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Institute of Medicine Report Prompts Debate Over Graduate Medical Education Funding, Oversight
July 29, 2015
Ever since 1997, when the federal Balanced Budget Act froze Medicare’s overall funding for graduate medical education, debates have flared regularly over whether and how the U.S.
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The Difficulty of Predicting Physician Shortages
July 29, 2015
Much of the criticism directed at the IOM’s proposed revamping of federal GME funding stems from the idea that a graying population will place additional strains on a healthcare system that already is facing a significant doctor shortage.
“Number one, they came out and said, ‘We don’t know that t
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Experts Urge Extension to Medicaid’s Parity Program
July 29, 2015
On the last day of 2014, a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that increased payments to some physicians providing primary care services to the country’s poorest patients expired.
News
Hospitalist’s Study Cited in Federal Recovery Audit Legislation Passed by Senate
July 29, 2015
Society of Hospital Medicine members have a real impact.
[caption id="attachment_10802" align="alignleft" width="66"] Dr. Sheehy[/caption]
A paper published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine in April by Ann Sheehy, MD, MS, and colleagues was recently cited in Sen.
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Small Bowel Block in Elderly Merits Full Hospitalization
July 28, 2015
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The "vast majority" of elderly patients admitted with small bowel obstruction (SBO) are hospitalized for more than two days, and the diagnosis alone should allow appropriate Medicare coverage, according to a new study.
In a paper online July 1 in Annals o
News
PHM15: A Closer Look at Quality Indicators, Evaluation Tools
- Francisco Alvarez, MD, FAAP
July 24, 2015
Session: Let’s Measure Our Own Performance: Propose and Evaluate Pediatric Hospital Medicine Quality Indicators
Summary: During this workshop, a staff of multiple, nationally-recognized quality leaders led a group to review, help develop, and help validate quality measures.
News
CMS Proposes Changes to Two-Midnight Rule
July 14, 2015
On July 1, 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced proposed changes to its controversial two-midnight rule.
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News
Medicare Initiatives Improve Hospital Care, Patient Safety
- MHM;
- Patrick Conway, MD, MSc
July 6, 2015
[caption id="attachment_10401" align="alignright" width="291"] Image Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM[/caption]
As a hospitalist myself, I have seen firsthand the need for a healthcare system that provides better care, spends dollars more wisely, and keeps people healthier.
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News
ICD-10 Medical Coding System Likely to Improve Documentation, Reimbursement
July 6, 2015
ICD-10 is the system that will replace ICD-9 for all parties covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). ICD-10 contains a code set used for inpatient procedural reporting and a code set used for diagnosis reporting.
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News
Post-Acute Patient Care New Frontier for Hospitalists
July 6, 2015
[caption id="attachment_10261" align="alignright" width="300"] Image Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM[/caption]
In spite of all the gadgets and technologies available to hospital-based physicians nowadays, Jerome Wilborn, MD, FCCP, sees a much simpler symbol of patient care. Dr.