Practice Management News

By a 224-201 vote, the House has passed the tax bill that will result in health care changes categorized as alarming by medical groups such as the AAFP and American College of Physicians. The House's action follows the Senate passing the bill by a 51-48 vote yesterday.

In April 2018, every Medicare beneficiary will receive a new Medicare card that eliminates the need for Social Security numbers, which will help to combat fraud and identity theft and protect taxpayer dollars, according to The CMS Blog.

ACP recently released a new position statement advocating for physicians to receive equitable compensation based on comparable work rather than characteristics of personal identity.

The FDA announced its draft guidance to employ a new, risk-based enforcement approach to address the public health issue of homeopathic treatments being marketed for serious diseases and/or conditions without proven clinical benefits while possibly containing harmful ingredients and being manufactured under poor practices.

Dec. 31 is the last day physicians can act to avoid a Medicare payment penalty under the Medicare Access and Chip Reauthorization Act in 2019, the AMA said in a press release.

An 8-week course of Harvoni for hepatitis C virus infection in both black and nonblack patients was a cost-effective alternative to a 12-week course, according to researchers.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults are likely to encounter increased discrimination as they try to access health care services after a series of actions initiated by the Trump administration that articulate a right to refuse services to others based on religious beliefs, according to a policy brief issued by The Fenway Institute.

The FDA announced the launch of a new website that streamlines its approach to updating critical information regarding antibiotics and antifungal drugs, according to a press release.

Slightly more than 80% of U.S. physicians have experienced a type of cybersecurity attack, with the most common being phishing and computer viruses, according to a new AMA survey.

The repeal of net neutrality as voted on by the Federal Communications Commission could lead to unintended and devastating consequences for physicians in small practices, as well as telemedicine and patients in rural areas that receive state-of-the-art medical care through telecommunications, according to experts.