New PSWP narrows providers’ definition of privileged information
August 8th 2016Recent guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeking to clarify patient safety work product (PSWP) privilege under the Patient Safety Act has instead stoked conflicting opinions among organizations representing healthcare providers as to how the provision should be interpreted.
What insurers leaving Obamacare exchange means for physicians
August 3rd 2016Recent analysis by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. reveals that many insurers are losing money in ACA individual markets, with aggregate year over year losses more than doubling, and with post-tax margins between –9% and –12%. Losses like these resulted in UnitedHealth Group leaving the California ACA market after only one year.
White doctors earn more money than black physicians, study finds
August 1st 2016The disparity in pay between blacks and whites has been well documented over the years, with sociologists imputing everything from systemic discrimination to differences in education and employment expectations for the inequality in paychecks.
EHR-enabled fraud remains a concern
August 1st 2016While the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that nearly $29 billion of improper payments were made in 2015, according to spokespersons for the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and CMS, the full extent of EHR fraud remains elusive.
Texas doctors band together to fight for independence
July 27th 2016When physician groups in the Dallas-Fort Worth area started to feel the pressure of value-based contracts, they realized quickly that banding together was the best way to maintain autonomy while staying competitive in a changing market.
Understanding liability as an attending physician
July 25th 2016With more and more hospitals in recent years evolving their own employees into attending physician roles, this appellate decision clarifies the parameters of everyone’s responsibilities-and the need for specificity in determining duties and protocols when a private attending physician is in charge.
Malpractice reform efforts pit uniformity vs state autonomy
July 25th 2016A malpractice reform bill introduced earlier this year in the U.S. House of Representatives, the latest attempt to rein in medical malpractice awards on a national level, already has run into some conservative opposition on Capitol Hill.