In a comment letter submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), America’s Physician Groups (APG) applauded the Agency for its work to help strengthen and protect Medicare Advantage (MA) on behalf of the millions of beneficiaries it serves while also noting specific areas of concern with the recently released MA 2020 Advance Notice and Call Letter.
Don Crane
“MA it is a critical component in transforming our nation’s healthcare system from volume to value-based,” said Don Crane, APG president and CEO. “Numerous studies show that despite a higher proportion of clinical and social risk factors, MA beneficiaries have better health outcomes than their peers in traditional Medicare. A strong rate notice is central to supporting this important program and improving our nation’s healthcare system overall.”
APG applauded the Agency’s work to expand supplemental benefits in MA and better address the opioid crisis through certain targeted services and cost-sharing reductions, but expressed concern with the rate adjustment itself, issues related to MA benchmarking, and the implementation of the transition from the Risk Adjustment Processing System (RAPS) to the Encounter Data System (EDS).
The letter closes by highlighting APG’s support for policies in MA which incent plans and providers to participate in risk-bearing models and called for CMS to extend the 5 percent advanced alternative payment bonus to qualified MA providers as a standalone threshold.
“The 5 percent bonus will level the playing field between providers taking risk in MA and those in traditional Medicare,” said Crane. “This will allow greater opportunities and incentives for risk-contracting in MA and will advance the Medicare delivery system for all seniors.”
Please click here for a copy of APG’s comment letter.
Privia Health announces it has entered into a partnership with Health First, the largest provider organization and first health system to join Privia’s national network. Privia and Health First will collaborate to reduce healthcare costs, achieve better outcomes, and improve the health of patients in the community.
“Privia unites innovative leaders whose growth strategies embrace our evolving healthcare landscape,” said Shawn Morris, CEO, Privia Health. “This unique partnership with such a progressive health system expands Privia into Florida’s growing market. We will work together with Health First to continue delivering affordable, high-quality care throughout the region while transforming the healthcare delivery experience.”
Privia’s national physician organization brings expertise that bolsters Health First’s initiatives to keep people healthy, prevent disease, and improve care coordination both in and outside the doctor’s office. Privia is proud to deliver its proprietary technology and innovative approach to patient engagement to lessen the administrative burden on physicians and their clinical teams.
“We’re focused on expanding our state-of-the-art clinical care delivery while creating healthier patient populations,” said Frank Letherby, CEO, Health First Medical Group. “Privia’s wealth of tools, technology, and expertise serve the needs of our patients and providers, and will positively impact the quality and continuity of care we provide.”
Dimensional Insight announced the results of a survey it conducted with HIMSS Analytics of 110 senior healthcare leaders. The survey found that while approximately two-thirds of healthcare organizations (67.9 percent) have an executive dashboard to support strategic decision-making, only one-third of those organizations (35.1 percent) use it on a daily basis. That means that in total, less than one in four healthcare organizations (23.9 percent) leverage their data at an executive level daily.
Survey results also show:
While the majority (92.7 percent) of organizations have an analytics strategy, less than one-third (31.8 percent) have been executing on that strategy for some time.
More than half of organizations (58.6 percent) use the analytics provided through their executive dashboard to facilitate decisions at only a departmental or single-hospital level.
Only 24.3 percent of healthcare organizations are able to leverage analytics throughout an entire multi-hospital system.
In addition, the survey looked at the number of analytics solutions in use. It found that healthcare organizations are using average of nearly four analytics tools. About one in six organizations (16.5 percent) have 10 or more analytics solutions that they are using across their system.
“While many healthcare organizations have the best of intentions when it comes to analytics, they struggle with how to facilitate data-driven decision-making system-wide and on a regular basis,” said Fred Powers, president and CEO of Dimensional Insight. “The sheer number of analytics tools in use means that different departments within an organization will often have different numbers or measures, and it’s hard to reconcile them, leading to a more siloed look at data.”
The Sequoia Project, a nonprofit dedicated to solving health IT interoperability for the public good, is launching a new workgroup for the Interoperability Matters cooperative focused on information blocking. Launched in October 2018, Interoperability Matters is a public-private cooperative, with member and public events focused on addressing the key remaining issues that hinder nationwide health IT interoperability. The initiative is open to broad private and public sector participation, and this new workgroup will collectively discuss, evaluate and comment on the information blocking requirements and exceptions outlined in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s (ONC) proposed rule published in the Federal Register on Monday, Mar. 4, 2019.
Mariann Yeager
“We’ve seen a seismic shift towards greater interoperability in the past three years. True, meaningful interoperability is expanding and hospitals and health systems across the country are beginning to share health records at an unprecedented level. But we can’t declare victory yet considering there are still barriers, including the practices that are perceived to impede information sharing,” said Mariann Yeager, CEO of The Sequoia Project. “We’ve reached a tipping point where discussions of interoperability – and the remaining interoperability challenges – are now mainstream and everyone wants a seat at the table. We’re happy to make room for more voices.”
Hundreds of volunteers came forward this winter to offer their expertise from across the entire healthcare continuum, including many organizations that have not previously worked with The Sequoia Project. The expansive interest illustrates the wide impact that the information blocking issue and associated regulations have on health systems, payers, technology vendors and patients.
A resume is an important document; its main roles are to distinguish candidates for the job position and a record of skills and achievements you have gained so far. If you are tired of sending your resumes all through different places without success, it’s time to change the strategy. Seeking help with resume writing is as important as seeking help with thesis writing for it to get you results. Do not be surprised by the fact that maybe nobody has seen your resume so far. A resume should secure you an interview or better still, a job.
Tip 1: Are you what they are looking for?
Before you apply, go for the position go through the specifications of what they are looking for exactly. This will guide you on how to structure your CV. At a glance over your resume, the potential employer should be able to see that you are a potential candidate for the job.
Tip 2: Use keywords
Most employers are using applicant tracking systems to sort out resumes. To ensure that your resume gets past the system, you need to use keywords that are essential to the physician position you are applying for. The best place to find suitable keywords is by using the same terminology used in the job advertisement. Use these words to describe your experience in the field and also use them at the top of your resume.
By Danielle K. Roberts, a Medicare insurance expert and co-founder, Boomer Benefits.
Danielle Kunkle Roberts
The telehealth revolution gives health providers the opportunity to assist patients in remote or rural areas; the same kind of care that they give to patients in person. It saves money on travel and improves efficiency in healthcare as well.
While telehealth options in healthcare are helpful to individuals at any stage in life, they can be particularly helpful in treating older adults with chronic illnesses. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have recognized this and have put together guidelines for primary care physicians who treat patients in geographical areas where it may be difficult for those beneficiaries to otherwise gain access to certain specialists and medical experts.
Telehealth services are made available to these Medicare beneficiaries who have signed up for Medicare Part B. Here’s how Medicare covers telemedicine for these people.
Medicare outpatient coverage for telemedicine
Medicare has two original parts: Part A hospital coverage and Part B outpatient coverage. Telehealth services fall under Part B. Medicare Part B will cover a telehealth consultation whenever a consultation is medically necessary, and your Medicare doctor follows the guidelines in arranging the consultation.
The specialist must conduct your teleconsultation using two-way interactive communication that must include both live audio and video feeds. Fortunately, with the prevalence of digital technologies and telehealth platforms, this has become common practice for most healthcare organizations.
The Medicare beneficiary needs to live within designated rural areas, and the video conferencing call must be held at a designated originating site. Approved originating sites include your physician’s office or rural health clinic. Calls can also be conducted from within a federally qualified health center, a skilled nursing facility, inpatient hospital, critical access hospital or community mental health facility.
Visit any hospital, and you will likely see signs reminding care providers and patients alike to wash their hands after using the restroom, before mealtime, and following contact with any potentially contaminated surfaces. While hand washing remains the most critical step in combating the spread of infectious diseases, it just isn’t enough in healthcare facilities that are often the breeding grounds for dangerous and even deadly bacteria.
Technology has entered our hospitals to increase the ease of access and specialization of care. With the rise of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), the healthcare industry is turning to tech companies for new methods of cleaning, disinfecting, and monitoring compliance of infection-prevention policies.
HAIs by the numbers
HAIs are infections patients get while receiving medical or surgical care. These conditions are preventable when infection prevention techniques are used by nurses, doctors, and other care providers. However, it’s estimated that about one in every 25 patients contracts an HAI. Every year HAIs cost between $35 billion and $45 billion for acute-care hospitals alone. While progress is being made to prevent some HAI’s, more work needs to be done, especially with germs that have gained resistance to powerful antibiotics.
More than 23,000 Americans die yearly from infections caused by germs that no longer respond to medications. The CDC released a new report in April 2018 regarding nationwide laboratory testing that uncovered more than 220 instances of germs with “unusual” antibiotic resistance. These germs cause hard-to-treat or even untreatable infections each day in the only place many people feel can heal them.
Modern medicine utilizes many invasive procedures to prolong and even improve the lives of patients across the country. We are able to transplant organs, repair devastating traumatic injuries, and replace joints that were once considered irreparable. However, these procedures bring the risk of infections.
Surgery isn’t the only department susceptible to hospital infections. Patients in any type of inpatient and outpatient unit can come into contact with deadly germs in their rooms, on surfaces, and on the hands of those who care for them. The most common types of HAIs include surgical site infections, Pneumonia, Clostridium difficile (an intestinal infection), bloodstream infections and catheter-associated urinary tract infections.
The importance of cleanliness
Keeping patient care areas clean is critical to patient safety and wellness. As more data becomes available about the risks of HAIs and the subsequent cost to the healthcare system, more administrators, physicians, and policymakers are turning to the technology industry for solutions. However, it’s essential to note that cleaning in a hospital or another facility-based setting isn’t a simple process. It requires a multi-modal approach to remove soil from surfaces and healthcare equipment, as well as organizing an environment that is optimal for patient safety.
Facility policies must focus on controlling contamination along with the health and wellness of patients and staff. Using harsh chemicals poses significant risks to environmental services personnel who touch and breathe in these chemicals. The process of cleaning a patient room or other direct-care area is time and labor-intensive too. All of these factors have caused the industry to search for new methods of cleaning and surveillance.
In the age of technology, many aspects of our daily lives have increased in ease, efficiency and even effectiveness. In other words, tasks are less complicated or difficult and we can do things faster and better than ever before.
Since we can use smartphones to communicate, research, navigate, and play in ways our forefathers couldn’t have imagined, why not apply the same resource to our physical health? The app store offers a couple of million applications, many of them free, including fitness apps.
Just like there are apps that track your social media followers, calendar, and sleep (among other things), there are also apps that track your health. Whether you’re a runner, cyclist, or weight lifter, there are apps that can improve your workout experience.
Our friends at Bestow picked the 12 best fitness apps, all of which have high ratings on the App Store. Read the infographic below to learn more.
Privia Health
Visit any hospital, and you will likely see signs reminding care providers and patients alike to wash their hands after using the restroom, before mealtime, and following contact with any potentially contaminated surfaces. While hand washing remains the most critical step in combating the spread of infectious diseases, it just isn’t enough in healthcare facilities that are often the breeding grounds for dangerous and even deadly bacteria.