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Health information technology experts told a U.S. Senate health committee that they need to use persuasion rather than legislation to fix problems with the multibillion-dollar federal health IT program. The hearing focused on the decades-...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its long awaited Medicaid managed care proposed rules on May 26; the rules were published in the Federal Register on June 1 (80 Fed. Reg. 30198-31297). The last time the federal...
"Independence Blue Cross then assigns each high scorer a staff member — what it calls a “health coach,” who will work at no charge to the client to see what extra services may be helpful. “This coordinated effort then works for the...
According to a special June issue of the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH)  [External Web Site Policy] , released today,significant disparities in the burden of disease and illness experienced by different groups persist.  The...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 5, 2015 CONTACT: Lisabeth Buelt lisabeth@pcpcc.net | (202) 417-3911 An important study regarding the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model of care was published in JAMA Internal Medicine this week: Effects...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid late Thursday released its final rule on the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) in an effort to encourage more participation of accountable care organizations (ACOs) in risk-based models. The...
STORY HIGHLIGHTS New research published in the Annals of Family Medicine explores inconsistencies in the use of health information technology to facilitate care-coordination activities. Researchers found that care-coordination...
An institution with heavy influence over how much physicians are paid has been sharply criticized by a federal agency that echoes AAFP calls for more transparency and a greater voice for primary care physicians. [Stethoscope laying on...
STORY HIGHLIGHTS During a May 28 meeting, AAFP President Robert Wergin, M.D., spoke before an Institute of Medicine committee charged with evaluating the impact of The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health five years after...
Performance improvements are attributed in part to tying physicians' performance bonuses to actionable patient data. But "not all medical home interventions are alike," one researcher notes. A medical home model in Pennsylvania that...
Six medical groups participating in Anthem Blue Cross’ Accountable Care Organization (ACO) program were able to save $7.9 million in just one year by focusing on improving population health management for patients suffering multiple...
A three-year study of a 'medical home' intervention that paid bonuses to physician practices based on financial savings has shown significant improvements in quality and use of some medical services relative to comparison practices,...
Anthem Blue Cross (Anthem) announced today its Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) under its Enhanced Personal Health Care Program, which targets PPO members with two or more chronic conditions to improve their overall health through...
Do you want to live longer; enjoy better health; avoid unnecessary emergency room visits, hospitalizations and surgeries; and pay lower health care costs? I surmise that for nearly everyone, the answer is “yes.” Each of these goals can be...
Douglas White knew high-deductible insurance is supposed to make patients feel the pain of medical prices and turn them into smart shoppers. So he shopped. He called around for price quotes on the CT scan his doctor ordered. After all,...
Before the explosion of managed care, electronic health records (EHRs), hospital mega-mergers, and just before the rise of hospitalists, primary care physicians had a very different role. Leaders in the field who have practiced over...
As patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) continue to gain steam, a new report reinforces the fact that the model's mission of lowering costs and improving access to care relies on the use of peer support from community health workers (...
he search for quality continues. In a report released just last week (see this week's "Pelzman's Picks"), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealed that the committee that sets relative value units (RVUs), which are a big part...
An innovative move to improve access to primary care services for nearly 9,000 Commonwealth of Kentucky employees is paying real dividends. The state has realized significant cost savings and created a more effective system of healthcare...
CarePlus NJ in Paramus announced Wednesday that it is the first state-certified agency in Bergen County to establish a “behavioral health home, a new model of integrated primary care for individuals with severe mental illnesses.”...

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