Analysis of:
Is CMS Setting the Stage to Deny Coverage for Spine Fusion (www.ryortho.com)
The study groups will only find that more data are needed, and a change in Medicare coverage will not change practice.
Analysis of:
Pay-for-Performance Plans Now Common Among HMOs (www.nlm.nih.gov)
Pay for performance will be part of Medicare within 5 years.
Analysis of:
It may come as a shock: Electricity vs. Migraine (select.nytimes.com)
Both peripheral nerve stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation have been proven to offer pain relief for certain conditionsImproved technology and refined surgical techniques have made these surgical therapies more advantageous than more conventional therapies.
Analysis of:
Retail Medical Clinics Draw Patients & Payers (www.managedcaremag.com)
- The delivery of increasingly sophisticated healthcare services by "mid level" providers (those with less formal education and training than physicians) is consistent with historical trends and is inexorable.- The development of mass-market "retail outlets" for medical care is, at least in part, a...
Analysis of:
New Nerve Test, a Moneymaker, Divides Doctors (www.nytimes.com)
- In the short term, the economic incentives afforded by this device will stimulate continued growth in use amongst primary care providers.- Payors will eventually recognize that there is a lack of high quality literature in support of the use of this device within the overall scheme of managing...
Analysis of:
New Nerve Test, a Moneymaker, Divides Doctors (www.nytimes.com)
1) The kickback issues reflect an industry wide norm of enticing purchase and don't appear on the surface to be unusual. 2) The reliability of EMG/NCV tests in making an accurate diagnosis without appropriate clinical assessment even in the hands of neurologists is slight. Relying on a report from a...
Analysis of:
New Nerve Test, a Moneymaker, Divides Doctors (www.nytimes.com)
- The NC Stat system relies on surface EMG and has only limited clinical data supporting it
- Some Medicare regional groups have denied coverage for surface EMG, so its long term prospects are not good.
- the current legal investigation is probably a small blip
Analysis of:
MEDICARE ADDS PERFORMANCE-BASED PAYMENTS FOR PHYSICIANS (www.cms.hhs.gov)
Pay-for-Performance has become a near-reality for primary care practitioners.The success of this program may change the way medicine is practiced in this country forever.
Analysis of:
Reimbursements to drop 5.1% in 2007, not 4.6% (www.hemonctoday.com)
If congress intervenes to avert the expected pay cuts, physicians may continue to offer care to the elderlyFixing the Medicare reimbursement formula may end the unfair physician reimbursement cuts scheduled until 2012