2017 has undoubtedly been a standout year in the realms of telemedicine and digital health. In telehealth alone, much has happened over the past 12 months. A new law in Texas officially gave physicians permission to utilize telemedicine services to treat patients they haven’t met in person, quashing a previous requirement that physician-patient relationships had…
New medical billing codes for non-face-to-face encounters and alternative payment models are trying to change the way Medicare reimburses for primary care, according to researchers at the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center. The report, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, showed that CMS aims to find the right payment amount and structure to reimburse…
Telemedicine and digital health are on the rise. Additionally, as the medical field advances, more and more specialties are being added to the mix. These factors prompted two physicians — Michael Nochomovitz and Rahul Sharma — to pen a JAMA viewpoint article on the potential behind a new specialty: the medical virtualist. “This term could be used to…
On the journey toward more value-based care, healthcare professionals must use team-based strategies to appropriately allocate resources, prevent provider burnout, and deliver on quality metrics. Organizations must create both provider and patient engagement to truly deliver value and ensure both stakeholders are meaningful members of the care team. At the Value-Based Care Summit held in…
Forming an accountable care organization is one of the most common strategies healthcare organizations use to transition to value-based care, and several key characteristics and tactics from the most high-performing ones can help other providers build their own successful programs, according to a new report. The Health Care Transformation Task Force studied 11 ACOs across the country by interviewing key…
Senate Bill 870, the Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic Care Act of 2017, or CHRONIC Act for short, has passed in the Senate by a unanimous vote. Among other things, the bill, which was originally introduced in April by Senator Orrin Hatch (R – Utah), includes provisions that would expand Medicare coverage for telemedicine. Full…
Of the hundreds of conversations I’ve had this year about population health management, there is perhaps no question I get more than how to calculate the ROI of the incredible work many of you are doing to better manage patients and bend the cost curve. Since the impact of care management efforts is often articulated…
Accountable care organizations (ACO) are aimed at decreasing costs while improving quality of care but Massachusetts emergency department directors report an inability to meet ACO goals. Challenges with care coordination often stand in the way of hospitals meeting ACO objectives according to 62% of Massachusetts emergency department (ED) directors that responded to an Annals of…
Care quality, disease management, and genetic makeup are core parts of patient health. However, stakeholders must also acknowledge that patient health is much more than medical interventions. This is especially true with value-based patient care taking hold and key concepts such as health equity emerging. Understanding the different components of health equity is the first…
Accountable care may still be a relatively new model in some areas, but the numbers of ACOs are steadily increasing. There were approximately 660 ACOs in the U.S. in 2015. The number increased to 838 last year. Success, however, can be elusive. Only about one-fourth of U.S. hospitals entered into value-based contracts have been able…