Practice Management News

Equations used to predict resting energy expenditure in infants and children with end-stage liver disease listed for liver transplantation were inaccurate compared with indirect calorimetry for determining optimal nutrition intake, according to data presented at ASPEN Clinical Nutrition Week.

Beginning this year, physicians and other qualified health care professionals will be able to separately bill Medicare for providing non-face-to-face chronic care management, or CCM, services, by billing CPT code 99490. In recognizing and paying for these non-face-to-face services, CMS has taken an important step toward recognizing that care coordination is an essential feature of providing high-quality primary care and that important aspects of this care occur when the patient is not in the office. We have described the scope of service in Part I and health information technology requirements in Part II. In Part III we discussed uncertainties surrounding patient eligibility, scope of services and patient consent. This article addresses implementation issues that physicians should keep in mind as they develop their capabilities to bill for CCM, particularly if they consider using third-party contract employees to provide CCM services.

In a phase 3 trial, patients with Gaucher’s disease type 1 experienced decreased liver and spleen volume after treatment with Cerdelga compared with patients given placebo.

The Do One Thing program, a community-based HCV infection screening and linkage-to-care initiative, successfully directed Philadelphia patients to HCV care, according to new study data published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

The use of the White-test reduced biliary leakage after liver resection, according to study findings published in Annals of Hepatology.

Knowing how an audience thinks can help health care practitioners predict when health messages will gain adherence and compliance among the general public, according to a study published in Nutrition Reviews.

AbbVie has submitted a new drug application to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to approve its two direct-acting antiviral regimen of paritaprevir/ritonavir with ombitasvir to treat hepatitis C virus infection genotype 1, according to a press release from the manufacturer.

Radiotherapy was effective in palliation for treating spinal metastases from hepatocellular carcinoma, according to study data from a retrospective analysis.

The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore has opened a clinical site to treat children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, according to a press release from the medical center.

In an ongoing, phase 2 clinical trial, 100% of patients with hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection achieved a sustained virologic response after 6 weeks when treated with a combination regimen of ACH-3102, a NS5A inhibitor, and sofosbuvir, according to a press release from the drug maker.