University of Michigan Study Predicts that Majority of Physician Practices Will Lose Money on their EHR Systems
Research study shows opportunity for clinical laboratories to help client physicians get more value from their electronic health record systems For the majority of physicians in the United States, implementation of an electronic health record (EHRs) system in their practice may turn out to be a money-losing proposition. That is one prediction made by researchers at the University of Michigan (UM), based on a study they conducted. Among other things, these findings indicate that progressive...Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield Initiates Pre-authorization for Painkillers to Control Drug Abuse
By establishing a new program to pre-authorize certain prescription drugs that are associated with drug abuse, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is creating the infrastructure that can be later used to develop a program to pre-authorize expensive molecular diagnostics assays and genetic tests. (Photo by Indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com.)
In Massachusetts, Blues Ink Pact with Partners HealthCare to Implement Alternative Quality Contract with Global Payment
Early evidence is that the AQC arrangement encourages providers to more carefully utilize ancillary services, including clinical laboratory and pathology testing Much attention is being given to the new healthcare payment models being introduced by the Medicare program during 2012. However, quietly—and with much less publicity—private health plans are deploying innovative, value-based payment models. These developments need to be watched by clinical laboratory managers and pathologists, since...There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch (TANSTAAFL): Quality Costs Money
Wall Street has yet to grasp this essential truth of laboratory medicine-lab test quality comes with its own price tag At this moment in time, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated’s (NYSE:DGX) advertised value proposition to other labs—”industry-leading quality and technical proficiency”—has diminished credibility with pathologists and lab industry executives. They are questioning how the nation’s largest lab company could allow systemic errors that caused it to report...