A new bill has been proposed by Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.), which aims to reduce regulatory burdens for Medicare providers and tailor meaningful use requirements to better meet their needs, according to a Healthcare IT News report.

MedPAC released its annual report on Medicare Payment Policy, which includes recommendations for ambulatory surgery centers, according to a Health Finance report.

A study published in Spine randomly selected 5 percent of Medicare beneficiaries that had undergone decompression surgery for spinal stenosis and analyzed readmission rates.

Sequestration will set into full effect on Monday, cutting Medicare payments by 2 percent, according to a Medscape report.

By now, most physicians have at least begun the process of cleansing their offices of bulky patient charts and opted for the less cumbersome EHR / EMR systems. If you have not yet begun this process and are still utilizing paper charts, you may want to consider this transition.  Regardless of the system you are using, patient intake data and EMR data may hold a value that is far less obvious than just convenience. EMR contains a wealth of demographic information about patient base. This information can vastly improve marketing efforts when the structure and procedure of patient intake questionnaires and forms is well-organized.

Saturday, March 23, marked the three-year anniversary of President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The legislation has undergone and continues to experience a bevy of challenges since its enaction, but it's recently gained broader acceptance as the law of the land.

A study by the Institute of Medicine examining geographic differences in Medicare spending found the variations may be due to waste or unnecessary procedures, but cautioned policy makers against cutting rates to high-cost regions.

Within our ever changing world of healthcare the need for spine surgeons to direct their focus on lowering the rates for hospital readmissions is on the rise. Hospital readmissions are more commonly being used to gauge standards of care and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is now utilizing readmissions rates to decrease reimbursements for specific care/procedures rendered.

Illinois Bone & Joint Institute, with locations in the Chicagoland area, announced it will participate in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Bundled Payments for Care Improvement program. IBJI is the only independent physician group practice in the state, and one of only a few in the country, participating in the program. The practice will participate in Model 3 and plans to take steps improving care management for orthopedic patients.

The 73 percent pay raise for primary care physicians who treat Medicaid patients under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will be delayed, according to an article in Forbes.