In its first five years, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has already left an indelible mark on the $2.9 trillion health sector. By energizing five fundamental shifts, the law has accelerated the rise of a New Health Economy predicated on value, according to a new report from PwC’s Health Research Institute (HRI), “Five Trends to Watch as the Affordable Care Act Turns Five.”
According to the PwC report, although much groundwork was laid in advance of the law’s enactment, health
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Healthcare Policy Regulation & Reform | News, Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
UCSF, John Muir Health Partner to Form ACO Network
UCSF Medical Center and John Muir Health has invested in a collaborative effort, called the Bay Area ACO Network, to form a regional health care network. The goal is to provide the right care at the right time and in the most appropriate setting, whether that is the primary care physician’s office, an outpatient center or a hospital. The two health systems also have formed a new development company that will enable them to collaborate on building new medical facilities, increase the number of
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NY Gov Cuomo Approves EPCS Delay to March 2016
On Friday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that would postpone the deadline for doctors in the state of New York to use only electronic prescriptions to March 27, 2016 . According to lawmakers, many physicians still lack the required federal approval for their computer systems to perform electronic prescriptions for controlled substances (EPCS) intended to prevent prescription fraud, Washington Times report.
“This is a victory for patient safety,” said Dr. Andrew Kleinman,
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CMS Unveils Next Generation ACO Model
On Tuesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Innovation Center (CMS Innovation Center) launched the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model of payment and care delivery initiative. The next Generation ACO Model will offer a new opportunities in accountable care designed to set predictable financial targets, enables providers and beneficiaries greater opportunities to coordinate care, and attain the highest quality standards of care.
Initiative Details
The
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Why the ICD-10 Dual Coding Proposal Is A Recipe for Disaster
The Coalition for ICD-10 has issued a new position statement in response to the latest trial balloon from ICD-10 opponents, which proposes that CMS allow a ICD-10 dual coding system approach in which small physician offices would be able to submit claims coded in either ICD-10 or ICD-9 during a transition period after Oct. 1, 2015.
Members of the Coalition are united in making the following statement:
Concerns have been raised about the potential financial impact on small physician offices
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Why Healthcare Price Transparency Is So Murky
I’ve spent the better part of the last two years trying to improve price transparency in healthcare. When my startup, Medlio, began down this path, we had a very simple vision - that consumers should be able to use their smartphones to find, connect, and transact with their healthcare providers. By "transact," I mean schedule appointments, submit medical forms and insurance information, receive an upfront estimate of the cost of the visit, make payment, and receive their data afterwards.
Now,
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Has For-Profit Healthcare Destroyed The Soul of Medicine?
The changes in medical care over the last five decades have been dramatic. Technological and scientific advances have given patients access to a level of medical diagnosis and care previously undreamed of.
During this time, Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provided more people with the opportunity to take advantage of that care. Yet despite all that extraordinary progress towards value based healthcare something is missing, states J. Joseph Marr, MD, a retired academic
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CMS Reports 81% of ICD-10 Test Claims Accepted
81 percent of submitted ICD-10 test claims were accepted during the first ICD-10 end-to-end testing from January 26 through February 3, 2015, according to CMS. 661 healthcare organizations including providers, clearinghouses and billing agencies participated submitting a total of 14,929 ICD-10 test claims, 12,149 of which were accepted. Overall, the results demonstrate the CMS systems are ready to accept ICD-10 claims.
ICD-10 claim test results found the reasons for rejected claims
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ADP AdvancedMD Releases ICD-10 Toolkit Mobile App
ADP AdvancedMD has announced the release and availability of AdvancedMD ICD-10 Toolkit mobile app that gives private practices a suite of ICD-10 preparation tools available in the iTunes Store. Now anyone with an iPhone or iPad running iOS8 can easily test their readiness and train staff for the October 1st deadline, free of charge. Customers of AdvancedMD practice management software can also leverage the app to add ICD-10 codes to their charge slip templates.
The app was created as part of
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Is Primary Care Dead?
There are close to a quarter million primary care physicians in the U.S., more than any other individual specialty, and about half the total number of all specialists combined. Yet, somehow, primary care seems to lack the power and social influence necessary to chart its own professional course. As the availability and granularity of specialist physicians increased, the value proposition of a generalist primary care doctor seems to have become unclear to those who pay for medical services and to
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