Research in JAMA Internal Medicine finds that an intervention to lessen use of "low-value" services, in this case, imaging for back pain or headache or bone density testing, by using fake patients and then counseling young physicians, did not work. Maybe we should rely more on doctors' judgment about the value of services and maybe we should recognize their risk-aversion, given the malpractice world they live in.
Troubled revenue cycle management firm Accretive has received lifeline financing and a long-term contract from a group headed by hospital chain Ascension Health.
Melody Health Insurance is singing a happy tune and ending the year on an upbeat note, adding $3.8 million to support entry as a health insurer into new markets.
A study published in the British Journal of General Practice finds that physicians who don't prescribe antibiotics when patients think they should get them are likely to have lower satisfaction scores, demonstrating again the conflict between expecting physicians to have high satisfaction scores and punishing them for not following care guidelines.
MD Revolution gets $23 million in fresh capital as it ramps up its business of helping physicians maximize Medicare chronic disease management reimbursement.
Shortly after we learned that growth in health spending accelerated in 2014, the ECRI Institute says that new devices and drugs working their way to market in the near future will add $80 billion in annual spending.
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.
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.