Determining the Success of the HITECH Act
Guest post by Definitive Healthcare After nearly seven years since the $35 billion HITECH Act was passed, some look at the slow pace of Meaningful Use, the relatively poor interoperability of EHR systems, and the physician workflow complaints and ask, “What has it actually accomplished?” A new study performed by Mathematica Policy Research and presented […]
A Startling Number of Medicare Patients were Over-Prescribed Opiates in 2016
The Washington Post reported last week that according to a government watchdog, half a million Medicare patients were prescribed too many opioids for non-cancer pain in 2016, according to standards set by the CDC. Read the article >> Our very own Dr. Claire Trescott wrote a blog on “How to Institute Guardrails when Prescribing Opiates […]
Reining in Hospital Supply Costs and Physician Preference Item Spending
Guest post by Definitive Healthcare Supply costs are a primary target of healthcare organizations looking to optimize their operations. Unlike labor and overhead expenses, medical and surgical supply spending is more discretionary and has less immediate impact on clinical care or capacity. In addition, supplies are an increasingly large component of healthcare spending, with the […]
How to Institute Guardrails when Prescribing Opiates for Non-Cancer Pain
Prescribing opiates for non-cancer pain is an evolving field for clinicians. What was appropriate 5 years ago would be considered poor practice today, making it critical for practitioners to stay current in their knowledge. We started using opiates for chronic pain without malignancy about 20 years ago. Before then, patients were forced to live with […]
How to Improve Access by Focusing on Patient Experience
There’s a major debate about access to healthcare for all Americans. Indeed, this is at the heart of solving our national healthcare dilemma. Physicians understand that getting medical care to people promptly, when they need it, can prevent catastrophic events and is also an effective way to make care more affordable. The longer we hold […]
Is Comprehensive Community-Based Population Health the Future of Healthcare?
Guest post by Definitive Healthcare As hospitals have embraced value-based healthcare over the past several years, many observers have noticed that quality outcomes depend not only on medical treatment, but also on positive socioeconomic factors. A patient with stable housing and employment as well as access to healthy food is more likely to be in […]
Are Today’s Providers Overwhelmed by Quality Reporting?
Guest post by Definitive Healthcare In today’s healthcare delivery environment, few concerns are as important to providers, payers, and consumers as quality. Quality scores can drive patients towards or away from hospitals and doctors, determine reimbursement rates, and subject organizations to a wide range of government incentives or penalties. Most would agree that quality measurements […]
Instituting True Risk-Based Payments
In a time where many in this nation are confused about the direction of health care, we look toward the future. Regardless of the design one thing is clear, we need more accountability in health care. There still isn’t a clear understanding of risk-based contracting in the healthcare industry. This value-based payment model is inevitable […]
Goodbye Obamacare – Where Do We Go from Here?
We’re on the brink of seeing significant shifts in health care with the Republican repeal of the Affordable Care Act. I’m hopeful that we will see wisdom and thoughtfulness in the replacement, but there are fundamental challenges that need to be brought to light as this process goes forward. Health insurance as a for-profit business […]
Transformation from Volume to Value
The industry is responding very slowly to the move to Value-Based Care. Instead of taking steps to move forward with a new model of care delivery and creative payment models, everyone is waiting for the next CMS edict or decision from Congress. The industry should be examining the inefficiencies in the current system, determining how […]