The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights yesterday proposed a rule that would allow patients to obtain “access reports” listing the names of individuals who had accessed their electronic health records (EHR). The new rule would add to regulations already in place under the Health Insurance Portability and

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a revised rule designed to streamline the telemedicine physician-credentialing process. Published in the Federal Register on May 5 (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-05-05/html/2011-10875.htm) and slated to go into effect on July 1, the final rule revises the conditions of

Medicare reimbursements for energy X-ray absorpitometry and DXA procedures are slated to be cut in half by January 1, 2012 as lawmakers scramble to avert the reductions.

The American Medical Association (AMA) yesterday submitted comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) on their proposed policy regarding antitrust enforcement of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). In a letter, the association called on both agencies to make strategic changes to their proposed policy so

Women who develop breast cancer after having had Hodgkin's lymphoma are more likely than other breast cancer patients to have bilateral disease and to die from other causes, say researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, New York in a study report published in the May 16 online edition of the Journal of Clinical

Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI), which owns, manages, and operates outpatient imaging centers in nine states, has appointed Robert V. Baumgartner to the position of Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. Baumgartner, who for the past 10 years had served as CDI’s CEO and director, replaces Kenneth Heithoff, MD, as Chairman. Heithoff

A desire to protect themselves from medical liability lawsuits may be as much of a motivator as patients’ best interests in spurring emergency room (ER) physicians to order tests, reveals a new survey from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). Of roughly 1,800 ER practitioners queried in the survey, more than 50% deemed fear of being

Claiming that it “misses the target” of better care at lower costs, seven U.S. senators have asked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to withdraw its proposed rule governing accountable care organizations (ACOs) established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.