American Medical Association
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AMA President: Medicare Physician Pay Cuts Will Have ‘Dire’ Impact if Not Reversed
The Medicare physician pay cuts that went into effect January 1 is a “disaster for the profession,” said Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, president of the AMA, during an interview at CES 2024. Getting the pay cut reversed is a top priority for the organization.
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Trayt Health Seeks to Increase Access to Diagnoses and Treatments
CEO Malekeh Amini explains how Trayt Health can bridge the gap for patients seeking neurological care.
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Why Provider Groups Are Denouncing CMS’ New Payment Rules
CMS finalized updates to its physician fee schedule for 2024, as well as finalized the rule for next year’s Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS). Provider groups are displeased with the updated rules, arguing that both physicians and provider organizations need more monetary relief than what the agency is offering.
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Artificial Intelligence, Consumer / Employer, Health Tech, Hospitals, Patient Engagement, Startups
7 Hot Takes I Heard at HLTH
At HLTH 2023, I had dozens of conversations with providers, digital health investors, startup CEOs and other players in the healthcare industry. When I got home, I compiled seven refreshingly honest takes I heard from them while at the conference.
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Health Tech, Hospitals, Providers
Why the AMA President Thinks Scope of Practice Expansions Are a ‘Terrible Idea’
To address the growing physician shortage, some people argue that the scope of practice should be expanded for skilled healthcare professionals like nurse practitioners and pharmacists. American Medical Association President Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld said this is a “terrible idea.” He argued that throwing other professionals into physicians’ roles will have poor ramifications of patient safety. In his view, the industry should focus on uplifting strong interprofessional care teams.
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Fewer Physicians Are Practice Owners Than Ever & Medicare Rates Are to Blame, AMA Says
Over the past decade, a significant percentage of the country’s physicians have shifted from working in private practices (defined as those owned wholly by physicians) to working in bigger, health system-owned practices. The ability to negotiate higher payment rates with insurers when working at a larger practice is a crucial factor causing this trend, according to a new AMA analysis.
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‘This Is Almost Biblical in Its Impact’: Providers Push Back Against CMS’ New Proposed Rules
CMS recently revealed its proposals to raise reimbursement rates for hospital outpatient departments and cut payments for physicians. Next year, the agency is planning to decrease physicians’ pay by 1.25% and increase outpatient payment rates by 2.8%. Provider groups are unhappy with the news — AMA President Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld said the new physician fee schedule will be “almost biblical in its impact.”
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Improving Communication Between Patients and Providers
Sarah Shillington, Chief Customer Officer notes how Artera’s omnichannel platform works.
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Why Digital Health Startups Should Embrace a Provider-Centric Approach, Per an AMA Exec
Providers often have a checklist of requirements they use to determine whether they should bring new technology into their organization. Digital health startups would be wise to learn about these criteria when taking their products to market, said Meg Barron, the AMA’s vice president of digital health strategy, at a recent conference. That way, startups can build their products around meeting providers’ needs.
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FDA says pharmacists can prescribe Covid treatment
The AMA believes physicians should still be the main prescribers, while advocates for provider status for pharmacists say it’s a win for health equity and will expand treatment access.
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Amwell exec weighs in on findings of AMA report, best practices for delivering behavioral healthcare virtually
The director of psychological services at Amwell said that the report from the American Medical Association entitled “Accelerating and Enhancing Behavioral Health Integration Through Digitally Enabled Care: Opportunities and Challenges” represent a solid starting point for engaging multiple stakeholders in this effort.
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AMA report: U.S. has “highly concentrated” payer markets that stifle competition
About 73% of health insurance markets are highly concentrated, and in 46% of markets, one insurer had a share of 50% or more, a new report from the American Medical Association shows. The report comes a few months after President Joe Biden directed federal agencies to ramp up oversight of healthcare consolidation.
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Some proposed HIPAA changes could inadvertently expose the data it’s supposed to protect
The government’s proposed changes to HIPAA aim to provide guardrails against data breaches and misuse, but some of the modifications may not work as intended. Three healthcare experts delved into the ways in which certain proposals could provide inappropriate access to health data during a recent panel discussion.
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New study ties pharma payments to prescription practices
Recent efforts to improve transparency haven’t made much of a difference, one author noted. But earlier reforms made a dent the “most egregious” practices.