Value-based care, the care delivery and reimbursement reform movement that emphasizes outcomes over volume of services rendered, could not be successful without strong and meaningful patient engagement. Defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as programs that “reward health care providers with incentive payments for the quality of care they give to people with…
On August 25, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released performance results for the eighth performance year (2020) of the Medicare Shared Savings Program(MSSP). The results for this year need to be interpreted carefully given that the majority of the performance year occurred during the global COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the pandemic,…
About 4 months after emergency medicine physician Jessica (a pseudonym used out of fear of retaliation from her employer) joined a Michigan hospital in 2014, the department’s staffing group was bought out by TeamHealth, a staffing firm backed by the private-equity behemoth Blackstone. Ever since Emergency Medicine Specialists (EMS) — which touts itself as one of the…
The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the health disparities across the United States and is fueling overdue discussion on how they can be systematically addressed to achieve the bigger goal of delivering the best care everywhere. Much of this discussion is focused around how to best leverage the valuable troves of health care data…
Several medical groups say a new round of cuts to Medicare payments set to go into effect in 2022 will derail their move to value-based care and impact hiring of new staff. Medical groups spoke about the need for Congress to avert a series of cuts during a briefing on Tuesday sponsored by the American…
People living in rural America have lower incomes, less education, and are in poorer health than those living in other areas of the United States. For more than a century, these measures have been “sticky” with little change despite many efforts to do so. It is also well-known that most rural areas have a shortage of primary care and specialist physicians and lack of…
Medicaid will be an increasing focus of alternative payment models (APMs) from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), Ellen Lukens, MPH, said Wednesday at the annual Population Health Colloquium hosted by Thomas Jefferson University. “Models have been predominantly Medicare-oriented, and have disproportionately served white beneficiaries,” said Lukens, who is policy and programs group…
A leader from PACE program Summit Eldercare believes there should be at least half the number of nursing homes in the country, in order to adequately provide value-based care. Instead, prospective SNF residents would be better served in community housing options. This is coupled with a trend Summit Eldercare is seeing among the SNFs it…
Having a good online presence and digital patient experience is more important than ever, with patients making healthcare access decisions after extensive research looking into cost, convenience, and online provider reviews, according to data from Kyruus in partnership with Wakefield Research. The annual survey, now in its fifth iteration, was emailed to journalists and revealed key insights…
Dr Alex Ng discovered during his early medical career in a role as chief resident at the Middlemore hospital in New Zealand that he wanted to support those who are underprivileged. The hospital was a referral unit for tertiary and quaternary care for the South Pacific islands, which allowed him to witness the impact of…