Scope of practice intentions for family physician residents exceed those of practicing physicians, especially in clinical services like women's health, inpatient care, home visits, and nursing home care, researchers reported.
Should self-insured employers have to follow state laws on reporting healthcare costs -- including how much they pay providers? That question is at the crux of a case recently argued before the Supreme Court.
Health care fraud topped the list of federal crackdowns this year under the False Claims Act, accounting for more than half of $3.5 billion in settlements and judgments. The federal government recovered $1.9 billion to settle claims against companies and people charged with providing unnecessary or inadequate care, paying kickbacks to health care providers, or overcharging for goods and services paid for by Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care programs. The settlements were for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. Hospitals were involved in nearly $330 million of settlements and judgments, led by a massive settlement by 457 hospitals in 43 states related to cardiac devices that were implanted in Medicare patients in violation of Medicare billing rules.
Nearly a year after Partners HealthCare was forced to give up its bid to acquire South Shore Hospital in Weymouth , the state's largest health care system has yet to decide whether to forge ahead with a second stalled acquisition that could throw it into another intense debate over its size, market power, and impact on rising health care costs. Hallmark Health System, which owns community hospitals in Medford and Melrose, has been in limbo ever since the deal was put on hold early this year, losing money, waiting to finance needed upgrades, and unable to discuss a potential merger with anyone else.
Nearly a quarter of primary care doctors in the United States say their practices are not well-prepared to manage patients with multiple chronic illnesses, according to an international survey. The 2015 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians, released Monday, surveyed doctors in 10 countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, and Sweden. Doctors in the United States and Canada felt least prepared among the countries surveyed to handle patients with multiple chronic conditions. These patients are becoming more common. Aging populations mean more people suffering from degenerative conditions such as dementia and physical frailty.