Certain Pathologists Found Themselves in the ‘Highest Paid’ Media Spotlight after Medicare Officials Published Physician Pay Data for 2012

May 23, 2014 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement, Management & Operations

For first time since launch of the Medicare program, CMS released data on Medicare payments to individual physicians Once again, Medicare officials have stuck a blow for price transparency. On April 9, 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released data on total payments made to individual physicians for the year 2012. In several states, pathologists were identified as among the highest-paid physicians. Release of this information generated stories by the national and...

Early Evidence from Medicare’s Bundled Payment Pilots Show Improved Quality at Reduced Cost of Care in Findings with Consequences for Medical Laboratories

Apr 28, 2014 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology

Industry experts predict private payers will adopt bundled payment arrangements for both inpatient and outpatient procedures Early evidence indicates that Medicare’s bundled-payment pilot has helped participating providers improve the quality of care while better managing healthcare costs. Should more detailed findings confirm these outcomes, Medicare could decide to expand the range of clinical services it wants covered by a bundled-payment arrangement. As of the first of this year, in fact,...

OIG Estimates that 1 in 7 Medicare Patients are Injured or Killed by Healthcare Providers

Apr 1, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology

That’s not news to pathologists, who often see how physicians mis-order or mis-interpret clinical laboratory tests Each month, one out of seven Medicare patients is injured or killed by their healthcare providers. These medical errors cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. And, that doesn’t even include the cost of follow-up care for the injured patients who survive. Those and other conclusions are part of a recently released study by the Department of Health and Human...

Medicare Offers Physicians Cash Incentives to Adopt E-Prescribing

Feb 27, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology

Effective January 1, 2009, Physicians can get extra 2% for paperless prescribing February 27, 2009 Medicare’s newest cash incentive program for physicians who use e-prescribing services has caught the attention of the medical community. In the months leading up to the January 1, 2009 implementation date for the physician e-prescribing bonus, the number of doctors using paperless prescribing services doubled. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a 2% payment bonus in...