Providers

While California has made great strides to improve mental health prevention and early intervention, the state's Department of Managed Health Care found causes for concern regarding Kaiser Permanente's behavioral health services.

Eligible healthcare professionals participating in the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program 2014 reporting year will have additional time to attest to meaningful use, according to an announcement from CMS.

Some of the challenges with bringing as much focus to the mental well-being of patients as their physical conditions has to do with problems the healthcare industry created itself, according to Robin Henderson, PsyD.

More than 375,000 Kentuckians signed up for the state's expanded Medicaid program in 2014, and doing so has saved Kentucky approximately $100 million, according to a new report.

A new study debunks the common assumption that high medical costs are a result of patients demanding more tests and treatments. Researchers analyzed more than 5000 patient-clinician visits and found that cancer patients rarely push for medical interventions.

Harvoni has shown results within the first 8 weeks of treatment, which would save costs, Matthew D. Harman, PharmD, MPH, does not think many patients or providers will be making cost-based hepatitis C treatment decisions.

Amid President Barack Obama's planned Precision Medicine Initiative, the FDA is evaluating its regulatory approach to next-generation sequencing.

Putting data in patient hands, the construction of an open API, and interoperability are big hopes for the future of health information technology (IT), according to panelists at the annual meeting of the Office of the national Coordinator for Health IT.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has released the first draft of its interoperability roadmap to deliver better care through the exchange and use of health information technology.

Payers differentiate between predictive and prognostic diagnostic tests, and one is definitely more useful than the other, according to John L. Fox, MD, MHA, of Priority Health, and Bryan Loy, MD, MBA, of Humana.

A new private-sector alliance of healthcare systems and payers will dedicate to accelerate the US healthcare system's transition to value-based models aligned with improving outcomes and lowering costs.

An American Medical Association-led coalition of 35 medical societies has urged the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to reevaluate the current electronic health record certification process.

Transparency throughout the healthcare system could produce safer care, better outcomes, and reduced costs of care, according to a new report from the National Patient Safety Foundation's Lucian Leape Institute.

With healthcare payers increasingly relying on narrow provider networks to contain costs and achieve quality, California regulators are pressing health plans to blunt out-of-network costs and maintain accurate provider directories.

A new pay-for-performance method would adjust payments in such a way that providers would not be discouraged from caring for disadvantaged patients, according to researchers at RAND.

Although more than 70% of physicians use electronic health records, up to half don't routinely receive the patient information needed to coordinate care effectively.

At Patient-Centered Diabetes Care, hear stakeholders across the whole ecosystem of healthcare delivery discuss solutions for diabetes with the patient always at the center of the discussion.

Although there is a clear link between nonadherence and outcomes of a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), some patient intentionally stop taking their medication, said Giora Sharf, co-founder of the CML Advocates Network.

Providers and patient advocates nationwide are deeply worried about a US Supreme Court case that they say could restrict their ability across the country to seek judicial relief from low Medicaid reimbursement rates.

HHS has submitted a proposed rule for stage 3 of meaningful use for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, which includes changes to the reporting period, timelines, and structure of the program.

The quality-measurement enterprise in US healthcare is troubled. Measure developers are creating ever more measures, and payers are requiring their use in more settings and tying larger financial rewards or penalties to performance.

Nearly half of the patients who had access to electronic medical records withheld clinically sensitive information from some or all of their healthcare providers, according to a new study.

Although Virginia Gov Terry McAuliffe failed to pass a Medicaid expansion plan during his first year in office, the governor's health secretary has indicated that the fight will begin again.

The use of medical scribes hired to enter information into electronic health records (EHRs) has increased substantially, but can pose potential risks, according to a new article in JAMA.

To address the lack of standards in public reports of provider performance, the authors outline a model to ensure the integrity and transparency of reports.