Physicians frequently failed to communicate specific instructions to patients about newly prescribed medications, including dosing, adverse effects and how long to take the medication, in a study of outpatient encounters at two California healthcare systems published Sept. 26 in the Archives of...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 7, Issue 38
Continuing to provide medical care for critically ill and displaced patients during a disaster scenario, such as those experienced along the Gulf Coast during Katrina and Rita, requires logistical and tactical training and preparedness for circumstances such as loss of power, water, sanitation,...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 7, Issue 37
Quality reporting programs such as those mandated by the JCAHO and CMS play "complementary roles in encouraging quality improvement but are poorly coordinated and command sizeable resources," mainly due to the lack of adequate information technology (IT), according to a study published in the...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 7, Issue 36
Primary care is facing "a confluence of factors that could spell disaster," including inadequate reimbursement, uneven quality of care, and a drop-off in the number of generalists graduating from U.S. medical schools, according to an editorial published in the August 31 issue of the New England...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 7, Issue 35
There are large differences in the number and distribution of physicians identified as pediatric cardiologists in the datasets of the AMA Masterfile and the roster of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP), according to a study published in the September issue of Academic Medicine. Use of such...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 7, Issue 34
Pediatric physicians at a children's hospital in Denver lack knowledge of basic requirements of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires hospitals participating in Medicare to treat emergency department patients regardless of their ability to pay, according...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 7, Issue 33
Few empirical studies of explicit financial incentives for quality exist, and more research is required to determine the effects of pay-for-performance programs on the quality of healthcare, according to a systematic review of the medical literature published in the August 15 edition of the...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 7, Issue 32
Hospitals and physician practices are increasingly hiring mystery shopping firms to check on their quality of patient care with anonymous patient surveyors who report their findings and experiences. Although healthcare mystery shopping made up only 2% of the $600 million in revenue for the...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 7, Issue 31
Physicians will be allowed to accept donations of electronic prescribing software, electronic medical records software, and training services from hospitals and health plans under expanded safe harbors to the Anti-Kickback Statute, the Department of Health and Human Services announced August 1...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 7, Issue 30
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) announced in its July 12 issue that authors must disclose all potential conflicts of interest, including specific financial interests and relationships relevant to the subject of the manuscript. Beginning in January 2007, JAMA will require...
