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Health Policy Current Events
Health Policy
Final Rules for the Accountable Care Organizations have been Published
Section 3022 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 provides a provision for care providers to form organizations focused on improving and lowering the cost of patient care (Berwick, 2011). ACOs are structured such that care providers will be able to share in any cost of care savings realized, thus providing a potentially large incentive to participate. This has caused a bit of a 'gold rush fever' in the industry, with many hospitals and other healthcare organizations reportedly already functioning as ACOs in advance of the January, 2012 start of the program (Gold, 2011).
As with any incentive program oversight is critical, because the temptation to cut costs at the expense of patient health will be substantial. On October 5, 2011 the Department of Health and Human Services published the final rule for ACOs, which contained oversight and reporting requirements to help ensure patient health is actually improved rather than sacrificed (Berwick, 2011, p. 2). A total of 33 measures in 4 domains...
For ACOs to be reimbursed under Medicare they will have to file reports quarterly during the first year, and during the next two years reimbursement will depend on both fulfilling reporting requirements and quality of care performance.
WHO Declares Non-Ionizing Radiation a Possible Carcinogen
On May 31, 2011 the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) issued a press release stating that they concluded radio frequency non-ionizing radiation is a possible carcinogen (International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2011). A working group of scientists responsible for the press release felt there was sufficient evidence for concern about the risk for glioma, a form of brain cancer, and stated that the increasing use of cellular phones by children and young adults, and increasing levels of occupational and environmental contamination, justified caution until more research can be done. This press release probably won't change health policy in the United States on a national level, at least not in the short-term, but the credibility of the working group is hard to dismiss (Parker-Pope and Barringer, 2011). Pediatricians should probably caution parents about heavy cell phone usage by their children and adults who spend hours…
Health Promotion: American HIV Prevention in an Era of False Security - an Investigative Study AIDS is one of the most dangerous diseases to affect humankind. AIDS awareness is best-funded and best-taught in the United States of America. This realization is especially apparent when HIV rates are examined in African countries and some Asian countries such as India. Education levels about sexually transmitted diseases in general - and funding for prevention and
Scientific Merit Paper This paper will analyze Doekhie and coworkers’ 2018 research work titled “The different perspectives of patients, informal caregivers, and professionals on patient involvement in primary care teams. A qualitative study”. This analysis will entail an evaluation of how the research work contributes to scientific knowledge and research theory, its dependability and credibility, approaches to deal with any ethical concerns relating to the research, and how the researchers applied
These stakeholders are also vital in the promotion of the application of standards-based technology. This is critical as it enhances the safety and security of the citizens as they pursue low-cost health care services and products within the context of the United States. The federal and state governments have also been influential in the development and implementation of policies towards addressing security and privacy issues in relation to the utilization
Health Care Reimbursement and Billing Both Mrs. Zwick and Mr. Davis face significant issues in the presented scenarios. Mrs. Zwick has multiple considerations under Medicare Parts A, B and D, in addition to her hospital-acquired urinary tract infection. Meanwhile, Mr. Davis must address the severe time constraints and costs of COBRA in light of his job termination. These two scenarios underscore current difficulties and complexities of current health care in the
In March of 2005, she was finally removed from life support and died thirteen days later. The case had 14 appeals, numerous motions, petitions and hearings in Florida courts, five suits in the Federal District Court; Florida legislation struck down by the Supreme Court of Florida; a subpoena by a congressional committee in an attempt to qualify Terri for witness protection; federal legislation and four denials of certiorari from
Transparency empowers consumers to become better shoppers. Economists assert that transparency stimulates productivity, for example, in exchange for money, one individual obtaining fair value. In every aspect, except healthcare, Davis points out, transparency, is supported. The contemporary dearth of transparency in healthcare has led to many Americans not being able to effectively shop for the best quality of service at acute care hospitals. Davis argues that transparency permits consumers,