Posts Tagged “Physicians”
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Physician Work Hours
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, March 9, 2010
An JAMA article examines whether physicians are working less, and if so, whether the reduction is related to changes in fees. The results indicate physicians are putting in fewer hours, which appears correlated with fee reductions.
Tags: Physicians
Pay-for-Performance Program Evaluation
by Kevin Roche on Monday, March 8, 2010
Three recent articles provide some additional insight into pay-for-performance programs. Research has generally shown inconsistent results, so there is great benefit in understanding what features may make a program most successful in improving quality and outcomes.
Tags: Pay For Performance, Physicians
Refining Quality Measurement Programs
by Kevin Roche on Friday, March 5, 2010
Increasingly physicians and hospitals are measured on compliance with process of care and outcomes, in some cases being incented or penalized depending on their performance. A new study suggests how to ensure exceptions to these guidelines are properly taken into account.
Tags: Physicians, quality
Medicare Fee Change Effect on Utilization
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, March 4, 2010
A new research article examines the link between Medicare fee changes and the volume of utilization, confirming standard economic theory that the volume, or supply, of physician services does appear to be subject to normal supply and demand curves.
Tags: Medicare, Physicians
Consequences of Reimbursement Changes
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, February 17, 2010
As part of health care reform, various reimbursement changes have proposed, such as episode bundling or time-based global payments. An article in Cancer points out that such revisions to payments don’t always have the intended effect.
Tags: Medicare, Physicians
Massachusetts Report on Provider Pricing Impact
by Kevin Roche on Monday, February 1, 2010
The Massachusetts Attorney General investigates and discovers that hospitals and some physicians have market power and consequently are able to demand high payments and those payments are the main cause of increases in the cost of health insurance, not utilization increases.
Tags: Health Care Costs, Hospital, Physicians
Quality Reporting Programs Impose Costs on Physician Practices
by Kevin Roche on Monday, January 25, 2010
Quality measurement and pay-for-performance programs continue to spread, in the belief that they will improve health care quality. A new study looks at the costs these programs impose on physician practices, finding that any financial incentives are usually lower than the costs.
Tags: Health Care Reform, HIT, Pay For Performance, Physicians
2010 Potpourri III
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, January 23, 2010
Healthy health care snacks–concierge medicine, personalized medicine, health care hiring, electronic medical records, Medicaid, disease management–all for your reading pleasure on the weekend.
Tags: Care Management, Chronic Disease, Disease Management, HIT, Medical Care, Personalized Medicine, Physician Practice Models, Physicians
Managing End-of-Life Care
by Kevin Roche on Monday, January 18, 2010
End-of-life care achieved some notoriety in the health reform debate, but it deserves thoughtful attention since it accounts for a great deal of cost and research indicates that patients’ wishes for less intensive care are often not honored. A new study looks at how physicians approach the issue.
Tags: Care Management, Medicare, Physicians
2010 Potpourri 2
by Kevin Roche on Saturday, January 16, 2010
Another collection of health care tidbits, a little telemedicine, a little reform, a little on medical care, a little personalized medicine and a smidgen of physician happiness.
Tags: Health Care Reform, Personalized Medicine, Physicians, Telemedicine
A Few Physicians Account for a Lot of Workers’ Comp Spending
by Kevin Roche on Friday, January 15, 2010
Health care costs account for over half of workers’ compensation spending. More attention is being given to drivers of this spending and a new study identifies a small group of physicians as responsible for a huge amount of the cost.
Tags: Physicians, Workers Compensation
How Does Capitation Affect Care
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, December 17, 2009
A new study suggests that physicians who are paid by capitation for some patients spend less time with those patients. Is that appropriate or inappropriate?
Tags: Medical Care, Physicians
International Survey of Primary Care Doctors
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Commonwealth Fund supported a survey of primary care physicians in several countries to compare their use of health IT, the availability of incentives, patient payment issues and other matters. The United States lags other developed nations in many areas.
Tags: HIT, International, Physicians
GAO Report on Medicare Use of Physician Profiling
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, November 5, 2009
The General Accounting Office gives its perspective on the viability of the per capita method of physician resource use profiling by Medicare and provides useful insight into the topic of variable physician practice patterns.
Tags: Health Care Costs, Physicians, Providers
CMS Physician Payment Changes
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, November 3, 2009
CMS released its rule changes for physician payments in Medicare. Significant cuts are set forth in the rule’s 1669 pages, sure to spark a strong response from the physician community and Congress.
Tags: Medicare, Physicians
Physician Group’s Health Reform Ideas
by Kevin Roche on Friday, October 9, 2009
The American College of Physicians presents its reform ideas.
Tags: Government, Health Care Reform, Physicians, Providers
House Calls Returning?
by Kevin Roche on Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Los Angeles Times reports on a possible return of house calls.
Tags: Care Management, Medical Care, Physicians, Providers
Interesting Data About American Physicians
by Kevin Roche on Thursday, September 10, 2009
A survey of physicians reveals useful observations.
Tags: Physicians, Providers
Getting Physicians to Participate in Research
by Kevin Roche on Monday, August 17, 2009
An article examines barriers to physician participation in medical research.
Tags: Medical Care, Medical Research, Pharmaceutical, Physicians, Providers
AHIP Survey Illustrates Physician Fee Issues
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Insurers have been under sharp attack for causing many of the problems reform is designed to address. One response has been to shift the responsibility for these problems to other components of the health system; in this case physicians’ fees.
Tags: Health Care Costs, Health Insurance, Physicians, Providers
An Interesting Pay-for-Performance Evaluation
by Kevin Roche on Friday, July 24, 2009
An analysis of England’s pay-for-performance system finds improvement but some interesting trends and concerns as well.
Tags: Health Care Reform, Medical Care, Pay For Performance, Physicians
Who Is the “Voice” of Physicians?
by Kevin Roche on Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A physician website challenges the AMA’s representation of physicians.
Tags: AMA, Medical Care, Physicians
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Medical schools in the U.S. plan to add 3,000 first- year students by 2018 – it won’t be enough
U.S. Census Data Indicate Physician Workforce May Be Smaller, Younger Then Expected, Study Says