However, physicians are paid based on a formula known as the sustainable growth rate (SGR), tied to the U.S. economy, which has …
... Read more...CMS may target 'inefficient' doctors
Adding yet another wrinkle to the agency's complex relationship with doctors, CMS may begin profiling physicians and targeting those it deems inefficient sometime next year. Herbert Kuhn, acting deputy administrator of CMS, told a House subcommittee that the agency will have the data and computer capacity available to do the tracking as soon as mid-2008. To monitor efficiency, CMS would compare levels of tests physicians order for certain types of patients to tests ordered by other …
... Read more...NY hospital sues health plan, claims conspiracy
A Brooklyn hospital has decided to sue one of New York city's largest health plans, arguing that the plan conspired to wrongfully deny coverage. Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center says that it was forced to eat a major portion of costs that were really the financial responsibility of Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York (HIP). The hospital has filed a civil racketeering lawsuit contending that HIP teamed up with physicians and others to deny coverage. Specifically, the …
... Read more...Improving practice operations boosts safety
Increasingly, medical practices are instituting routines designed to improve patient safety and at the same time, help patients understand what they need to do to bring what they've learned home with them. In one instance, Kaiser Permanente has begun providing patients "after-visit summaries" allowing them to capture what they've learned during their visit and review self-care instructions.
In another case, a number of industry groups have banded together to help doctors assess …
... Read more...Overcrowding in the ER
Wonderful topic, and forgive me for tossing in my two cents: Isn't the basis for the plight of the ER primarily linked to the catastrophic and wholesale abandonment of primary care in this country? While some of the lengths undertaken to fix the symptoms of overcrowding, some nearly heroic, I think the fundamental issue is associated with access, coverage, and availability and utilization of primary care. As you mention in the case of the HCA hospitals in Florida, redirecting patients to clinics can save costs. But this kind of shift also comes much too late. Providing a global (national) accessibility to primary care could keep the 85 percent of the patients out of the ER who do not have genuine need of emergency services. It would also allow the most costly care in the system to be used appropriately and would shore up the primary care docs, who are soon to be found only in museums.
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