4 Stories You Need But May Have Missed This Week

We know you’re busy, but we don’t want you to miss important healthcare quality and patient safety news. Below is a roundup of stories you may have missed but need to take a look at before calling it a week. (Sign up on the right if you’d like these news alerts delivered to you.)

1. Obama Quietly Signs SGR Patch Bill
   Less than one week after the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, President Obama signed the bill into law late Tuesday delaying, for at least one year, a planned 24% cut in Medicare reimbursements to physicians, the implementation of ICD-10 and the controversial Two-Midnight Rule.
2. Stakeholders Blast ICD-10 Delay
   Healthcare organizations and vendors that have invested countless hours and resources into preparations for a 2014 transition to the ICD-10 coding system are fed up now that implementation of the new code will not be required before October 1, 2015. Read what CHIME and AHIMA leaders have to say about the government’s latest decision to put off the inevitable.
3. Physician Data on Health Services, Payments to be Released by Obama Administration
   As early as next week, the Obama administration plans to release information regarding healthcare services provided by more than 880,000 physicians to Medicare patients in 2012. Read the CMS blog post announcing this decision and explaining the agency’s stance on why the release of this information, which includes details on Medicare reimbursements, is a step toward achieving needed transparency and accountability within the industry.
4. How Doctors Rate Patients: What’s Your ‘Activation’ Level? How Involved Patients Are in Their Own Care
   Learn more about an assessment called the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) being used by doctors to predict the degree to which a patient is equipped and able to engage in his or her own health care.