Delivers the latest headlines on healthcare when it happens, as it happens
August 27-31, 2012 | This week’s top news:
New health care standards to save up to $6 billion
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced a final rule that will save time and money for physicians and other health care providers by establishing a unique health plan identifier (HPID). The rule is one of a series of changes required by the Affordable Care Act to cut red tape in the health care system and will save up to $6 billion over ten years. …Click here to read more
Source: HHS.gov
United States Reaches Settlement With Memorial Health Care System
The United States has reached a settlement with Memorial Health Care System, Inc. (Memorial), the nonprofit corporation that operates Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Memorial Hixson Hospital (formerly known as Memorial North Park Hospital) in Hixson, Tenn. As part of the settlement, Memorial agreed to pay $1,278,579 to settle alleged violations of the federal False Claims Act and other federal laws and regulations. …Click here to read more
Source: US Attorney’s Office – Eastern District of Tennessee
Managing lab tests when patients view results online
Numerous surveys have found that patients want immediate access to the results of their laboratory and other diagnostic tests. In an era of transparency and patient engagement, they are getting their wish. …Click here to read more
Source: American Medical News
Medicare Fraud Squads Wield New Weapons
Fighting health care fraud in the U.S. can seem like an endless game of whack-a-mole. When government fraud squads crack down on one scheme, another pops up close by. But the fraud squads who look for scams in the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs have some new weapons: tools and funding provided by the health law. …Click here to read more
Source: Kaiser Health News
Fear of Data Theft Blunts Public Acceptance of EHRs
Worries about the security of personal information continue to blunt public acceptance of electronic health record (EHR) systems now used by more than half of the nation’s office-based physicians, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Xerox. …Click here to read more
Source: Medscape News Today
Health official predicts problems if AL vote fails
The man who is temporarily overseeing funding for Alabama’s health care program for the poor says Medicaid will be in deep trouble if voters do not approve a Sept. 18 referendum to take more than $437 million from a state trust fund and use it to prevent huge cuts in spending on state programs for three years. …Click here to read more
Source: 10tv.com
