Future of Healthcare
The Day It Hit Me Just How Messed Up the Healthcare Industry Can Be
December 6th, 2013by: Dr. Michael Cetta
The other day I learned about a product called TRACKer Pro, and this is when it hit me just how messed up our healthcare system can be sometimes. The product’s description on its website (ractracker.org) pretty much tells the story: The TRACKer PRO solution is a dynamic web-based technology that provides hospitals with a powerful […]
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The Two Midnight Rule Puts New Pressure On Hospitals – Here’s Why We Should Embrace It
October 4th, 2013by: Dr. Aaron Snyder
Do not fear the Two Midnight Rule. Yes change is upon us, AND there are some important ways for hospitals to prepare for these changes. On October 1, 2013 the rules changed, with CMS altering its guidelines for inpatient admissions and how Medicare audit contractors are going to view these admissions.
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What the NY Times Missed In Its Praise of Maryland Healthcare
August 29th, 2013by: Dr. Angelo Falcone
The NY Times on Wednesday published a much needed and fairly adulatory story about the Maryland healthcare system, focusing much of its praise on Western Maryland Health System – a long time MEP partner. The story rightly pointed out two key differences between Maryland’s healthcare system and all the other states. One is the “Total […]
read articlePosted in Future of Healthcare, Hospital Partnership, Observation Care, Transition Care
Primary Care Vs. Transition Care: The Turf War that is Contributing to More 30 Day Re-Admissions
July 17th, 2013by: Dr. Michael Cetta
The lack of access to primary care physicians is a well-known problem impacting our healthcare system. The problem sends all sorts of negative ripples through the system, not the least of which is increasingly crowded emergency rooms packed with patients whose conditions could have been addressed earlier and cheaper had primary care been available.
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Twice As Expensive Doctor Visits, and Maybe Unnecessary Surgeries – A Tale of Two Stories
June 26th, 2013by: Dr. Angelo Falcone
Two recent articles highlight the challenges we will face as our healthcare system changes with regard to how care is delivered and reimbursed. The first article from the NY Times, Medicare Panel Urges Cuts to Hospital Payments for Services Doctors Offer for Less, notes that large hospital-centric systems of care do not necessarily serve patients […]
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Emergency Rooms: Massive Cost Center, or Crucial Healthcare Gateway?
May 23rd, 2013by: Dr. Angelo Falcone
There is a persistent narrative about emergency rooms. This narrative says that emergency rooms are overly expensive places to receive healthcare, that they are a cost drain on the hospitals they are attached to, and that they are a key driver of rising healthcare costs. A RAND study released this week challenges most of that […]
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Who Or What Is Forestalling The Death Of Fee For Service Medicine?
May 7th, 2013by: Dr. Angelo Falcone
With decreasing Medicare payments, rapidly shifting market pressures, and ongoing discussions regarding value and cost in healthcare, by now it should be clear to everyone that fee-for-service is a dying way of delivering care. That is not to say that fee-for-service will not survive in certain circumstances. Particularly in emergency care, it is difficult to integrate […]
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Amid Change, Physicians are Faced With a Choice
April 16th, 2013by: Dr. Angelo Falcone
Amid massive change in our healthcare delivery systems and seismic shifts in many regional markets, physicians are increasingly being faced with a simple choice: be acquired or become employed as part of a large healthcare system, or stay independent while offering a compelling service that hospitals and health systems value. The changes occurring in our […]
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Doctors Turned Politicians Still Love Working Clinically
March 8th, 2013by: Dr. Orlee Panitch
On March 6th, 2013, the day of the SNOWQUESTER, three very brave emergency physicians decided to take on the elements (which turned out to not be quite so elemental as the weather forecasters had predicted) and travel to the Capitol for the 12th Annual George Washington University Emergency Medicine Capitol Hill Day. I was invited as […]
read articlePosted in Future of Healthcare, Life in the ER
Skating To Where the Puck Will Be In Healthcare
February 19th, 2013by: Dr. Angelo Falcone
A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be. – Wayne Gretzky Recently, I attended an end-of-year review with one of our hospital partner’s executive team. We reviewed our performance for the past year, and discussed mutually strategic goals and how to improve […]
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