Data breaches in California increase 600 percent The second annual report on financial data breaches in California was released yesterday by the California Attorney General and showed that the number of reported data breaches in 2013 was up 28 percent from the previous year, and the total number of records breached increased by more than 600 percent, from 2.5 million in 2012 to 18.5 million in 2013. Breaches in the health care sector made up 15 percent of the total, with 1.5 million records compromised. The majority of health care breaches resulted from physical theft – accounting ... November 5, 2014 General Medical Records, Electronic Health Record, Health Information Technology (HIT) 0 0 Comment Read More »
AMA introduces tool that allows physicians to pinpoint underserved patient care areas The American Medical Association (AMA) announced today that it was introducing a mapping tool that lets physicians see the distribution of physicians and nonphysician clinicians by specialty, state, county or metropolitan area. Called the Health Workforce Mapper, AMA believes the tool will be useful to physicians so they can identify the best locations to establish or expand a medical practice based on regional needs for access to care and the existing health care workforce. The tool can identify and prioritize underserved areas; create and display ratios of physicians and nonphysician clinicians to ... November 5, 2014 General American Medical Association, Rural Health, Underserved Communities, AMA 0 0 Comment Read More »
No on Prop 46 Campaign's Official Statement For immediate release: November 4, 2014 Contact: Jason Kinney, (916) 806-2719 & Molly Weedn, (415) 209-4217 “NO ON PROP 46” CAMPAIGN’S OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON TONIGHT’S ELECTION RESULTS Sacramento -- Tonight, the No on 46 campaign released the following statement from Dustin Corcoran, CEO of the California Medical Association and Chair of the No on 46 campaign: “Tonight, California voters spoke loudly and definitively: In this health care environment, undermining California’s long-standing malpractice cap is a political poison pill and a policy ‘third rail.’ Californians rejected Proposition 46 because increasing payouts in medical ... November 5, 2014 General , No on Prop 46, Proposition 46 0 0 Comment Read More »
UC medical centers ready to provide in-patient care for confirmed cases of Ebola Last week, the University of California (UC) Office of the President informed the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) that all five UC medical centers were ready to provide in-patient care for Californians who have confirmed cases of Ebola. According to the UC Senior Vice President for Health Sciences and Service John Stobo, M.D., the UC medical centers—which include Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco facilities—are “committed to addressing the health needs of this population and the public at large, as well as ensuring the safety of ... October 28, 2014 General Public Health, Ebola 0 0 Comment Read More »
Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center is winner of national Pink Glove Dance Competition for breast cancer awareness Congratulations Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center - winner of the national Pink Glove Dance Competion for breast cancer awareness! The Pink Glove Dance Video Competition is an annual national breast cancer awareness campaign and competition sponsored by Medline, a manufacturer and distributor of health care supplies. The competition started because of the overwhelming and enthusiastic response to the original Pink Glove Dance video, featuring 200 workers from Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon, dancing in support of breast cancer awareness and prevention. For winning the competition, Medline donated $15,000 ... October 28, 2014 General Breast Cancer Awareness, Pink Glove Dance Video Competition 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA publishes duals project FAQ The 2012 California state budget authorized a three-year demonstration project that transitions dual eligibles into managed care and allows them to receive medical, behavioral, long-term supports and services and home-and-community-based services coordinated through a single health plan. The Cal MediConnect project was approved in 8 counties: Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. No more than 456,000 individuals will be allowed to enroll into Cal MediConnect. Los Angeles’ enrollment will be capped at 200,000. To help physicians and their patients better understand the program, ... October 21, 2014 Medi-Cal, Medicare Dual Eligible, Medi-Cal, Medicare, Cal MediConnect 0 0 Comment Read More »
Election day is just two weeks away - Vote NO on Prop. 46! In just two weeks, California voters will be weighing in on Proposition 46, the trial lawyer's ballot initiative that would quadruple the state’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) cap on non-economic damages. If lawyers get their way, medical lawsuits and jury awards will skyrocket – leading to a big increase in health care costs. It is critical that every single physician in California votes NO on Prop. 46 on Election Day. Vote-by-mail ballots were mailed out by the state last week. If you vote by mail (also known as ... October 21, 2014 General MICRA, Medical Liability Insurance 0 0 Comment Read More »
State issues report cards for HMOs, PPOs and large medical groups The California Office of the Patient Advocate yesterday released its 14th annual “California Health Care Quality Report Cards” that rate the state's health plans and medical groups on a four-star scale. Available in English, Spanish and Chinese, the report cards allow consumers to compare the quality of care that more than 16 million commercially insured consumers receive from the state’s 10 largest HMOs, six largest PPOs and more than 200 medical groups. The data for the report cards is drawn from claims data and patient surveys for 2013. Users can drill-down ... October 17, 2014 General Insurance/Reimbursement, Insurance 0 0 Comment Read More »
AMA assembles Ebola resources for physicians The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sept. 30 confirmed the first U.S. case of Ebola, and developments associated with the virus continue to unfold. In the past week, two Dallas nurses have been diagnosed with Ebola after treating Thomas Eric Duncan, the first U.S. ebola patient, who died last week after travelling from Liberia to Texas to visit family. Both health care workers were with Duncan during what the CDC says is the highest risk period—when a patient is vomiting and having diarrhea. To help you prepare ... October 16, 2014 General Department of Public Health, Ebola, CDC, Infectious Diseases 0 0 Comment Read More »
Blue Shield makes positive changes to reimbursement policy for physicians treating out-of-network exchange PPO patients Blue Shield of California recently announced a two-part reimbursement policy change for contracted providers that do not currently participate in the plan’s Individual and Family Plan (IFP) PPO product, otherwise known as its exchange/mirror PPO product. Effective with September 14, 2014 dates of services, Blue Shield will implement changes to the out-of-network claims payment process and will now reimburse providers directly when PPO exchange/mirror product patients are seen out of network. Previously, Blue Shield issued payment directly to the patient. The notice also states that out-of-network physicians may continue bill ... October 15, 2014 General Out of Network Care, Blue Shield 0 0 Comment Read More »
