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Sunshine Act begins today.
The Physician Payment Sunshine Act, which requires the industry to report interactions with physicians, begins today. Beginning September 2014, the reported interactions will be published on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website. Physicians have the opportunity to challenge information before it becomes public.
Providers see an increase in patients paying bills online.
In 2010, 8 percent of the gross dollar volume of all patient payments was made online. This number rose to 13 percent in 2012. Patients may be more willing to pay online, which could lead to decreased spending on mailed statements and follow-up efforts to collect payment.
AMA announces 329 CPT code changes for 2014.
The American Medical Association has announced there will be 175 new codes, 107 revised codes and 47 deleted codes, a total of 392 changes to CPT codes.
Rate of physicians opting out of Medicare triples.
In 2012, 9,539 physicians opted out of Medicare. The number of physicians opting out has tripled in 2012 when compared to three years prior. The increase in opt-out activity could be due to lower reimbursement rates and penalties that will apply to Medicare-enrolled providers who fail to meet meaningful use requirements beginning in 2015.
Licking Memorial Hospital returns to origins as outpatient surgery center.
Licking Memorial Health Systems has converted Licking Memorial Hospital – Tamarack in Newark, Ohio, to an outpatient surgery center. The facility initially opened as a physician-owned outpatient surgery center. It became an inpatient facility in 2007, but now it becomes an outpatient surgery center once again.
Kaiser Permanente to open surgery center in Colorado.
Kaiser Permanente has recently announced the completion of its 275,000-square-foot multispecialty facility in Lone Tree, Colo. The facility will include an ambulatory surgery center on its second floor.
Medical Facilities Corporation eliminates presidential role.
Medical Facilities Corporation has eliminated the role of president. All of the role’s leadership responsibilities will pass to members of the corporation’s senior management team. Larry Teuber, MD, the former president, will remain with the corporation as a consultant.
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