MED3OOO Clinical Newsletter - July 2010
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By Paul McLeod, M.D., MED3OOO Chief Medical Executive
The Clamor around our recent healthcare reform legislation has quieted somewhat. for the most part, the stakeholders are taking more of a "wait and see" approach. No doubt, there are many areas in the bill that lack the details that could make the difference between a "good" or "bad" outcome for providers and patients. We shall see. Both the problem and the "fix" are complex. Attempting to change healthcare by regulation will be tricky at best, disastrous at worst. But one of the likely ingredients for positive change may rely on a new breed of doctors. This concept is on the radar screen of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission as reflected in their June report. The focus will be Graduate Medical Education Programs that train our future supply of physicians. A recent HealthBeat publication noted: "The current graduate medical education system produces superb physicians, but the commission is concerned about its current structure," said MedPAC Executive Director Mark Miller. A recent HealthBeat publication also noted that "commissioners question whether current methods of training are able to produce a mix of medical professionals that will lead change in healthcare delivery from a focus on fee-for-service medicine to a focus on quality care, better coordinated care, and restraining costs." "We found that curriculums we looked at in residency programs didn't focus on things like working in multidisciplinary teams, didn't use quality metrics...didn't focus on the use of IT - those types of skill sets," said Miller. Another theme of the report is how to make Medicare a more innovative purchaser of healthcare. MedPAC wants to explore whether to urge adoption of "referencing pricing," for example, in which a new item or service is paid at the same payment rate as an existing item that has comparable clinical benefit. Thus, Medicare wouldn't pay any higher rates for a more expensive product that had the same clinical benefit as a less costly product. "We're going to continue to explore that idea," Miller said.1 Practicing physicians need to be aware of the expectations that the "reformed" healthcare system may have of them. Our young counterparts will find this much easier, since it requires little or no change for them. Not so for those "boomers" among us. As a medical group or healthcare system recruiting additional physicians, it is critical to understand how graduate training will impact the status quo. Hang on; we are in for a wild ride. MED3OOO remains abreast of changes like this an how to position our clients to make smooth transitions along the way. 1 MedPAC Urges Changes in Doctor Training to Streamline Care, by John Richard, CQ HealthBeat Editor, June 15, 2010.
Is your patient volume down? Are your patients neglecting their routine and preventive care? Do you need to reconnect with patients that have not been seen in over a year? Do you need to identify those patients in your practice who should be recalled for needed services? If so, consider using our patient outreach MED3OOO/Connect technology. MED3OOO/Connect can automate the process of identifying those patients in your practice who should be recalled for needed services. If you would like to proactively reach out to your patients with an automated patient recall process, please contact your account manager or Scott Madden at Scott_Madden@MED3000.com.
For a printable version of this newsletter click here: Clinical July2010 |
