By Amanda Patanow on
3/28/2010
A 21.2% Medicare pay cut will take effect April 1 after the Senate last week failed to pass a bill extending the effective date to May 1 before lawmakers recessed for 2 weeks.
The Senate was poised to vote on the Democrat-sponsored legislation this week, but Sen. Tom Coburn, MD (R-OK), put a procedural block on it, saying Democrats were engaged in a harmful exercise in deficit spending. Sen. Coburn said they should find a way to pay for the bill, which also would have extended expired unemployment compensation benefits, subsidies for health insurance premiums for the out-of-work under the COBRA program, and various tax breaks.
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By Amanda Patanow on
3/28/2010
On Wednesday, the Federal Register made publicly available the Drug Enforcement Agency's interim final rule allowing electronic prescribing for controlled substances. Current DEA regulations prohibit the use of e-prescribing for controlled substances, forcing health care providers who use e-prescribing systems to maintain paper processes.
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By Amanda Patanow on
3/22/2010
A sweeping bill overhauling the U.S. medical system goes to President Obama's desk on Monday to be signed into law.
The House of Representatives passed the measure late Sunday, delivering a historic victory to Obama, who had made it his No. 1 domestic priority.
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By Amanda Patanow on
3/21/2010
Starting today, laboratory and radiology procedures performed at BayCare Health System facilities are now being electronically shared with Clinical Neurosciences of Tampa Bay. This means that patient lab test and radiology orders and results can be shared instantly between these two providers, making it much easier for decisions to be made regarding patient care and much more convenient for patients who won’t have to wait days or even weeks for test results or the transmission of their records to providers.
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By Amanda Patanow on
3/14/2010
This week, the Senate passed a jobs bill (HR 4213) that includes a provision designed to make it easier for certain hospital-based physicians to receive incentive payments for the "meaningful use" of electronic health records.
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By Amanda Patanow on
3/14/2010
First Coast Service Options, Inc., the current Medicare Administrative Contractor for Jurisdiction 9, which includese Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virging Islands and Florida, has issued the following update:
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