Physician morale continues to decline, with 80% of physicians feeling overextended U.S. physicians continue to struggle to maintain professional satisfaction levels as they are forced to adapt to changing delivery and payment models, according to a Physicians Foundation survey of 17,000 U.S. physicians. The 2016 Survey of America’s Physicians: Practice Patterns and Perspectives found that 80 percent of physicians report being overextended or at capacity, with no time to see additional patients. Not surprisingly, 54 percent of physicians surveyed rate their morale as somewhat or very negative, with 49 percent saying they are either often or always feeling burnt out. Physicians identified ... October 13, 2016 General Physician Well-Being, Physician Wellness 0 0 Comment Read More »
Physicians demand more out of digital health tools before widespread adoption A new survey by the American Medical Association (AMA) found that while the majority of physicians are enthusiastic about digital health tools, the level of enthusiasm far exceeds current adoption rates. The survey of over 1,300 physicians covered a broad range of digital health tools, including telemedicine, mobile health, wearable devices, remote monitoring, mobile apps and others. Eighty-five percent of physicians surveyed said that digital health tools can be advantageous to patient care, with the potential to improve work efficiency, increase patient safety and improve diagnostic ability. Physicians also said ... October 13, 2016 General Digital Health Tools 0 0 Comment Read More »
Podcast series: Inside Medicare's new payment system Changes to the Medicare payment system are on the horizon, and physicians around the country are wondering how the new Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) will impact their practices. The American Medical Association (AMA) and ReachMD have produced a podcast series to provide physicians with an inside look at what’s to come and what they can do now to prepare for the transition to MACRA. Hear from industry experts and physician leaders about their experiences with new payment models, quality reporting and more. Available episodes include: ... October 13, 2016 Medicare MACRA, Medicare, Podcast 0 0 Comment Read More »
California health agencies looking for innovative health care ideas The California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) and California Department of Public Health (CDPH) have launched the second annual Let’s Get Healthy California Innovation Challenge. This contest encourages individuals and organizations across the state to share ideas and projects they are working on to find creative, innovative ways to improve health in California. Let’s Get Healthy California invites community, health, and human services advocates, health care and human services providers, community and faith-based organizations, non-profits, civic data enthusiasts and visionary practitioners to participate and share their solutions and ideas ... September 28, 2016 General Health Disparities, Public Health, Department of Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Physicians encouraged to verify CHPI data by November 11 Earlier this month, approximately 13,000 physicians in California received their individual quality measurement scores for the second cycle of the California Healthcare Performance Initiative System (CHPI) quality rating program. Physicians can review and verify the accuracy of the data used to calculate their scores through the CHPI online portal through November 11, 2016. The program rates physicians using claims data from Medicare fee-for-service, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and United Healthcare. This claims data includes both commercial and self-funded health plan data from HMO, PPO, POS and Medicare ... September 22, 2016 Managed Care, Medicare Medicare, Quality of Care, United Healthcare, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield, CHPI 0 0 Comment Read More »
No cost online buprenorphine waiver courses available Physicians must obtain a federal waiver if they wish to prescribe buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder. Across the country, many people suffering from opioid use disorder are unable to access medication-assisted treatment for their condition due to a lack of nearby physicians with waivers to prescribe buprenorphine. California is no different. In 2013, there were only 1,460 waivered physicians actively prescribing buprenorphine in California, which amounts to approximately 3.9 physicians per 100,000 people, particularly impacting rural and underserved areas in the state. To help physicians obtain waivers, the American ... September 22, 2016 General Opioids, Drug Abuse, Medical Solutions to Drug Abuse 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA to tackle six major issues at annual meeting The 145th Annual Session of the California Medical Association (CMA) House of Delegates (HOD) will tackle six major issues when it convenes October 15-16, 2016, at the Sacramento Convention Center. Beginning this year, the HOD will establish broad policy on current major issues that have been determined to be the most important issues affecting members, the association and the practice of medicine. Reports on these major issues are now available for download and comment through October 7. All members are welcome to submit comments online at www.cmanet.org/hod. MACRA: As the Medicare ... September 22, 2016 CMA House of Delegates 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA fights federal bill that would allow VA to preempt state telemedicine laws The California Medical Association (CMA) and the American Medical Association (AMA) are fighting a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2017 that would preempt state telemedicine laws and dismantle accountability mechanisms needed to ensure patient protection. The NDAA is an annual piece of legislation that primarily authorizes the federal government to spend money for war operations and military base operations. The two houses of Congress passed their own versions of this annual legislation over the summer. The version passed by the U.S. Senate includes language ... September 22, 2016 CMA, General Telemedicine, Veterans, Regulatory Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
CDPH urges providers to adopt new TB screening recommendations The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) urges providers to adopt new tuberculosis (TB) screening recommendations, recently announced by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, calling for adults 18 years of age or older who are at increased risk of TB to be screened for the disease. CDPH has developed a California Risk Assessment Screening Tool to help providers quickly identify people at risk for developing the disease, as well as a fact sheet that offers suggested courses of treatment. Those considered to be at increased risk of TB ... September 22, 2016 General Tuberculosis, Chest Diseases, Infectious Diseases, Public Health, TB 0 0 Comment Read More »
Physicians must post nondiscrimination statements by Oct. 19 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) recently finalized new nondiscrimination rules intended to advance health equity and reduce health care disparities. Under the rule, which implements section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, individuals are protected from discrimination in health care on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability and sex, including discrimination based on pregnancy, gender identity and sex stereotyping. This new rule is the first federal civil rights law to broadly prohibit discrimination on the basis of ... September 22, 2016 General ADA/Discrimination, Discrimination, Regulations 0 0 Comment Read More »
