Government & Policy
The World Health Organization highlighted the upsides of taxing sugary drinks or unhealthy foods and, while healthier populations are an important part, the benefits also include increased government revenue and new jobs.
Electronic health records platforms are leaving doctors exposed by making it hard to demonstrate what they did and why. Some providers are even settling malpractice suits and not because of guilt. Hospitals cannot ignore the issue anymore.
Researchers said the price hikes driving big spending increases are inconsistent and while AHA president Rick Pollack said that any upticks because of market manipulation are just plain wrong.
Hospitals and provider organizations now have to manage business associates that might share data or access to it with overseas vendors. Experts say OCR won't pursue foreign companies after a breach. That means all risk remains on HIPAA-covered entities.
The Defense Department also said its massive modernization project will now rollout at one military site in the Pacific Northwest instead of the original two it had planned to use as pilot sites.
Wonder where Hillary Clinton, who could be the first woman to be elected U.S. president, stands on women’s issue. No need to wonder. Clinton, a known policy wonk, has a position paper for that.
It wasn't the question most viewers had tuned in to hear discussed, but one audience member at the second presidential debate in St. Louis did ask Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump about the Affordable Care Act – offering a more substantive discussion of healthcare than at the first debate.
A George Washington University health policy professor said that Donald Trump, if elected President, could take executive action that would effectively stop the Affordable Care Act in its tracks.
Many of the 800 accountable care organizations are lagging in critical IT infrastructure, though commercial ACOs are earning more success today than their non-commercial counterparts.
The web-based tools, with advice on how the new law will affect reimbursement, do not require AMA membership.