October 26th, 2011 by RamonaBatesMD in Health Policy, Opinion
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I have now completed three weeks at my new job with the Disability Determination Services office. I sort of knew there were two types of disability payments under SSI: Title II and Title XVI. Now I understand the differences much clearer.
I would urge everyone who can afford it to purchase disability insurance. As the person training me put it, “If you are disabled, you are still ‘costing’ your family in addition to not contributing to the family income.”
The big difference between the two (II and XVI) is that Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living*
October 2nd, 2011 by Dinah Miller, M.D. in Health Policy
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Over on Shrink Rap News, Roy wrote a post about proposed Medicare cuts. He continued the conversation here on Shrink Rap.
I want to expand on the discussion in what I hope will be easy-to-understand terms. Why would anyone who is not a doctor even care what Medicare reimburses their docs? Let me tell you why you might care.
Doctors all have one of four designated categories within the Medicare system:
1) The doc participates and accepts Medicare assignment. The fee for the service is set by Medicare, the patient makes a co-pay and the doctor bills Medicare and gets the rest of the fee from Medicare.
2) The doctor is “non-participating” –which is a deceptive term, because non-participating docs are within the Medicare system. The fee for the service is set by Medicare and is typically 5% less then the fee for participating docs, but the patient pays the Medicare fee in full to the doctor, the doctor files a claim with Medicare, and Medicare reimburses the patient for a portion of the fee.
3) The doctor has formally opted-out. In this case, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*
September 28th, 2011 by Stanley Feld, M.D. in Health Policy, Opinion
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I have opposed Medicare’s use of claims data to evaluate the quality of medical care. Quality medical care is the goal that must be achieved. However, no one has described the measurement of quality medical care adequately.
Physicians recognize when other physicians are not performing quality medical care. Physicians recognize when another physician is just testing and performing procedures to increase revenue.
These over testing physicians are a small minority of physicians in practice.
Quality medical care is not about doing quarterly HbA1c’s on patients with Diabetes Mellitus. Quality medical care is about helping patients control their blood sugars so their HbA1c becomes normalized. It is about the clinical and financial results of treatment.
The clinical and financial results depend on both patients and physicians. Patients must be responsible for Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Repairing the Healthcare System*
September 23rd, 2011 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Opinion
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In a recent Harvard Business Review Blog, David Armano writes about the six pillars of influence that lead to measurably favorable outcomes.
To achieve measurably better health, the pillars Armano explains can certainly be adopted.
He notes how the “social web can amplify signals, influence behavior and lead to action.”
Social networking has changed the landscape in health care. Technology has paved the way for instant communication and feedback.
While some companies continue to question the value of social media networking, debating whether or not they should be on Twitter or Facebook, others have superseded the hesitation, and are presently into the next phase of social networking. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
August 6th, 2011 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Expert Interviews, Opinion
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This is the third part of a three part post addressing the legal concerns of social networking in the health care arena.
In part one, legal expert David Harlow, Esq., Health Care Attorney and Consultant at The Harlow Group, LLC in Boston, answered questions regarding “The Legal Implications for Doctors, Nurses and Hospitals Engaging in Social Media?”
In part two, Mr. Harlow answered questions related to the Pharma industry; “Legal Concerns: What Steps can Pharma Take to Engage in Social Media?”
The third part addresses a question from a follower on Facebook about the use of disclaimers.
Q: Barbara: A Healthin30 reader on Facebook writes: “I’m looking for a good disclaimer to put on a couple of medical practices’ Facebook pages. The AMA social media guidelines aren’t helpful. Do you have a good boilerplate you recommend? Thanks in advance for your help!” David, can you offer a couple suggestions?
A: David: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
