In the Blogs

MassHealth may be losing money on imaging, auditor says

September 01, 2010-Boston Globe White Coat Notes Blog

Massachusetts' Medicaid program could be losing millions of dollars on potentially unnecessary imaging tests and by paying more than Medicare, according to a report released by the state auditor today. Auditor Joseph DeNucci said dramatic increases in the use...

Beyond Meaningful Use: Three Five-Year Trends in the Uses of Patient Health Data and Clinical IT

September 01, 2010-The Health Care Blog

By DAVID C. KIBBE & BRIAN KLEPPER Finally, we have a Final Rule on the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs. The rules and criteria are simpler and more flexible, and the measures easier to compute. But they are still...

Dendreon Shares Up on Provenge Medicare Coverage Meeting Scheduling

September 01, 2010-Wall Street Journal Health Blog

Investors were pleased that a CMS announcement didn't suggest the question of whether or not Provenge should be covered is on the agenda.

Combat is over in Iraq but challenges remain (Rep. Steny Hoyer)

September 01, 2010-The Hill Congress Blog

This evening, President Obama delivered an address to mark the end of America’s combat mission in Iraq. The Obama administration and the Democratic Congress pledged Read more...

Make your small private practice thrive in 4 steps

September 01, 2010-KevinMD.com

by Susan Giurleo, PhD Health care is changing at lighting speed. If you don’t know this, or worse, don’t accept it you’re doomed. No. Really. It’s change or close shop. Whether you like it or not, health care reform is going to change the way we practice from now on. Many physicians are choosing [...]

Health Affairs Briefing: Medical Liability And ER Use

August 31, 2010-Health Affairs Blog

The September 2010 issue of Health Affairs is devoted to two issues that arguably were insufficiently addressed by the Affordable Care Act:  medical liability and patient safety; and the growing nonemergency use of the nation’s hospital emergency rooms. The issue contains new estimates of how much medical liability costs the health care system overall; of [...]

Berwick To Speak AT AHIP Conference

August 27, 2010-Health Affairs Blog

Don Berwick, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, will address Implementing Health Care Reform: The Administration’s Priorities, at AHIP’s 2010 Medicare Conference, September 12-14, in Washington, D.C.  Health Affairs is a media partner for the conference. Berwick will highlight the Administration’s health reform priorities, including changes under the Medicare program and [...]

Electronic Health Records In Hospitals: A Progress Report

August 26, 2010-Health Affairs Blog

While the share of U.S. hospitals that had adopted either basic or comprehensive electronic health records rose modestly between 2008 and 2009, from 8.7 percent to 11.9 percent, only 2 percent of this country’s hospitals reported having records that would meet the federal government’s “meaningful use” criteria. These findings are reported today in a Health Affairs [...]