Staff News Writer

Collecting accurate information about patients can help improve the quality of care and identify ways to reduce health disparities. One health system collected race, ethnicity and language data from more than 90 percent of patients to boost care quality—and their efforts are thriving.

Medical practices that have made the transition from paper to an electronic claims revenue cycle spend less time on administrative processes and have more time to lessen payment errors and appeal inappropriate denials.

The Association of American Medical Colleges released a report on the drop in black males applying to med schools over the past three decades, despite efforts to expand diversity in the physician pipeline.

Diversity in the medical profession and health equity for minority populations has stepped into the spotlight with the recognition of 21 medical students as future minority physician leaders.

The Community Preventive Services Task Force released its findings on how engaging community health workers in a team-based care model can improve patients’ blood pressure and cholesterol. The findings support interventions that engage these workers for health education, outreach and enrollment in programs.

The data doesn’t lie—with 44 people die each day from an overdose of opioids. The Providers’ Clinical Support System for Opioid Therapies offers five online resources to help physicians address prescription issues for opioids in their daily practice.

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), the law that eliminated the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, has a variety of provisions physicians need to know. Learn how physicians will work to influence implementation of the repeal law.

The U.S. Congress may move to delay the third stage of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services electronic health record (EHR) meaningful use program. Proposed legislation would pause Stage 3 rulemaking to align it with technology advancements and the new merit-based incentive payment system.