Contrary to expectations, small physician groups appear to perform as well or better than larger ones on avoidable hospital admission rates.
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Patients who reside in neighborhoods with low socioeconomic status have higher rates of hospital readmissions, even after adjusting for individual socioeconomic status and other factors, according to a study in the journal Circulation Outcomes, providing further evidence of how flawed CMS' readmission penalty program is.
http://circoutcomes.ahajournals.org/content/early/2014/07/29/CIRCOUTCOMES.113.000911.full.pdfA report from the Commission on Medicaid Access and Payment finds that while Medicaid recipients have high rates of ER use, most of it is justified.
https://a7d050c2-a-10078ef1-s-sites.googlegroups.com/a/macpac.gov/macpac/publications/MACFacts-EDuse_2014-07.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cpM-3ETcAl2YybMthLJVHTlGUFFKO7ohSuRVHX1ULNlZFwQRYLpauM1BiPh1NyFhDcUXeKrDzg_ASoFwz6eGqqcFdUgujjVjiSpfSpuzFzO51XgMhohcCr0xgJhQnp6JYlxeAp_G4R399zLSP2HshaPbQszwGnLTuZZzhwifE6z-bG_Ct-etKrKmo9TO6c_nArUfbUWJ0uv0kAG03Fk4NDo0H0wYULzxjR99ukUUQ4-ESaGBPA%3D&attredirects=1The latest Altarum Institute Health Sector Economic Indicators Report shows continued growth in health spending with subdued price increases.
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Validic has gotten an additional $5 million for its business of aggregating health data from various sources, including wearables and personal medical records.
http://medcitynews.com/2014/08/validation-validic-investors-put-5m-behind/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=a5277035f8-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-a5277035f8-67648197Acupera, whose product mines data from EHRs and other sources to help guide physician care, has raised $4 million.
http://medcitynews.com/2014/08/acupera-pulls-4m-help-health-providers-better-understand-patients/?utm_source=MedCity+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=a5277035f8-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c05cce483a-a5277035f8-67648197In another example of guideline overreach, the New England Journal of Medicine carries studies suggesting that keeping dietary salt levels too low has adverse health effects.
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In a very important development for telemedicine, the Federation of State Medical Boards is working on a multi-state licensure compact for doctors that would avoid the current hassles for physicians who see patients remotely in multiple states.
http://www.fsmb.org/Media/Default/PDF/Publications/07%2025%202014%20FSMB%20statement%20on%20draft%20compact_FINAL.pdfAbout this Blog
The Healthy Skeptic is a website about the health care system, and is written by Kevin Roche, who has many years of experience working in the health industry. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements through Roche Consulting, LLC and may be reached at khroche@healthy-skeptic.com.