News From Around the Web
> Humana, apparently confident that the electronic health record donation safe harbors will be extended beyond 2013, has announced that it will subsidize up to 85 percent of EHR purchases for physicians participating in its network. The subsidy would apply to purchases of Greenway Medical Technology's PrimeSUITE EHR system. Announcement
> An Alberta-based physician lost control of more than 1,500 patient records for several weeks when she was unable to retrieve them from the EHR at the clinic where she used to work, the Carstairs Courier reported. The doctor did not have direct contract with the EHR vendor, as required by Canadian law for the release of the records, and her prior practice initially refused to consent to her access. Article
Health Finance News
> The long-used argument that malpractice litigation drives up healthcare costs is being refuted in a new report by Public Citizen. The study by the non-profit concluded that malpractice payouts have fallen by 29 percent over the past decade-- compared to a 58 percent increase in healthcare costs. The total malpractice awards payout last year of $3.1 billion was the lowest on record in terms of inflation-adjusted dollars and the lowest in actual dollars in 15 years. And malpractice-related costs accounted for just 0.11 percent of total healthcare costs. Article
Provider News
> With the Affordable Care Act making physician payments more outcomes-focused, some experts predict that telemedicine and web-based visits will become a more integral part of how physician offices care for patients. To test this notion, the Mayo Clinic is currently piloting video visits and will decide later this year whether it's practical and beneficial to expand it. Article
And Finally... I hope he was planning on ordering coffee at that drive-thru. Article