Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto immune disease primarily affecting the synovial tissues surrounding the joints. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1.5...
CMS Proposes New Quality Measure Changes for Medicare ACO Program
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) necessitates the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to launch a shared savings program to facilitate coordination among healthcare providers thereby...
Google’s Patient-Doctor Video Chat Service to Promote Virtual Office Visits
Google appears to be testing a service that connects patients with doctors over a video chat, opening new possibilities for virtual office visits or e-visits. According to the Verge report, this...
Ensuring Medicare and Medigap Reimbursement
Medicare does not cover all health-related services and medical supplies and pays 80 percent of allowed expenses. Enrollees must still pay Medicare copayments, deductibles and coinsurance amounts...
Outpatient Diagnostic Errors Now Common in the US – 1 in 20 US Adults Affected
Misdiagnosis is proven to be a serious concern for hospitals and may lead to patient harm, incorrect or delayed treatment, wasted resources and malpractice lawsuits. A wrong diagnosis by a...
CMS’ New Meaningful Use Rule – A Welcome Step But Not Without Hitches
The new rule released by CMS provides a breather for physicians since it allows flexibility in certified EHR technology for meeting meaningful use in 2014. In addition, this rule finalizes the...
Be Prepared for a Private Payer Audit
Private payers often send notices to physician practices claiming that they have made an overpayment, and that physicians should remit the amount due to them within a certain deadline. Payers may...
ICD 10 Implementation Delayed Until 2015
For the last six months, there was a big push for ICD-10. However, the implementation of ICD-10 has been delayed until October 1, 2015. The news is surely a big relief for many healthcare providers...
Electronic Health Records Contributing to Upcoding and Medical Billing Fraud, Says HHS Report
Though CMS is encouraging Medicare 'meaningful use' of EHRs by paying over $22.5 billion as incentives, a recent report released by the Office of the Inspector General for the Health and Human...