DecisionHealth Daily

Tavenner confirmed as CMS administrator

For the first time in Barack Obama’s presidency, CMS has a Senate-confirmed CMS administrator after Marilyn Tavenner was approved by the Senate on a 91-7 vote on May 15. Tavenner has served as the acting administrator since December 2011.

Clerk accidentally sends patient info around as e-mail attachment

Whatever DENT Neurologic Institute thought they were sending to 200 patients, they wound up giving them sensitive information on more than 10,200 patients.

Study shows cancer-related risk of bankruptcy

Cancer patients were 2.65 times more likely to go bankrupt than people without cancer, a team of American and British researchers reported in the journal Health Affairs.

ACA up for repeal again, must be Thursday

We’re strong believers in an active government, but the repeated votes to repeal the ACA make us worry that some Representatives will soon develop carpal tunnel.

Spread the knowledge about your STD test results through Qpid.me

“Spread the love, nothing else.”

OIG: CMS should conduct ‘look-behind surveys’ for home health

First, the good news: A May 15 report by the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that CMS surveys are generally conducted on time and that most home health agencies fix the cited deficiencies quickly.

Generic drug maker to pay $500 million over drug safety violations

Generic drug maker Ranbaxy has pleaded guilty to federal drug safety violations, and it will pay $500 million in fines, the India-based company and prosecutors have announced.

14-year-old schools electrophysiologists

High school freshman Gianna Chien didn’t even take first place for her science fair project. But earlier this month, she spoke to about 8,000 doctors on the discovery that the magnets surrounding the iPad2 can interfere with implanted cardiac rhythm devices.

APIC urges Congress to fund CDC infection control programs

In light of continued federal budget constraints, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) is asking Congress to support two programs under the Centers of Disease Control in the continuing effort to battle health care-acquired infections.

When patients forget, doctors could prompt

Ever remember the one question you planned to ask someone within minutes of leaving an encounter with that person? We certainly have, with everyone from the accountant to the auto mechanic to, yes, the doctor.

Study: Average chain restaurant meal is 1,128 calories, full of salt

Tell your patients: A new study finds each chain restaurant meal provides on average more than half of the recommended calories for one day, and lots of fat and salt.

State Medicaid hospital aid gets expansion under proposed rule

State Medicaid programs may get extra federal dollars to feed their hospital subsidies used to cover care costs for low-income patients.

Marvel Hammer guides pain practices through the dark side of PQRS

When it comes to PQRS, a lot of eligible providers just say “Meh,” despite the promise of a bonus on all of their Medicare payments.

IRS proposes “safe harbor” employee coverage plans that satisfy the ACA

Employers would be complying with health care reform requirements of the Accountable Care Act (ACA) if they offered employees a plan with a $3,500 combined medical and drug deductible and a $6,000 cap on workers’ out-of-pocket costs.

Study: Budgeting for ICD-10 confounds home health agencies

Of all the myriad tasks that home health agencies must do to prepare for ICD-10, coming up with a budget seems to be the hardest. About 56% of home health agencies don’t know what the size of their ICD-10 transition budget will be, according to a new, nationwide study of home health ICD-10 readiness conducted jointly by DecisionHealth and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC).

Emergency planning pays off for hospital in bombing’s aftermath

Word that two bombs had exploded in quick succession near the finish line of the Boston Marathon set into motion months and years of disaster planning at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, located just two miles away.

On the frontier of ovarian cancer detection, wet-nosed lab techs sniff out the disease

Sometime in the not-so distant future, ordering a “lab” test might entail sending the specimen to a specially trained canine to give it a thorough sniffing over.

Genetic tests grab headlines, not Medicare reimbursement

Simple genetic tests for cardiology-related diseases are grabbing headlines this month. But they’re not necessarily seeing the dollar-signs from Medicare, yet.

CMS releases draft of Hospice Item Set

You can now see for yourself what data CMS wants your hospice to collect for patients admitted on or after July 1, 2014.

Medscape’s best, worst states in each region for physicians to practice

While many physicians would argue that stagnant reimbursement and increased costs make it tough to practice medicine anywhere these days, the reality is that some states are better than others for a variety of reasons.

Survey: Home health agencies are FAR behind on ICD-10 prep

This may go down as the understatement of the year, but it’s official: Home health agencies are far behind the timeline suggested by CMS and consultants for ICD-10 implementation.

Michigan HIV treatment fraudsters get prison, will pay back $6 million

Raymond and Emelitza Arias are going to prison for billing for treatment of HIV patients that never happened.

Sign up in July to let Medicare track your PQRS measures

If you’re going to report quality measures to Medicare, clearly this is the year to start.

Judge criticizes Obama Administration for opposing Plan B for all ages

New York federal judge characterized the Justice Department’s appeal of a ruling giving women of all ages broad access to morning-after birth control as “frivolous” and refused to suspend enforcement of the decision pending appeal.

Flash! CMS says dead 'unlikely' to need physical rehab

Ever vigilant in its quest to save taxpayers money, CMS continues to review how it operates, with a goal of trimming regulations and eliminating outdated, confusing or unnecessary language.