Within the health care industry, pay for performance, also known as P4P, is a method of payment that is becoming more popular both within the United States and Great Britain. Through this model of payment rewards, health care providers such as physicians, medical groups and hospitals are rewarded when certain measures of efficiency and quality [...]
Medicare Advantage was first established in 1997 when the Balanced Budget Act was passed. Through this act, those eligible for Medicate benefits were allowed to use private insurance plans and still receive their benefits. This was in lieu of having to use the Medicare plan, whether it had been Part A or Part B. When [...]
The term case management is used within the health care system to describe a set of practices aimed at improving the care of individualized patients through the use of collaboration and personalized care. It is a process that has a number of different steps and aspects that work together in order to provide the highest [...]
The concept and practice of disease management within the health care system is based around the idea of knowledge building, the sharing of that knowledge and community building. It can be defined as a network of coordinated and integrated health care systems and professionals as well as family and friends which aim at improving the [...]
One aspect of the health care reform bill that was passed in March of 2010 has to do with the creation of Accountable Care Organizations. Through the new law these organizations are allowed to create a contract with Medicare in order to provide services to Medicare enrollees. An accountable care organization can be described as [...]
Obese patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer may have worse outcomes than patients who are normal weight or overweight, Mayo Clinic researchers found in a study presented today at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. HER2-positive breast cancer gets its name from a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 that promotes [...]
Mayo Clinic researchers have amassed additional evidence that secondhand smoke kills and smoke-free workplace laws save lives. Their research shows that the incidence of heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths was cut in half among Olmsted County, Minn., residents after a smoke-free ordinance took effect. Adult smoking dropped 23 percent during the same time frame, [...]
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today the award of $9 million from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to help Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) programs across the nation continue their work fighting Medicare fraud. This is part of President Obama’s initiative to educate people with Medicare about how [...]
X-ray images known as CT scans can help confirm gout in patients who are suspected of having the painful condition but receive negative results from traditional tests, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The type of CT scan analyzed, dual-energy computed tomography, is also valuable for diagnosing people who cannot be tested with the typical [...]
Women under 50 with rheumatoid arthritis are at greater risk of breaking bones than women without the condition, according to a Mayo Clinic study being presented at the American College of Rheumatology annual scientific meeting in Chicago. Men with rheumatoid arthritis also are in more danger of fractures, but that risk seems to surface when [...]