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County pushes case for Medicare rate bump in Appellate Court San Jose Mercury News - 04-14-2009 - A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals heard arguments Monday from Santa Cruz County and six others seeking to overturn a ruling against efforts to increase Medicare reimbursement rates for area physicians. Dario deGhetaldi, a Millbrae attorney representing the counties suing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said federal authorities acknowledge that doctors are underpaid in some communities and overpaid in others. But because increasing rates in one area would mean cutting rates elsewhere, deGhetaldi said "political paralysis" keeps the system from changing.
CA Doctors Miffed at Medical Board's Waiting Room Sign Proposal HealthLeaders Media - 04-14-2009 - California doctors may soon have to post the state Medical Board's name, Web site, and phone number in their waiting rooms, so their patients know where to complain if they're not happy with care. Next month, the Medical Board of California will consider requiring any of the state's 125,000 physicians who have waiting areas to "prominently" post a "large, clearly visible sign" 8.5 x 11 inches in 24-point type that says: Medical doctors are licensed and regulated by the Medical Board of California.
Rehospitalization Rate Provides Glimpse into Bigger Concerns HealthLeaders Media - 04-14-2009 - A study recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that 20% of Medicare patients are readmitted to the hospital from which they were recently discharged within a month. That percentage jumps to 34 when looking at a three month time period. The data, representing Medicare claims collected between 2003 and 2004, show that more and more discharge is becoming a time at which it is crucial to have a good communication plan in place among caregivers and patients. What's more, the presence of a strong continuum of care can lead to lower rehospitalization rates.
CMS Names 14 Communities for Hospital Readmissions Project HealthLeaders Media - 04-14-2009 - CMS today announced the 14 communities around the nation that have been picked for its three-year pilot project to eliminate unnecessary hospital readmissions that cost Medicare billions of dollars annually in preventable care. A study published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine found that nearly 20% of Medicare patients in 2003-2004 were back in the hospital within 30 days of a discharge, and that 34% were rehospitalized within 90 days. The study estimated the cost of the unplanned rehospitalizations in 2004 at $17.4 billion.
Medical discards from Sacramento hospitals do a world of good Sacramento Bee - 04-14-2009 - Included among the millions of tons of garbage and contaminated materials hospitals generate each year is a wealth of supplies they can no longer use because of government rules and their own quality-control standards. "Our message is really simple: 'Don't throw it away. Save a life.' It's that easy to understand," said Chuck Haupt, executive director of MedShare's distribution center in San Leandro.
Novel Approach to Health Plans Gains Traction Wall Street Journal - 04-14-2009 - As the Obama administration wrestles with how to expand health-care coverage to the millions of uninsured Americans, some local organizations are finding creative ways to help cover one of the most affected groups -- employees of small businesses.
Push to Compare Treatments Worries Drug, Device Makers Wall Street Journal - 04-14-2009 - Federal health-care agencies are getting $1.1 billion in economic-stimulus funds for research comparing the effectiveness of various treatments. But drug and medical-device makers, along with some members of Congress, say they are worried the findings will be used to limit patients' options.
President Barack Obama has emphasized that reining in health-care costs is vital to cutting the budget deficit. The administration believes research could help doctors reduce wasteful and ineffective treatments. The White House's budget blueprint envisions combining data on which treatments work best with electronic health records to deliver "user-friendly pop-up alerts for physicians at the point of care."
