MPS News Attached.

 

Under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, manufacturers of drugs, devices and biologicals covered by federal health care programs are required to report payments and transfers of value they make to physicians and teaching hospitals beginning August 1. The AMA will hold a webinar at 7 PM on April 24 to help physicians get ready for a database (to be launched by Sept.

When doctors need a new EHR system, it is important to have a specific list of features, like patient engagement tools — portals, population health management, ad-hoc reporting, etc. — or being able to save, produce and report records and information as part of a seamless work flow. The system should be compatible with the specialty, and effectively communicate with local hospitals. Up-front costs, monthly fees and staff training time are important considerations, but keep in mind that EHRs are a value-added investment in the practice.

The Mental Hygiene Administration has posted updated forms for psychiatric hospital admission on its website under the heading “What’s New” on the left side of the home page.  To view individual forms, click on the following:

HHS released a new HIPAA rule in January that requires changes by September 23. Revised privacy notices will need to be displayed in prominent areas of doctors’ offices and on practices’ websites. Patients will be able to ask for copies of their electronic health records or restrict the information given to health plans if they self-pay for services.

An analysis of large data breaches reported to HHS finds that personal health information may be most at risk when in the hands of a third-party business associate hired to perform functions that require access to patient data. Even though the breaches occur outside a physician practice, the impact to the practice can be just as devastating as an in-house breach. Therefore, practices need to be more vigilant in assessing their contractors' ability to handle the data properly, experts say.

Copying and pasting information is common within EHRs, but the practice sometimes can lead to confusion and endanger patient care. Concerned about misuse of copy and paste in electronic systems, the HHS Office of Inspector General plans to review multiple EHR notes for the same patient by the same physician to see whether doctors are copying and pasting the identical note from visit to visit.

An open letter from the FDA calls on physicians who prescribe opioid pain medications to make sure they are fully educated about these drugs, including the updated drug labels for each product. Prescribers are critical to addressing the epidemic of opioid misuse, abuse and diversion. The agency recommends that physicians:

CMS announced in March that the rulemaking process for Stage 3 won't take place in 2013 as anticipated.