Quality measures have been added to Physician Compare, a website that helps patients search for information about physicians and other healthcare professionals, CMS announced last week. Sixty-six group practices and 141 accountable care organizations (ACO) now have quality data publicly...
CMS’ Physician Compare website is intended to assist patients in finding the "best" providers based on reported performance measures. Will the addition of quality measures to the Physician Compare website be useful in the credentialing/privileging process—if not now, then perhaps down the line?...
Baylor Regional Medical Center at Plano will not accept a prestigious national award for quality after multiple lawsuits filed by former patients allege that the hospital allowed a neurosurgeon to repeatedly botch surgeries, sometimes while under the influence of alcohol and/or cocaine. Baylor...
More than 88% of aesthetic physicians are concerned about how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will affect the practice of plastic surgery, and up to one-third may retire early as a result of these changes, according to an online poll conducted by Plastic Surgery Practice. There was also...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 15, Issue 9
Medical homes take a team approach to care, with the help of everyone from nurses to front desk staff focusing on preventing and managing chronic disease. The goal is to avoid costly and preventable complications. However, a three-year pilot study of medical home practices in Pennsylvania found...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 15, Issue 9
Connecticut has been so successful in getting people to sign up for health insurance through its online marketplace that it is setting up a consulting business to help other states build and operate websites where people can compare and buy private insurance policies. The Connecticut exchange...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 15, Issue 9
Families may decide to use a retail-based health clinic because they believe it is convenient and less expensive, but according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), these clinics do not provide children with the high-quality, regular preventive healthcare children need. In an updated...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 15, Issue 9
The medical home model has been held up as a good way to improve patient care while reducing costs and encouraging teams of stakeholders to collaborate. So where is the evidence? A study published this week found little improvement in quality of care and no reductions in cost. Although the study...
Credentialing Resource Center Digest - Volume 15, Issue 9
CMS last week extended to March 31 the comment period for its proposed Emergency Preparedness Requirements for Medicare and Medicaid Participating Providers and Suppliers rule. “We believe that it is important to allow ample time for all sections of the public to comment on this proposed rule....
Rural and small hospitals may get relief from a federal rule that requires a physician to be present in a department during routine procedures, such as blood transfusions and some immunizations. Critics have argued that the law, passed in 2009, could stretch physicians too thin and could lead to...
