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Finally the feds have said that patients can get their own lab reports as can their authorized representatives. Up to now 15 states have said that patients were not smart enough to see their own lab reports. This supercedes those state laws. For some reason the AMA and the AAFP have been against this. It must be the paternalistic thing.
The two-midnight rule has been delayed for at least six months. The rule originally said that if a patient did not spend two midnights in the hospital they should be considered outpatient status and the hospital should be paid accordingly. The exceptions were surgical patients on the inpatient only surgical procedure list, those dying prior to the two midnights and those signing out AMA.
Delay is the name of this administration. They are now delaying the attestation period for physicians and others in meaningful use for a month.
This time for political purpose, the administration is delaying the employers having to comply with Obamacare. They have delayed the mandate for one year or until the 2016 elections are over. Is it legal for the administration to go against the law? The Republicans want the administration to give the same break to individuals as they are to business. This comes one week after the CBO stated that Obamacare would cost the country 2.5 million jobs over the next decade.
Obama, in a press conference with French president Hollande, attempted but failed to explain the delay. Top
In California there is going to be a fight regarding the state's med mal statue. Opponents of the current law are planning a referendum to mandate random drug tests of physicians by hospitals and change the non-economic damages from $250,000 limit to $1 million with COL increases. Top
California has levied fines on 13 hospitals for not complying with patient safety regulations. The hospitals are Bakersfield for alert turn off $50,000; Fountain Valley fall $75,000; Garden Grove overdose due to nursing error $50,000; LA Community med error pharmacy $50,000; Mercy in Merced nursing and lab error $75,000; Regional San Jose nursing error $50,000; Ronald Regan nursing error retained foreign body $75,000; Harm to psychiatric patients Aurora San Diego $75,000; ,000; Memorial Los Banos $20,000; Pacifica of the Valley $50,000 and UC Irvine $75,000. Top
The dreaded SGR may finally be over. A bipartisan bill has been agreed to by both houses of Congress getting rid of the SGR and replacing it with a 0.5% fee increase per year for the next five years. The sticking point is how to pay for it. $150 Billion is needed and who knows where in the budget they will find the money. The bill would also end fee for service and replace it with a quality measure that would pay more for physicians who hit the quality indicators that would need to be published. The Senate bill would also give a 5% bonus to any provider that gets at least 25% of Medicare income from a alternative payment model or a medical home in 2018-19.
The People's Republic has changed the stupid law that required physicians to do meaningful use EHR to be licensed. Instead they now require the physician only to certify that they know how to do use digitalized medical records. Top
DISCLAIMER: Although this
article is updated periodically, it reflects the author's point of view at the
time of publication. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Readers
should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the
information presented.