News From Around the Web
> A whistleblower suit filed in federal court is alleging that Mercy Health Partners of Southwest Ohio and an affiliated group of radiologists engaged in a kickback scheme in violation of the False Claims Act and federal Anti-Kickback statute. The suit alleges that the defendants filed about 200,000 tainted Medicare and Medicaid claims over five years that were worth about $52 million to Mercy Health and $17.5 million to the radiology group. Article
> A new PET amyloid imaging agent called Vizamyl (F-18 flutemetamol} has been approved by the FDA, giving physicians another tool for evaluating amyloid in the brain in order to aid in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Vizamyl now joins Amyvid as FDA-approved PET agents used for amyloid imaging. Article
> Screening rates for colorectal cancer can be increased in underserved populations by organized mail outreach programs followed by follow-up telephone calls, according to an article in JAMA Internal Medicine. The authors also found that offering those populations non-invasive screening options like fecal immunochemical tests will increase screening rates among those populations as well. Article
Health IT News
> CHIME and the American Hospital Association are among groups challenging sections of a proposed rule governing mandatory disclosures to patients about how data from their health records is being used, Healthcare IT News reports. A privacy and security "tiger team" convened by the Office of the National Coordinator's Health IT Policy Committee is developing recommendations on the rule, which relates to compliance of the HITECH Act, the article notes. Article
Health Finance News
> Despite millions of Americans gaining insurance coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act, hospitals may still have to more effectively manage bad debt.
Many individuals who purchase coverage through the health insurance exchanges are likely to purchase the lower-cost bronze health plans, which have higher out-of-pocket costs, including for ER visits and hospital stays according to the Nashville Business Journal,. The publication cited data linking higher out-of-pocket cost plans to higher levels of uncollected debt. Article
And Finally… Is a loose eyeball a good reason to blow off work? Article