Meaningful Use Should Be Driven by Clinical Quality, Not Mechanics
As the CMS meaningful use incentive program moves out of Stage 1 and into Stages 2 and 3, concerns are arising as to whether there should be more of an emphasis on clinical quality measures, as opposed to the mechanics.
Providers Share Experiences Achieving Meaningful Use, But Challenges Remain
Providers at the forefront of adopting electronic health record systems and receiving incentive payments for the “meaningful use” of EHRs have found successes in attesting to required EHR capabilities, but challenges remain.
CMS Pays Out Nearly $90M in MU Incentives in September
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in September paid out $25 million to 1400 eligible providers and $61 million to 30 dually eligible hospitals under the meaningful use EHR incentive program, and is on track to pay out $1 billion by the end of the year.
Incentives Going to Doctors Who Already Were Using Health IT
About half of health care providers who received the first round of incentive payments under the meaningful use program have been using health IT systems for years. Whether these early adopters should be rewarded is in debate.
ICD-10 And Meaningful Use Dominate AHIMA 2011
Last week marked the 83rd annual American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) convention and the primary solutions on display were those geared toward meeting ICD-10 and Meaningful Use.
Chronic Dialysis for Kidney Disease Patients Now Started Substantially Earlier
It has become increasingly clear that patients in the United States are starting dialysis at higher and higher levels of kidney function. A new study looks at what this means for patients.
Stem Cell Therapy Hope for Kidney Transplant Patients
Scientists have found a new method of suppressing the automatic rejection of donated kidneys in transplant patients, by using the donor’s stem cells.
Kids’ Urinary Infections Usually Not a Kidney Risk
According to a new study, most children with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) are not at increased risk of chronic kidney disease later in life.
Congress Needs to Work Together to Provide Quality Medicare for Patients
Funding cuts in Medicare have a direct and negative impact on care for patients and will be particularly harmful to individuals on dialysis.
New Buzzwords ‘Reduce Medicine to Economics’
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center physicians lament the devaluation of clinical judgment in today’s health care world.
Fear of Lawsuits, Little Time with Patients Lead to More Aggressive Care
Ninety-five percent of physicians believe their colleagues differ in their treatments for people with the same condition, a study says.
AMA: Pay Docs for Care Coordination
The little-known American Medical Association committee that recommends physician pay scales to Medicare’s fee-for-service program today asked the agency to reimburse physicians for coordinating care for their chronically-ill patients.
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