Staff News Writer

Physicians who practice in a group can register for the 2014 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) Group Practice Reporting Option (GPRO) now through Sept. 30. Physicians who do not participate in PQRS this year will be hit with a 2 percent payment penalty in 2016. 

Saying that we physicians are accustomed to stressful circumstances is something of an understatement. We’re constantly in the midst of urgent situations with a variety of people depending on us—and for some of our patients, their very lives hang in the balance.

About 20 percent of eligible professionals—mostly physicians—have dropped out of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) meaningful use electronic health record (EHR) incentive program, according to an AMA analysis of data from the agency.

The number of U.S. adults reporting a diagnosis of diabetes more than tripled over the past two decades, according to a study published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine. At the same time, the rates of all five major diabetes complications declined significantly, suggesting the importance of screening and prevention work.

A dedicated advocate for eliminating health care disparities and encouraging minority students to pursue medical careers was named Psychiatrist of the Year by the Minnesota Psychiatric Society: Dionne Hart, MD.

Health care delivery models—and relationships between hospitals and physicians—are changing rapidly, but until more systems implement new models, the traditional structure isn’t going away, according to discussions from an industry conference highlighted in an April 18 Health Affairs blog post.

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate last month could clear the way for out-of-state physicians to be able to lend their skills to the victims of federally declared disasters, preventing a repeat of the New Orleans catastrophes of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita when medical volunteers were turned away as the result of vague liability and licensing laws.