CPC+ Continues CMS’ Efforts to Establish Medical Homes

The trend toward alternative payment systems continues as CMS announces the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) model Efforts by Medicare officials to move providers away from fee-for-service payments and onto other models of reimbursement continue to move forward. This is one of several goals for a new primary care program that Medicare is about to launch in coming months. Medical laboratories and pathology groups might feel an impact from this new program the Centers for Medicare and...

Two Lab Leaders Present Different Ways to Help Physicians Get Greater Value from Clinical Pathology Laboratory Testing

In response to healthcare’s transformation, a pathologist and a lab CEO describe two powerful ways that medical laboratories can collaborate with physicians, patients, health systems, and health insurers to deliver more value DATELINE: Phoenix, Arizona—It may be appropriate that, with the pace of change heating up in both healthcare and the clinical laboratory industry, it was here in the hot Sonoran Desert that more than 500 medical laboratory professionals gathered last week for the annual...

More Workplace Tension in Hospitals and Clinics as Three Generations of Physicians—Baby Boomer, Gen X, and Gen Y—Try to Get Along

Growth in the number of employed physicians is contributing to heightened workplace tensions due to the cultural differences among the three generations now working together What happens when Gen Y, Gen X, and Baby Boomer physicians are employees in the same hospital, clinic, or medical laboratory? There can be a clash of expectations, values, and goals that may cause tension in the workplace. This happens when physicians, including pathologists, from different generations and different levels...

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

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,...

Many Hospitals and Doctors Not Happy with Federal Rules for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)

Major healthcare stakeholders speaking out with criticisms of federal ACO rules It may be that the Obama administration bit off more than it can chew with its first release of proposed rules for Accountable Care Organizations (ACO). Lining up in opposition to these rules is an impressive list of the nation’s most respected healthcare organizations. Included are Mayo Clinic, Geisinger Health System, Cleveland Clinic, and Intermountain Healthcare. Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers...
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