Sensing Savvy

Although it was developed to increase transparency and facilitate communications, some healthcare professionals worry the Sunshine Act is negatively impacting their reputation with patients.The Sunshine Act requires drug, medical device and biologics manufacturers participating in federally funded healthcare programs to report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) any compensation given to physicians, teaching hospitals or group purchasing organizations.

Data recordings of these transactions began in August 2013 and since then, physicians and teaching hospitals have worried this information could undermine patient trust and threaten the doctor-patient relationship.

If you’re feeling burned out by the arduous, time-consuming requirements set forth by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) governing physician payments, you’ll be happy to know the agency has made several changes to simplify and improve the Quality Payment Program (QPP) process.After considering extensive feedback from the medical community, CMS released its final rule for its Medicare Quality Payment Program in 2019, under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).

You can read the full CY 2019 Quality Payment Program final rule text here, but we’ve broken down five key MACRA 2019 changes physicians need to know:

Medscape and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America surveyed 183 acute care hospitals. Here’s what they found:

The growth in healthcare spending slowed over the past two years, according to a report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released at the end of 2018.

Total U.S. spending on healthcare grew 3.9 percent in 2017 and 4.8 percent in 2016. This decline comes on the heels of two years of relatively fast growth of 5.3 percent in 2014 and 5.8 percent in 2015.

Although the declining growth rate has some analysts ringing the alarm bells and others celebrating, it’s important to consider some key factors impacting this change.

Here are three reasons the growth in U.S. spending on healthcare has slowed:

Doctor-patient communication plays a big role in how compliant a patient is with treatment and  his or her outcomes. And identifying and understanding why a patient has made an appointment can encourage and make doctor-patient communication easier. However, recent research has revealed that physicians only ask patients what brings them in about 36 percent of the time, and when they do, it takes about 11 seconds for them to interrupt the patient.

It’s been 10 years since the World Health Organization (WHO) released its surgical care checklist tools to help improve outcomes and decrease postoperative mortality rate. Now, the checklists are receiving a few updates.

In January of 2018, Amazon announced the launch of an independent healthcare  company with backing from JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway.
This new venture, combined with retail health clinics and telehealth, is offering consumers health services at lower prices and with more convenience than hospital outpatient facilities. 

The emergence of differing healthcare models is putting more pressure on hospitals and health systems to stay competitive and examine costs.

There’s a shortage of doctors in the United States, and it’s expected to get much worse.

By 2030, the country could experience a shortfall of between 42,600 and 121,300 physicians, according to a 2018 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). And non-primary care specialties (like nephrologists) could account for as much as 80% of those projected shortages.

So what’s causing this deficit, and what can hospitals and private practices do?

Will private practices become obsolete?

It’s not impossible, according to a report from the Health Care Cost Institute. Data show visits to primary care physician practices declined 18 percent between 2012 to 2016. And with rising business costs, changes to reimbursement plans and evolving regulations, not to mention patients flocking to urgent care centers and clinics, it's no surprise medical practice owners are concerned.

As a physician, you may occasionally face situations for which there’s no easy answer. While your mind is filled with a wealth of knowledge about the human anatomy and biochemical pathways, and your education taught you how to diagnose diseases and perform a wide range of complex procedures, there are simply some scenarios medical school doesn’t prepare you to handle.