Regulatory/Legislative News

Key stakeholders stated the use of telehealth must be safe, lower cost, preserve access and preserve the doctor-patient relationship, at the Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety’s roundtable event on the topic in Washington.

LAS VEGAS – Moderator S. Barry Eiden, OD, FAAO, challenged representatives from the contact lens industry to share what their companies are working on for the future, here at the Global Contact Lens Forum during Vision Expo West.

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.

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.

Pass-through entities such as partnerships, limited liability companies, S corporations and sole proprietorships have long been extremely popular entities for optometric practices. In fact, one form of pass-through entity, the S corporation, is currently the most-used business entity. Limited liability companies are coming on strong as the pass-through most frequently being chosen today.

The Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings this week for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The former Supreme Court law clerk and presidential staff member received the American Bar Association committee’s highest rating of “well-qualified,” which the association said is not based on philosophy or political ideology.

In August, the FDA approved devices, drugs and dosing regimens to treat a range of ocular indications, including glaucoma, dry eye, age-related macular degeneration, postoperative pain and inflammation, and neurotrophic keratitis.

Physician burnout was associated with about a twofold increase in unsafe patient care, unprofessionalism and low patient satisfaction, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The U.S. health care system continues to struggle in its transition from fee-for-service to value-based care.

The Health Care Alliance for Patient Safety applauded the passage of a bill in the U.S. Senate that instructs the CDC to examine eye health research findings to increase patients’ vision safety and to update its reports on the burdens of keratitis and contact lens-related infection.