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Uncategorized Published - 29 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Best practices don’t matter. Here’s what does.

High-reliability organizations don’t implement best practices. They continually make new best practices. Healthcare is an industry obsessed with best practices. And for good reason. Our costs our growing almost uncontrollably, and quality is highly variable from hospital to hospital, department to department and physician to physician. It makes sense, then, that organizations seeking to improve […]

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Uncategorized Published - 28 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
10 states with sharpest drop in uninsured rate in 2014

A new Gallup poll has revealed the 10 states with the largest declines in uninsured rates since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act took effect at the beginning of the year all expanded Medicaid. To calculate the change in the uninsured rate in each state, Gallup compared the states’ uninsured rates in 2013 to […]

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Uncategorized Published - 28 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
10 States With the Highest Hospital CEO Turnover Rates

This is important for our readers who practice in a hospital is because every time there is a new CEO there is a possibility of your practice getting outsourced. According to the American College of Healthcare Executives, the average hospital CEO turnover rate increased in 2013 to 20 percent. This percentage is the highest turnover […]

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Uncategorized Published - 28 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
The History of Healthcare Spending Growth: 3 Key Takeaways

The Congressional Budget Office has released its 2014 long-term budget outlook, which projects federal debt held by the public will rise during the next 25 years to the highest percentage in the country’s history since just after World War II. The report also includes information and estimates concerning healthcare spending, along with information on the […]

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Uncategorized Published - 28 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Moody’s: Nonprofit hospital revenues, cash flow hit record low in 2013

I wanted to share this because many of our readers work in a nonprofit hospital so I wanted them to know this information. Nonprofit hospital cash flow margins and revenue growth reached record lows in fiscal year 2013, according to a report from Moody’s Investors Service. Financial medians for 2013 show nonprofit hospital operating revenue […]

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Uncategorized Published - 28 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Class-action lawsuit filed over slow Medicare appeals process

The Center for Medicare Advocacy has filed a lawsuit on behalf of five Medicare beneficiaries who allegedly had to wait longer than the 90-day statutory limit to resolve appeals over Medicare claims denials The proposed nationwide class-action lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Connecticut against the Obama Administration. Under the Medicare Act, appeals […]

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Uncategorized Published - 27 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Sub-Tenon block does not provide superior postoperative analgesia vs intravenous fentanyl in pediatric squint surgery

Published in Eur J Ophthalmol. 2014 Jul 24;24(5):643-9 Authors: Ramachandran R et al PURPOSE: We evaluated the efficacy of sub-Tenon block in decreasing perioperative pain, incidence of intraoperative oculocardiac reflex (OCR), and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in pediatric squint surgery. METHODS: A total of 67 children age 2-12 years, American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical […]

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Uncategorized Published - 27 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
CBO ratchets down long-term healthcare spending forecast

Cost controls implemented under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will lead to slower overall federal healthcare spending over the next 25 years. A new forecast by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) concludes that overall federal spending will represent 8 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2039. Although that’s one-tenth of one percent lower […]

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Uncategorized Published - 27 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
ICD-10 delay: How docs can capitalize

Healthcare providers–and practice managers, in particular–would be wise to take advantage of the most recent ICD-10 delay, not by shifting their focus to other projects, but instead shoring up potential areas of weakness. Those who have turned off the engine altogether will likely regret that decision as new deadlines approach. To that end here are […]

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Uncategorized Published - 27 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
What payers need to know about the False Claims Act

Anti-Fraud spoke to Sean McKenna, J.D., to learn how theFalse Claims Act–a federal law dating back to the Lincoln administration–helps combat today’s healthcare fraud. McKenna is a partner in the Dallas office of Haynes and Boone, LLP. His professional background includes 15 years in law enforcement, most of which he spent working for the federal […]

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