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2 Min Read

States take up interstate compact to simplify medical licensure

Eleven states have endorsed an interstate compact designed to facilitate a speedier medical licensure process with fewer administrative burdens for physicians seeking licensure in multiple states.

Digital
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3 Min Read

Physicians outline improvements to EHR certification process

Physicians can’t meet meaningful use requirements without certified electronic health records (EHR). Medical associations recommended three changes to improve the certification process and make it easier for physicians to use EHRs and care for patients.

Digital
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3 Min Read

Allopathic, osteopathic GME programs move closer to alignment

As of Jan. 1, the accreditation systems for allopathic and osteopathic graduate medical education (GME) programs are partners, driving forward the implementation of a single accreditation system for all GME programs in the country.

Digital
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2 Min Read

Complete PQRS with alternate reporting option

Physicians will face a 2 percent payment penalty in 2017 if they do not successfully report for Medicare’s Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) this year. You can take advantage of a reporting option that can help improve patient outcomes while simultaneously lessening your chances of incurring penalties.

Payment & Delivery Models
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3 Min Read

Physician voices are crucial in tech development

I discussed some of the promises and problems of medical technology at a meeting of AdvaMed, a trade association for medical technology. Physicians have to be involved in the evolution of medical technology to ensure we can actually use these developments.

series
Digital
Leadership Viewpoints
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4 Min Read

Why patient-focused technology could be the future of medicine

To be patient-centered, a digital health tool doesn’t necessarily have to be high-tech. However, innovations are not just about the tech—they are about how we use the tech to take better care of our patients and be better physicians.

Digital
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3 Min Read

Improving EHRs: Reports, comments and changes to know from 2014

From vendor shortcomings to impossible meaningful use impositions, many problems with EHRs need to be addressed. Learn more about the pain points identified in 2014 and the work under way to transform EHRs from a burden to a useful tool for physicians and their patients and improve the meaningful use program.

Digital
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6 Min Read

10 top issues that impacted physicians in 2014

A number of regulatory, public health and practice issues took center stage for the medical profession this year. See the 10 topics that made some of the biggest waves among the physician community in 2014—and learn how they played out.

Medicare & Medicaid
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2 Min Read

How telemedicine challenges the medical profession

Skeptics worry that the benefits of telemedicine may be outweighed by diminished privacy and security of medical information and loss of the therapeutic value tied to hands-on encounters between patients and their physicians. The December issue of Virtual Mentor, the AMA’s online ethics journal, considers this issue from a variety of angles.

Ethics