Part B News | Editors' Blog

CMS chief puts personal stamp on push for EHRs

by: Grant Huang Apr 18, 2011

CMS's push for you and your peers to adopt electronic health record (EHR) systems by 2016 has a passionate advocate in Administrator Donald Berwick, MD, a former pediatrician appointed by the Obama administration. Dr. Berwick, who is generally well regarded in the physician community, appears in a four-minute YouTube video released last week to make a personal case for EHR adoption. Dr. Berwick describes the benefits of an EHR from his clinical perspective, and tells an interesting anecdote of treating an autistic native American child in a remote reservation.

AMA issues wish-list of demands to CMS

by: Grant Huang Apr 15, 2011

What would you like CMS to give you for Christmas? The AMA is showing its cards -- in a recent letter sent to CMS chief Donald Berwick, the top physician advocacy group provided a long list of "the most burdensome regulations [physicians] deal with" and asked for change.

The letter is intended as a response to President Obama's Jan. 18 executive order asking federal agencies to remove or reduce regulations that unnecessarily have a negative impact on small business. The AMA's response takes aim at a dozen Medicare and Medicaid regulations and policies, including a few recent favorites you'll recognize.

HHS reveals volunteer-based initiative to improve patient care

by: Lauren C. Williams Apr 12, 2011

HHS unveiled the 10-year Partnership for Patients initiative, as means to prevent complications during patient care in a conference call Tuesday. Department Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that the program could “help save lives by stopping preventable injuries and complications in patient care over the next three years.”

Insider: ACO proposed rule a 'very tough sell' for small practices

by: Grant Huang Apr 8, 2011

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are the talk of town at the moment, but the current proposed rule for ACOs offers little incentive for small to medium-sized physician practices to participate, according to one industry insider.

"Only those groups that truly have the money and resources are going to play," says this source, who works as a regulatory analyst and lobbyist at a major physician advocacy group in Washington. "As the rule is set up now, it's a very tough sell for smaller groups ... and a lot of care in this country is provided by small practices, five providers or less."

Brief shutdown won't hit Medicare payments to providers, unless it's lengthy

by: Lauren C. Williams Apr 8, 2011

While Congress is racing to squash budget disputes and avoid a government shutdown, you and your peers are wondering whether your Medicare payments will be hit. The short answer is no – assuming the shutdown is short, that is.

“Medicare would continue to pay claims for care provided to people with Medicare…it’s not like Medicare would run out of money,” an HHS spokesman says. “If the shutdown would continue for an extended period of time contractors may have to slow or stop payments.”

HHS would not elaborate on the exact length of time contractors would have before slowing or stopping payments.

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