Archive for in the news
Wasteful Healthcare Spending Revealed
Posted by: | CommentsHealthcare spending isn’t as effective as it could be, but more details have come to light. The outgoing Director of Centers for Medicare & Medical Services (CMS), Dr. Donald M. Berwick, revealed his exit interview with revealing stats on healthcare spending. He points out 20 – 30 percent of spending is wasteful.
The five reasons he gives are:
- Patient over treatment
- Fraud
- Rules
- Coordination of care failure
- Too much complexity of administrative procedures
Berwick goes on to include strategies that can help this spending and shave off an estimated $3.6 trillion of wasteful practices, including:
- Education
- Improve systems for care coordination
- Promote health care culture
- Support quality improvement initiatives
- Simplify processes to reduce fraud
To read the entire article on OpenMarkets Health, find it here:
http://blog.openmarketshealth.com/Blog/bid/109452/Being-Truthful-About-Wasteful-Healthcare-Spending
How would you help reduce wasteful healthcare spending?
Hill-Rom Company, to Pay 41.8M for Health Care Fraud
Posted by: | CommentsHill-Rom Company, one of the largest national suppliers of durable medical equipment, has agreed to pay $41.8M to settle alleged violations of the Federal False Claims Act and other federal laws. The suit includes claims that Hill-Rom submitted numerous false claims to Medicare for special equipment that patients didn’t qualify for.
For more information on this news story, see the link below:
http://www2.tricities.com/news/2011/sep/27/hill-rom-company-inc-to-pay-418m-to-12179-vi-30974/
Study Results: Podiatrists Prevent Diabetes Complications
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to the CDC, nearly 26 million Americans live with diabetes. With so many in the United States living with this condition, it’s important to look at the care of the lower extremities of each person and which medical professionals would best handle that care.
In studies by Thomson Reuters Healthcare and Duke University, podiatrists are best suited to treat this area and the complications from diabetes, prevent amputations and provide savings to the delivery through our health care system. In these studies, some key points brought up include:
- Among patients with commercial insurance, each $1 invested in podiatry care results in $9 – $13 of savings.
- Patients with severe lower extremity complications had a lower risk amputation when they saw a podiatrist vs. not seeing a podiatrist.
If you would like to see more information on these studies, you can view them via this article on the APMA website here:
http://apma.org/MainMenu/Foot-Health/Podiatrists-Prevent-Diabetes-Complications.aspx
Podiatrists Looking for Even Standards
Posted by: | CommentsDid you know that podiatrists operate on the foot and ankle, give injections and provide other medical care, but aren’t licensed doctors of medicine?
It’s true.
With the rise of reported cases of diabetes, foot specialists play an even more critical role in preventing amputations of the lower extremities.
In the state of California, many Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (DPMs) are looking to change this and have gained an unlikely ally: the California Medical Association. With the CMA’s help, they are looking to put the credentialing of foot specialists on par with Medical Doctor standards.
In an eye-opening article in the Sacramento Bee, more foot specialists are looking for the same stature as their MD counterparts. With an extensive education and residency requirements, it’s no wonder more DPMs are looking to get a leg up and prove their worth as viable practitioners in the medical field.
Rickey Kanter, founder of the Doctor Comfort Company reached a plea bargain with the US government on the charges of Health Care fraud. In a plea bargain to the civil case, Mr. Kanter will pay $27million in fines for his actions.
In his criminal case, Mr. Kanter agreed to plead guilty to felony charges of mail fraud. The current sentence is agreed at 18months in prison, although Mr. Kanter is free to argue for a lower sentence.
For all the details of this event, look at the official press release from the US Justice Department.
Here are also some related links to this story:
http://www.jsonline.com/business/29181794.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2011/04/11/27-million-settlement-in-health-fraud.html
http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/119611024.html
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/print-edition/2011/04/15/comforting-settlement.html
http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/119985664.html
http://www.michbar.org/journal/pdf/pdf4article1590.pdf
