Practice Management News

A recent study suggested a “primary care revolution” is coming that will increase the workload in the future for primary care physicians.

More than half of high-cost patients who were dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid continued to have high costs over 3 years, according to research published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

On Sept. 28, legislation that would likely allocate billions to fight the opioid crisis passed the House, according to a House Energy Committee press release.

As the number of physicians qualified to provide buprenorphine treatment rose, buprenorphine prescriptions and spending covered by Medicaid increased significantly, according to findings published in JAMA Network Open. The increased rate of prescriptions still lagged behind the rate of physicians receiving waivers, however.

Interventions that addressed patient and public demand, created prescriber awareness and accountability, and established tools for clinical leadership accountability significantly reduced opioid overprescribing, according to findings recently published in JAMA Network Open.

CMS is currently reviewing more than 15,000 comments it received regarding its proposals that would overhaul physician payment policies and reduce clinician burden in 2019, an agency spokesperson told Healio Family Medicine.

Using data found on health care claims, researchers developed a machine learning tool that resulted in a “high level of predictive accuracy” to determine who is at risk for future opioid use disorder in the next 12 months, according to findings presented at PainWeek.

Results of an international systematic review showed that patients and their families had a poor understanding about advanced liver disease, felt they needed more information about treatments and how to get practical and psychological support, and were unaware of the potential for palliative care.

Just 10% of early career certified family physicians felt ready to provide buprenorphine treatment for opioid use, according to 2016 National Family Medicine Graduate Survey findings recently published in Annals of Family Medicine.

The Department of Justice approved the Cigna-Express Scripts merger on Sept. 17, according to Business Insider and The Wall Street Journal reported that the CVS-Aetna merger would likely get the green light by the end of the month.