Direct Provider Contracting: Keep It Simple, Stakeholders Tell CMS
For the most part, providers support the Direct Provider Contracting proposal put forward by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, with some stipulations and considerable tweaking. Check out the article, below, for more information! nnKey stakeholders are mostly supportive of a Medicare Direct Provider Contracting proposal but urging the federal government to keep it simple and not overwhelm providers with paperwork.nn“Burden reduction must be a priority for the Innovation Center when implementing the DPC model,” the Medical Group Management Association said in a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.nn“Collecting and reporting quality metrics remain technically challenging, data intensive, and administratively burdensome,” MGMA said. “Bureaucratic barriers to care, including prior authorization and appropriate use criteria, are at odds with care delivery and financial models in which participants are accountable for care outcomes.”nnThat concern was echoed byThe American Geriatrics Society, which urged that “CMS take care not to add further administrative burdens that may negatively impact patient care.”nnThe National Association of Accountable Care Organization supports the DPC concept, but urged CMS to limit participation to primary care providers for the rollout.nn“Primary care is more appropriate for this type of model, and specialty DPC Models would be too similar to bundled payment programs,” NAACOS said. “Further, it would be much more complicated to structure per beneficiary per month payments for specialty care which is typically more complex and can include episodes of care with greater variation in clinical conditions, treatment protocols and related costs.”n
nThis article was originally posted on healthleadersmedia.com
nnAlthough physicians are admired for mastering medical knowledge, keeping up with the flood of medical information can lead to anxiety and self-doubt. Check out some steps to help curb clinician burnout! nn3. Measuring the clinician experiencennAddressing burnout requires collecting data on multiple measures, the report says.nn”Leaders focused on reducing burnout and improving resilience in the clinician workforce should be prepared to measure engagement with sufficient thoroughness and frequency that the data allow segmentation, benchmarking and detection of change.”nnPress Ganey has developed an eight-point assessment tool to measure clinician resilience. The first four questions gauge capacity to disengage from work:n
The Know Your Legal Rights database was launched by The Colorado Medical Society and others to help give you the knowledge about how to protect your patients from illegal practices. Keep reading, below, for more information on the Know Your Legal Rights database! nnThe Colorado Medical Society and component medical societies are pleased to launch the Know Your Legal Rights database, an online, searchable compilation of all of the Colorado laws in place to protect you and your patients from unfair, predatory and unscrupulous – not to mention illegal – practices.nnThese physician protections have been secured through more than a decade of hard-hitting advocacy by CMS and our allies in the General Assembly and the rule-setting process, but many physicians are unaware that these laws exist or how to find and use them. Now, CMS members are just a keystroke from knowing the legal tools at your disposal and how to use them effectively. It’s your instant guide to Colorado physicians’ legal rights.nnTo access the Know Your Legal Rights database, go to 
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is targeting more than 60 million Americans with their new plan to provide rural communities quality and affordable healthcare options. nnCMS unveiled the Rural Health Strategy on Tuesday with the goal of helping millions of Americans across the United States obtain quality healthcare. “Through its implementation and our continued stakeholder engagement, this strategy will enhance the positive impacts CMS policies have on beneficiaries who live in rural areas,” said CMS Administrator, Seema Verma.nnCMS will look to raise state and local stakeholder engagement to make the agency’s policies more effective and curb the “unintended consequences of policy and program implementation” in those communities, the agency said.Through the new strategy, CMS is focused on accomplishing the five goals listed below:n
Welter Healthcare Partners is proud to announce our new partnership with HealthTeamWorks who is know for helping medical practices, physician organizations and integrated delivery networks (IDNs) improve their performance in delivering value-based services. As Welter Healthcare Partners shares a similar focus for helping improve the success of your business, we believe in the goal behind HealthTeamWorks as they are committed to improving quality measures in your team and organization.nnThe HistorynOur solutions have been developed drawing knowledge from our more than 20 years of experience working with health teams and our experienced staff with backgrounds and advanced degrees in healthcare and business.nnThe MissionnWith more than 20 years of healthcare transformation experience, our approach fosters sustainable improvement for organizations to succeed in today’s changing healthcare environment, which is becoming more regulated, expensive, and complicated to navigate. We enable our clients to achieve measurable improvements in healthcare delivery through deep client collaboration and a shared commitment to achieve improved patient care, lowered costs, workplace satisfaction, and healthier communities.nnThe VisionnThrough partnership and innovation, HealthTeamWorks is viewed as a nationally recognized leader at the forefront of healthcare transformation by providing exceptional high-quality solutions and services that are delivered by professionals who are passionate about their work and inspire our clients to transform the healthcare delivery system.nn
Join Colorado Medical Group Management Association and Professional Association of Health Care Office Management for 2018 Payer Day! Hear what’s new from our insurance carriers and have your questions answered! Get the inside track to the latest information vital to your practice including health care reform plans, claims submissions and payments. This is an excellent opportunity to connect with your peers and meet insurance representatives face to face.nn