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State Moves Medicaid Toward Coordinated Care
Shifting Louisiana's Medicaid system to coordinated care networks will save the state money, improve patient outcomes and may draw national insurers, according to a report by HealthLeaders-Interstudy.
TED GRIGGS - Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:24 am |
Healthcare Reform Affects Medicare Patients and the Under 65 Set Differently
How to Answer Questions from Your Patients
If you’re a physician, chances are you have already fielded a bevy of questions from patients about healthcare reform. Rest assured, the questions will keep coming. Experts say that doctors need to be up to speed, and fast, about how reform will affect their patients’ healthcare and their insurance options in the future.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:24 am |
Raising a Voice
More Hospitals Turning to Nursing Shared Governance
When the professional guideline committee that reviews dress code at North Mississippi Medical Center (NMMC) brought up the question—What about nurses going back to wearing all white instead of different colored scrubs so patients could more easily identify them?—the 1,200 staff nurses at America’s largest rural nonprofit hospital were glad to have council representation in the form of nursing shared governance.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:24 am |
There’s an App for That!
Medical Applications for Mobile Technology are Burgeoning
With mobile technologies advancing, so too are medical uses of those technologies – and the ride has just begun, predicts one expert.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:24 am |
Stark Reality
Multi-Specialty Practices Anxiously Await MedPac Recommendations for Imaging
Over the past few years, there has been a gradual chipping away of allowed reimbursements for imaging. Tightening Stark regulations have largely been driven by concern over the rising costs of advanced diagnostic imaging and soaring utilization rates.
CINDY SANDERS - Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:24 am |
The Guardian
John Sutton Trains Healthcare Providers on Safety, Security, Self-Defense
NEW ORLEANS—After honing skills in martial arts and boxing during the early 1990s, John Sutton was approached by several nurses working in home care, asking him to teach them self-defense techniques and to accompany them to troublesome houses.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:24 am |
Sometimes I Wish Something Could Just Stay the Same
Version 5010 Transition for Electronic Claims Submission
With almost 100 percent of Medicare Part A claim transactions being submitted electronically (and just over 96 percent of the Part B claims) using the Version 4010/4010A1 of healthcare standards, payers and providers must implement, test and transition to the 5010 Version transaction to be compliant with HIPAA no later than January 1, 2012.
BETTY HATTEN - Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:24 am |
Avoiding Danger in the Workplace
Bureau of Labor Statistics Shows Higher Incidents of Violence in Healthcare Settings
Every year, thousands of workers in the healthcare and social services industries are confronted with threats of violence and actual assaults.
LYNNE JETER - Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:24 am |
Nurse Practitioner’s Link Leads to Liver-free Rice Dressing
South Louisiana is renowned for its Cajun cuisine. One of the staples of a festive Acadiana feast is a rich, roux-based rice dressing mixed with finely chopped liver. It was this very delicacy that observant nurse practitioner Stella Souther linked to increased vitamin K levels in her cardiac clients.
LISA HANCHEY - Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:24 am |
Dr. Phil Gachassin
Innovative Surgeon Goes Entrepreneur
When it comes to surgical procedures, Dr. Phil Gachassin has always been on the cutting-edge. Since starting his general surgery practice, he has specialized in minimally invasive gastrointestinal techniques and weight loss surgery. Once the da Vinci® robot came onto the market, he was one of only a handful of Acadiana doctors to do robotic gastrointestinal surgery. In 2010, he became the first physician in Lafayette to perform Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication (TIF) with EsophyX®.
LISA HANCHEY - Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:24 am |
Fed Moves Should Help Telemedicine Efforts
Rural hospitals’ telemedicine efforts will get a boost from federal regulators’ decision to let hospitals use credentialing and privileging information from the remote location, industry officials say.
TED GRIGGS - Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:24 am |
Legislative Affairs: 2010 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature
Not counting today, as of press time, there are simply 12 days left to the 2010 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature! Healthcare lobbyists, and all other types of lobbyists too, expect to work long days, nights and weekends until Monday, June 21st at 6 PM when the Louisiana Legislature adjourns sine die (final adjournment.) Below is a recap of the status of all 247 healthcare related measures.
CINDY BISHOP - Posted: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 10:24 am |
Healthcare Reform Boosts Primary Care
Reimbursement Incentives Offered to Ease the Strain
Well, it’s done, and depending on your perspective, the historic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that sets about reforming America’s health system could be a boon or it could be a bust. For most stakeholders, reality is somewhere in the middle.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2010 3:05 pm |
Playing Well With Others
Building Strong Relationships in an Evolving Environment
In theory, hospital administrators, physicians and nurses are all on the same team with the same ultimate goal — delivering the highest quality of patient care possible. In practice, those relationships are easily strained as fiscal realities, misaligned objectives and strong personalities are factored into the equation.
CINDY SANDERS - Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2010 3:05 pm |
Fostering an Epidemic of Skin Cancer
Dermatologists Take Aim at Indoor Tanning
On an average day in America, more than 1 million people visit an indoor tanning salon. That’s why dermatologists nationwide have declared war on the practice, which research overwhelmingly has shown causes cancer.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2010 3:05 pm |
Healthcare Reform Affects Medical Society’s Membership
Anger over the American Medical Association’s support of the healthcare reform bill has slowed the Louisiana State Medical Society’s membership renewals, a sign of physicians’ growing frustration, officials said.
TED GRIGGS - Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2010 3:05 pm |
CIS Presents Live Case at China Interventional Therapeutics Conference
When it comes to cardiovascular procedures, the U.S. sets the bar. That’s why China turned to the docs at Cardiovascular Institute of the South (CIS) to explain the latest techniques at the China Interventional Therapeutics (CIT) conference this spring in Beijing.
LISA HANCHEY - Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2010 3:05 pm |
Dr. Jayendra Kantibhai Patel
The Tri-Continental Man
Some docs consider themselves worldly, but how many can say that they’ve practiced on three continents? Tanzanian native Jayendra Patel, who is of Indian descent, worked as a physician in Asia and Africa before settling in the U.S. Now, he has gone bicoastal, moving from Rhode Island to Louisiana, where he is now in private practice.
LISA HANCHEY - Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2010 3:05 pm |
Caring for the Largest Organ
Melanoma on the Rise in Teens
With summer just around the corner, Louisiana teens are gearing up for the beach by getting their “base” tans. But, many of them are unwittingly exposing themselves to the most deadly skin cancer of all – melanoma. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, melanoma is the most common form of cancer for 25 to 29-year-olds, and the second most common in teens and young adults ages 15-29. That rate is increasing faster in those most prone to tanning – girls 15 to 29 years old – than guys in the same age group.
LISA HANCHEY - Posted: Wednesday, June 2, 2010 3:05 pm |
Survival Guide to Health-System Reform
Where Do Providers Focus Their Attention First?
So, now what?
The massive health-system reform legislation dubbed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is law, enacting the most sweeping changes in America’s health system since Medicare. Experts say now is the time providers should take a deep, cleansing breath, then jump into action with short-term strategies that could pay off down the road.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Monday, May 10, 2010 5:33 pm |
Before the Breathin' Air is Gone
Luring Physicians "Out in the Country"
Grady, S.C., was one of the lucky rural communities. Unfortunately, it was fictional.
In the 1991 film "Doc Hollywood" with Michael J. Fox, the Porsche Speedster of hotshot plastic surgeon Benjamin Stone breaks down in Grady, and the charms of the community, its people and one woman in particular entice the young physician to hang his family-practice shingle in the rural Southeast.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Monday, May 10, 2010 5:33 pm |
RX FOR THE BOTTOM LINE: How to Improve Collections
Two key indicators provide the beacon medical practices need to improve collections: net collection ratio and accounts receivable (A/R) days, according to Todd Warren, executive director of Medical Practice Solutions in Jackson.
LYNNE JETER and MARCEA NEITMAN - Posted: Monday, May 10, 2010 5:33 pm |
Legislative Affairs: Healthcare and the 2010 Session
The 2010 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature commenced Monday, March 29. Lawmakers will remain in session until 6 p.m. Monday, June 21. It is expected that the state's budget woes will overshadow most issues this legislative session. Lawmakers must agree on a mechanism to address an estimated $1.7 billion budget deficit for the state budget year which begins July 1, 2010.
CINDY BISHOP - Posted: Monday, May 10, 2010 5:33 pm |
Budget Shortfall Dominates Legislative Session
With pressure mounting to plug a $1.7 billion chasm in the state budget, healthcare providers worry that legislators will again choose to solve the problem by cutting Medicaid reimbursements.
TED GRIGGS - Posted: Monday, May 10, 2010 5:33 pm |
Asking the Right Questions Will Impact Your Bottom Line
When a scheduled patient walks into your office, staff members should already know whether or not this patient has the right coverage for their visit.
MINERVA DEJESUS and AURIANA REYES - Posted: Monday, May 10, 2010 5:33 pm |
Dr. Seth Rosenzweig
Surviving the Storm
When Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans in 2005, it totally disrupted the life of physician-in-training Seth Rosenzweig. At the time, the Tulane University School of Medicine student and his wife were living in the Crescent City with their three small children. Within six months, the Rosenzweigs moved to two states so that he could complete his studies. During that time, their oldest child attended five different schools. "Keeping the family unity, our motivation and our mental psyches, was really tough after the storm," he said. But, survive they did – with a vengeance.
LISA HANCHEY - Posted: Monday, May 10, 2010 5:33 pm |
Healthcare Real Estate Outlook
Looking for Silver Linings in Cloudy Skies
Turn on the television; open any paper, and it’s clear the American housing market has been in a freefall for more than a year. For the most part, the commercial sectors have followed suit.
Cindy Sanders - Posted: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:40 pm |
Fibromyalgia: A Disease Without a Medical Home
"Ideally, It Would Be Neurology," Expert Says
Rae Marie Gleason, executive director of the National Fibromyalgia Association, said the tendency still exists among physicians to view fibromyalgia as “an illness of whining women who really could get better if they just wanted to.” Yet, Gleason’s job gets easier every day, as an abundance of research ties those patients’ complaints to brain activity – or lack thereof.
SHARON H. FITZGERALD - Posted: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:39 pm |
Recoupment of Federal Healthcare Dollars: Different Approaches
A Comparison of the Medicaid and Medicare Recovery Audits
While the words "fraud and abuse" may have diminished in use, they have been replaced with the latest catch phrases "improper payments" and "recovery audits." Both Medicare and Medicaid are active in their efforts to remain true to their agency’s survival during this financial crisis through the audit processes.
BETTY HATTEN - Posted: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:39 pm |
Hospitals Try Viral Solution to Halt Budget Bleeding
The Louisiana Hospital Association hopes to combine a YouTube video, viral marketing, and social media with thousands of worried hospital employees to head off the Jindal administration's planned Medicaid budget cuts.
TED GRIGGS - Posted: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:39 pm |
PCF, Insurance Commissioner Continue Battle
Louisiana's Patients' Compensation Fund Oversight Board and insurance commissioner appear headed for a legislative showdown to decide who will decide the malpractice rates providers must pay.
TED GRIGGS - Posted: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:39 pm |
Ochsner’s Telemedicine System Gives Stroke Victims Quicker Access to Care
Three hours – that’s the tiny window of time that ticks away much too quickly for an ischemic stroke victim. Immediate treatment with the clot-busting drug, tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), within this time period could minimize life-changing, long-term effects. But, many patients, particularly those in rural areas, just can’t get to a neurologist that fast. The smaller the hospital, the less likely it is to use tPA.
LISA HANCHEY - Posted: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:39 pm |
LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget
State lawmakers head back to the capitol Monday, March 29, at Noon to begin the 85 day regular session of the Louisiana Legislature. There have been some preliminary meetings where the budget committees have held briefings on the Governor’s Executive Budget. It is being said that state lawmakers have to cut a whopping $1 billion from the state’s budget to address a deficit. On February 19, 2010, state officials presented the Governor’s Executive Budget...
CINDY BISHOP - Posted: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 5:39 pm |
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