July 19, 2013 John DeGaspari
news
Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $12 million in Affordable Care Act funding to support primary care residency programs in 32 Teaching Health Centers across the nation. Funding will help train more than 300 residents during the 2013-2014 academic year, doubling the number of residents trained in the previous academic year.
April 10, 2013 John DeGaspari
news
The Department of Health and Human Services today released its 2014 budget, providing $80.1 billion in discretionary funding, $3.9 billion above the 2012 enacted level. HHS said the budget continues to invest in Affordable Care Act implementation, medical research, mental health services, and Head Start, yet savings are achieved through trade-offs such as the elimination of the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant, and reductions in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Community Services Block Grant.
March 14, 2013 Barbara Miller
article
For some medical practices, particularly those in rural areas, the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is a pipe dream. A progressive concept, PCMHs are designed to bring teams of clinicians together who organize care around patients and track outcomes over time. This model is easier said than done, however, and poses some formidable operational and technical challenges for providers who comfortably operate in the fee-for-service reimbursement environment or are just coming up to speed with electronic health records (EHRs) and other health information technologies (HIT). But for every challenge there is an opportunity, a concept that leaders from Otsego Memorial Hospital (OMH), a fully accredited 46-bed acute care facility and 34-bed long-term care facility in Gaylord, Mich., know all too well.
January 28, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
The Louisiana Public Health Institute, the animating organization behind the Crescent City Beacon Community, has leveraged the power of EHRs to facilitate a metropolitan area-wide patient-centered model of care.
January 14, 2013 Mark Hagland
news
On Jan. 14, the Chicago-based American Medical Association (AMA) submitted formal comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), in response to the release of the Health IT Policy Committee’s proposal for Stage 3 of meaningful use under the HITECH Act.
January 7, 2013 John DeGaspari
news
The relationship between a physician practice's adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and quality improvements in patient care remains unclear. However, a new study published in the January issue of Health Affairs by Weill Cornell Medical College and the Primary Care Information Project (PCIP) of the New York City Health Department shows evidence that EHR implementation can improve patient care in small physician practices in New York City when combined with sustained high-intensity technical assistance.
January 5, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
In the wake of the so-called “fiscal cliff deal” that averted the effects of federal budget sequestration for two months when it was passed by Congress on Jan. 1 and signed by President Obama on Jan. 2, Blair Childs, senior vice president for public affairs at the Charlotte-based Premier health alliance, spoke with HCI Editor-in-Chief Mark Hagland about the current policy and political situation on Capitol Hill. To paraphrase Bette Davis, healthcare providers need to expect a bumpy ride throughout 2013.
January 2, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
At approximately 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 1, the U.S. House of Representatives concluded voting, by a margin of 257 to 167, to approve a bill that the U.S. Senate had approved at about 1:57 a.m. Tuesday, to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff” triggered on Tuesday by prior legislation passed in 2011. The legislation forestalled for several weeks the triggering of federal budget sequestration, which would have unleashed $110 billion in across-the-board federal spending cuts, including across-the-board 2-percent Medicare reimbursement cuts to healthcare providers.
December 19, 2012 Mark Hagland
article
On Dec. 19, the Chicago-based Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. announced that its CEO, Glen Tullman, had stepped down, and that the company had named Paul M. Black as its president and CEO, effective immediately. Tullman’s resignation followed well over a year of turmoil and upheaval within the company, in an industry facing rapid change.
December 14, 2012 Mark Hagland
article
As negotiations over the so-called “fiscal cliff” enter a key phase, Sharon Canner, Director of Advocacy Programs at CHIME, speaks exclusively with HCI Editor-in-Chief Mark Hagland about the prospects for Medicare cuts and other issues for legislators on Capitol Hill
December 13, 2012 Gabriel Perna
news
Summit Medical Group, a Berkeley Heights, N.J.-based medical group, recently announced its forming an accountable care organization (ACO) with Cigna, a New York City-based payer. The two organizations say the new ACO will impact 10,000 patients that receive care at 300 Summit Medical Group providers.
December 10, 2012 Mark Hagland
article
As the clock counts down to the so-called “fiscal cliff,” the negotiations between the White House and congressional Republicans reveal just how vulnerable healthcare providers are to potential reimbursement cuts and added policy mandates, as the federal government lurches forward to resolve many unresolved budget and healthcare policy issues
