Patients Desperately Seeking EMRs

Posted on May 25, 2008 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

A New P4P Twist?

Staff Reporters

The Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS] recently received more than 30 applications from communities seeking to participate in a Medicare pilot program that uses electronic health records [EHRs]; according to CQ HealthBeat reports.

Pilot Program

Under the new experimental pilot program, DHHS and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [CMS] will recruit 100 physician practices in 12 communities to participate, with an additional 100 practices in the communities selected to serve as a randomized control study group.

Assessment

Physician practices that participate in the pilot program will receive bonuses of as much as $58,000 per physician – or as much as $290,000 per practice – after they implement EHRs and meet certain quality standards over a period of five years. This equates to about one thousand dollars, per month, per doctor.

Conclusion

DHHS will announce the 12 selected communities in June, 2008. But, for now, what is your current opinion of this controversial program? Or, is it just another twist on the P4P concept?

Please comment.

Related Information Sources:

Practice Management: http://www.springerpub.com/prod.aspx?prod_id=23759

Physician Financial Planning: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763745790

Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421

Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact him at: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: http://www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Filed under: Healthcare Finance, Information Technology | 1 Comment »

Reimbursing Acute Care Episodes

Posted on May 25, 2008 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

A Proposed New ACE Payment Scheme

Staff Writers

Did you know that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS] announced a planned demonstration project last week that would combine payments for both hospital and physician services for a select number of episodes of care? Its intent is to determine if such an approach will be more efficient and improve the quality of care.

The ACE Project

The project, called the Acute Care Episode demonstration, will test whether a global payment will better align the incentives for both types of providers leading to better quality and greater efficiency; beginning in January 2009.

Assessment

Currently, CMS pays the hospital a single prospectively determined amount under the inpatient prospective payment system [IPPS] for all care given to an inpatient. Physicians who provide other care to patients are paid separately – accordingly to the Medicare physician fee schedule – for each service they perform.

Conclusion
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And so, CMS wants to test whether an approach of bundling payment for both hospital and physician services will work! What do you think; please opine?

Related Information Sources:

Practice Management: http://www.springerpub.com/prod.aspx?prod_id=23759

Physician Financial Planning: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763745790

Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421

Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact him at: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: http://www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

Subscribe Now: Did you like this Executive-Post, or find it helpful, interesting and informative? Want to get the latest E-Ps delivered to your email box each morning? Just subscribe using the link below. You can unsubscribe at any time. Security is assured.

Link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthcareFinancialsthePostForcxos

 

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