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2 Min Read

Physicians should know about their personal data, AMA tells CMS

Personally identified data about physicians not publicly available soon could be shared with government agencies, law enforcement and Medicare contractors without physicians’ knowledge, under a new “system of records” announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Medicare & Medicaid
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2 Min Read

Court squelches challenge to customary practice of medicine

In Kentucky Board of Chiropractic Examiners v. Barlow, an appeals court upheld the ability of physicians to provide expert review and testimony in keeping with their full scope of practice and training.

Judicial Advocacy
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1 Min Read

Avoid 2016 Medicare penalty: Use a registry for quality reporting

Physicians who don’t successfully report for Medicare’s Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) this year will face a 2 percent payment penalty in 2016.

Medicare & Medicaid
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3 Min Read

What you should consider when planning a team-based care model

As team-based models of delivering care become an increasingly common way to improve care coordination and efficiency, a new report offers guidance for the crucial elements physicians should consider when planning such a team.

Scope of Practice
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3 Min Read

Doctors tell CMS to put the brakes on new medical staff rules

A final rule revising Medicare’s conditions of participation for hospitals could impact physicians’ role in hospital governance and patient care activities. Under the latest final rule, published in May and scheduled to take effect July 11, a multi-hospital health system would be permitted to have a single, integrated medical staff.

Payment & Delivery Models
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2 Min Read

Panel recommends fixes for Medicare ACO exclusivity problems

New recommendations by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission seek to correct how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) attributes patients to physicians so most doctors will be able to participate in more than one accountable care organization if they so choose.

Payment & Delivery Models
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3 Min Read

Now's the time to harness telemedicine, EHRs

The AMA made many exciting strides toward more robust health IT earlier this month at the 2014 AMA Annual Meeting, adopting policies on such timely topics as telemedicine and electronic health record (EHR) usability.

series
Leadership
Leadership Viewpoints
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2 Min Read

1 in 3 California hospitalizations stem from diabetes: Study

Patients with diabetes account for one in three hospitalizations in California, according to a new study on diabetes prevalence in the state. The study highlights the impact the disease is having on health care costs.

Chronic Diseases
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2 Min Read

Officials making physicians' health IT concerns a priority

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has released its 10-year vision for health IT, setting its sights on one of physicians’ biggest concerns: achieving nationwide interoperability of electronic health records (EHR).

Digital