As we continue to focus on optimally providing COVID vaccinations for as many people as possible, there has been a digression into labeling those that are not yet immunized, as being “hesitant.” This labeling oversimplifies the situation and is frankly, incorrect in many cases. Simplifying such language is detrimental to our vaccine success. Similarly, when we identify people… Read More »
Closing down the country for a year has had consequences on many different areas that may have not initially come to mind. Therefore, in times of crisis, significant learnings may arise if we are open to them and do not revert to previous behaviors and actions. The impact on the residency application process and the final year of… Read More »
In 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced the Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating Program to create transparency on hospitals’ quality, by summarizing dozens of metrics on the Hospital Compare website. There was considerable consternation over the validity of the data. In addition to comparing all hospitals to each other, regardless of unique dynamics, all… Read More »
Recently, there has been an ongoing debate over the value of workplace wellness programs. It is logical to think that to improve a person’s health, you can provide them with support services such as weight management and disease intervention plans through their worksite and ultimately their health will improve, and costs will decrease for both the employee and… Read More »
Capitation, as a value-based payment model, has been around for decades. Many of us have experimented with variations of capitation, ranging from full capitation for all healthcare services to specialist capitation, to primary care (PCP) capitation. Currently, Primary Care Clinicians are much more comfortable with the nuances of these models because of the expansion of Medicare Advantage. This… Read More »
Low-value care is defined as the utilization of health services that harm or in which the costs outweigh the possible benefits and there are many reasons for these actions. The desire for clinicians to eliminate situations that might cause harm is a driving factor. Although they may be unable to inform you of precisely what is occurring in… Read More »
As we continue to examine areas of excessive waste to enhance affordability, it’s crucial to put all areas under the microscope, including pharmaceuticals. Though convenient, single-dose injection vials lead to wasted medication. In fact, in 2018, the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS) reportedly paid $725 million for discarded drugs administered in hospital outpatient clinics and physician… Read More »
One of the major issues concerning physician licensure is that a physician’s right to practice ends at the state border, regardless of their ability or the needs of others. When we examine areas where there are physician shortages, we see significant differences by geographic location. This shortage might be drastically different if we considered the problem through the… Read More »
We hear about conflicts of interest on the news all the time. And in medicine, we have addressed this topic in relation to the pharmaceutical industry and its interactions with physicians. As a result, one can now review these connections as part of the ever-increasing desire for transparency. However, as technology progresses, we must also be attuned to… Read More »
Currently, there is an ongoing debate whether Medicare readmission penalty policy is equitable to all hospitals. The greatest argument and concern is the lack of social determinants of health (SDOH) factors in the calculation. Many contend including SDOH is essential to create greater equality amongst the comparisons. In contrast, others do not believe they are impactful or state… Read More »