Will obesity treatment reimbursement benefit those at highest risk?
Historically, providers have lacked reimbursement for obesity management in the primary care setting. In 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released the decision to reimburse qualified primary care providers for obesity counseling. Currently, providers can bill for intensive behavioral therapy during weekly face-to-face visits in the first month of treatment, followed by bi-weekly face-to-face visits in months 2-6. The provider can be reimbursed for monthly face-to-face visits in months 7-12, but only when the patient loses at least 3 kg by the 6-month visit. The American Journal of Medicine
(7/2015) Share: 
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HEDIS medication management compliance not related to improved asthma outcome
The relationship between the new HEDIS Medication Management Measure (MMM), designed to quantify patient adherence to asthma controller medication, and asthma outcomes is unknown. Administrative data identified 30,040 patients who met HEDIS criteria for persistent asthma during 2012. These patients were classified as compliant or noncompliant with the MMM at the 75% and 50% thresholds. The association between MMM compliance in 2012 and asthma outcomes in 2013 was determined. Patients who were 75% or 50% MMM compliant in 2012 showed no clinically meaningful difference in asthma-related hospitalizations, emergency department visits, or rescue inhaler dispensing in 2013 compared to those who were noncompliant. Compliance with the HEDIS MMM measure is not related to improvement in the asthma outcomes assessed. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice
(7/2015) Share:
Nonmedical prescription opioid use is strongly associated with heroin use in young adults
Young adults (18-25 years of age) have the highest rate of heroin use in the United States, with their heroin dependence increasing from 137,000 to 216,000 between 2002 and 2011. Using the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health cross-sectional surveys, authors determined that a prior history of nonmedical use of prescription opioids was strongly associated with heroin initiation. Avoidance of nonmedical use of prescription opioids in late childhood may prevent the onset of severe drug use at later ages, with a specific focus on adolescents who have already initiated nonmedical use of prescription opioids. The Journal of Pediatrics
(7/2015) Share:
It took a village: Good's syndrome
A complex medical history became even more tangled when a 52-year-old man presented with a 4-week history of dry cough, dyspnea, weight loss, chills, subcutaneous nodules on his extremities and fatigue. He had no fever. Initially, his primary care physician examined him and prescribed a course of clindamycin. Although the patient completed therapy, the nodules continued to progress, and they began to drain purulent material. The American Journal of Medicine
(7/2015) Share:
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USPSTF calls for primary care practitioners to screen adults for depression
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended adults be screened for depression in a primary care setting, expanding a 2009 guideline that said the service should be provided if staff-assisted depression care is available. Panel co-vice chair Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo said the task force believes all clinical practices should have to ability to implement systems to screen adults for depression. Reuters
(7/27) Share:
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CMS likely to expand bundled payment initiatives, experts say
CMS' plans to require bundled payments for hip and knee surgeries may be just the beginning, as experts say the agency also will begin an Oncology Care Model and look at other promising services in the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative, which covers 48 conditions. Richard Bajner Jr. of Navigant Consulting said he expects commercial insurers and providers will follow the government's lead in developing bundled payments. HealthLeaders Media
(7/27) Share:
CPOE platforms show promise in cutting medical errors, study says
A three-phase study in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics showed that computerized physician order entry platforms helped cut medical errors in prescriptions in the hematology department of a hospital in Spain within a five-year period. Researchers revealed that almost all of the medical errors tied with the prescription of antineoplastic treatments were eliminated with the use of a CPOE system, and no new types of errors occurred once doctors were familiarized with the platform. Health Data Management
(7/23) Share:
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Study looks at e-cigarette use among teens
A study in Pediatrics found that teens are more likely to smoke traditional or electronic cigarettes if someone else in the home does so. The report, based on data from 2,084 California teens, revealed that about 25% had used the electronic devices, and 10% had done so within the past 30 days. Twenty percent said they had used traditional cigarettes and 6% had done so within the past 30 days. One-third of teens who had smoked e-cigarettes also used traditional cigarettes, compared with 1% of those who'd never used e-cigarettes. Reuters
(7/27), HealthDay News
(7/27) Share:
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I've always tried to go a step past wherever people expected me to end up."
-- Beverly Sills, opera singer Share:
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