e-CareManagement blog

Chronic Disease Management • Technology • Strategy • Issues and Trends

Medicare MAPCP Medical Home Demo: CMS Kicks Sands in the States’ Faces

by Jaan Sidorov, MD and Vince Kuraitis
The Medicare MAPCP (Multi-Payer Advanced Primary Care Practice) demo promised to be Medicare’s Biggest Change in 40 Years…
…but the emerging reality isn’t living up to the promise.
In this post, we’ll discuss:

The Promise
An Overview of the MAPCP Demo
Our Main Takeaway: Emerging Reality Suggests Medicare Will Be a “Difficult” Partner
Conclusion: Think [...]

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Is HITECH Working? #6: HITECH and Health Reform Objectives are Synergistic

by Vince Kuraitis JD, MBA and David C. Kibbe MD, MBA
.
….or to be more specific, HITECH is synergistic with payment reform that could come from the recently passed national health care reform legislation — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
We’ll keep this post fairly short and try to avoid many of the more divisive aspects of [...]

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PCMH and Healthcare Reform: Avoiding Drowning in an Ocean of Opportunity

This article appears in the April 2010 issue of Medical Home News.
First, the good news: There are a lot of pilot and demonstration projects potentially involving the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) in newly enacted Federal health care reform legislation – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
Then, the bad news: There are a [...]

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Is HITECH Working? #2: Key physicians will sit on the sidelines (at least for now).

(click on any of the above graphics to be linked to the orginal source)
by Vince Kuraitis JD, MBA and David C. Kibbe MD, MBA
In the previous post in this series on “Is HITECH Working?”, we straightforwardly noted that hospitals are playing in the HITECH game. The issue of whether physicians will play is MUCH thornier.
As the [...]

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Is HITECH Working? #1: Hospitals are grumbling but are playing in the game; success is not guaranteed.

by Vince Kuraitis JD, MBA and David C. Kibbe MD, MBA 
The rationale for hospitals having to play in the HITECH game is straightforward: the financial carrots through 2015 are helpful, and the financial sticks after 2015 will be very painful.
We’ll discuss:

Financial Impacts on Hospitals
Survey Data Showing Hospitals Will Play
Why Success is Not Guaranteed

Financial Impacts on Hospitals
Even prior to HITECH, [...]

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Pilots, Demonstrations & Innovation in the PPACA Healthcare Reform Legislation

Here’s a bit of trivia that will make you the hit of the next cocktail party you attend.  How many times are the words “demonstration” and “pilot” mentioned in the newly passed Federal healthcare reform legislation — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)?
Answer:

“demonstration” — 312 mentions
“pilot” — 80 mentions

This weekend I’ve been trying to [...]

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A Compendium of Resources on the Federal HIT Meaningful Use NPRM and Standards IFR

* = highly recommended
 
Descriptive Summaries and Documents
 
 *Dissecting the Meaningful Use Proposed Rule PowerPoint
eHealth Initiative Policy Webinar; January 8, 2010
 
*What You Need to Know About the Meaningful Use Proposed Rule, Standards and Implementation Specification, and Interim Final Rule Certification Criteria PowerPoint
HIMSS Webinar; January 6, 2010
 
*Meaningful Use, Certification Criteria and Standards, and HHS Certification Process
HIMSS, frequently updated [...]

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Is Gawande Right? Are Pilot Programs the Key to Delivery System Cost Reductions?

Atul Gawande’s most recent New Yorker article “Testing, Testing” addresses the critics who lament that there is no master plan to curb delivery system costs in pending health reform legislation.
Gawande retorts: “Is that a bad thing?”
…and he answers his own question by describing the value of pilot programs contained in both the Senate and House [...]

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Medicare Extends PHR Pilot — Big Mistake!

Medicare announced today that it is extending its Personal Health Record (PHR) pilot project for residents of Utah and Arizona.
This is a waste of time and taxpayer dollars. Those of you who read my blog know that I’m a big fan of PHRs, but you have to know when you’re backing the wrong approach.
What’s wrong with [...]

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