The Supreme Court sided with the FDA and unanimously ruled to uphold access to abortion pill mifepristone. The decision quells worries about what it might look like if the Supreme Court sided with the physician group — many healthcare leaders feared that if the top court could overturn mifepristone’s FDA approval, the same could happen to other drugs.

The post How Healthcare Leaders Are Reacting to the Supreme Court Preserving Abortion Pill Access appeared first on MedCity News.

In an interview last week, Larry Cohen — CEO of Health 2047, the American Medical Association’s venture studio — noted that digital health programs have proven to do a good job of improving patient outcomes — but only for certain groups. As technology continues to advance, he urged healthcare leaders not to underestimate the effectiveness of engaging patients by having boots on the ground.

The post Health2047 CEO: As Tech Advances, the Power of Community Engagement Can’t Be Forgotten appeared first on MedCity News.

The Medicare physician pay cuts that went into effect January 1 is a “disaster for the profession,” said Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, president of the AMA, during an interview at CES 2024. Getting the pay cut reversed is a top priority for the organization.

The post AMA President: Medicare Physician Pay Cuts Will Have ‘Dire’ Impact if Not Reversed appeared first on MedCity News.

Some healthcare organizations have reduced health equity to a buzzword, using the phrase superficially without a true commitment to dismantling systemic barriers. During a webinar, two industry leaders — AMA President Jesse Ehrenfeld and Emory Healthcare Chief Transformation Officer Amaka Eneanya — discussed why this approach must be avoided and explored how leaders can do better.

The post How to Ensure Health Equity Isn’t Just a Buzzword appeared first on MedCity News.

Nearly half of physicians are equally excited and concerned about the use of AI in their field, according to a new AMA survey. Those who felt optimistic about AI cited reduced administrative burden as the number one benefit they’re seeking. Patient privacy and the impact to the patient-physician relationship were the most common reasons physicians cited for having reservations about AI.

The post What Do Physicians Really Think of AI? appeared first on MedCity News.

CMS finalized updates to its physician fee schedule for 2024, as well as finalized the rule for next year’s Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS). Provider groups are displeased with the updated rules, arguing that both physicians and provider organizations need more monetary relief than what the agency is offering.

The post Why Provider Groups Are Denouncing CMS’ New Payment Rules appeared first on MedCity News.

At HLTH 2023, I had dozens of conversations with providers, digital health investors, startup CEOs and other players in the healthcare industry. When I got home, I compiled seven refreshingly honest takes I heard from them while at the conference.

The post 7 Hot Takes I Heard at HLTH appeared first on MedCity News.

To address the growing physician shortage, some people argue that the scope of practice should be expanded for skilled healthcare professionals like nurse practitioners and pharmacists. American Medical Association President Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld said this is a “terrible idea.” He argued that throwing other professionals into physicians’ roles will have poor ramifications of patient safety. In his view, the industry should focus on uplifting strong interprofessional care teams.

The post Why the AMA President Thinks Scope of Practice Expansions Are a ‘Terrible Idea’ appeared first on MedCity News.

Over the past decade, a significant percentage of the country’s physicians have shifted from working in private practices (defined as those owned wholly by physicians) to working in bigger, health system-owned practices. The ability to negotiate higher payment rates with insurers when working at a larger practice is a crucial factor causing this trend, according to a new AMA analysis.

The post Fewer Physicians Are Practice Owners Than Ever & Medicare Rates Are to Blame, AMA Says appeared first on MedCity News.

CMS recently revealed its proposals to raise reimbursement rates for hospital outpatient departments and cut payments for physicians. Next year, the agency is planning to decrease physicians’ pay by 1.25% and increase outpatient payment rates by 2.8%. Provider groups are unhappy with the news — AMA President Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld said the new physician fee schedule will be “almost biblical in its impact.”

The post ‘This Is Almost Biblical in Its Impact’: Providers Push Back Against CMS’ New Proposed Rules appeared first on MedCity News.

Providers often have a checklist of requirements they use to determine whether they should bring new technology into their organization. Digital health startups would be wise to learn about these criteria when taking their products to market, said Meg Barron, the AMA’s vice president of digital health strategy, at a recent conference. That way, startups can build their products around meeting providers’ needs.

The post Why Digital Health Startups Should Embrace a Provider-Centric Approach, Per an AMA Exec appeared first on MedCity News.

The post FDA says pharmacists can prescribe Covid treatment appeared first on MedCity News.

The director of psychological services at Amwell said that the report from the American Medical Association entitled “Accelerating and Enhancing Behavioral Health Integration Through Digitally Enabled Care: Opportunities and Challenges” represent a solid starting point for engaging multiple stakeholders in this effort.

The post Amwell exec weighs in on findings of AMA report, best practices for delivering behavioral healthcare virtually appeared first on MedCity News.

About 73% of health insurance markets are highly concentrated, and in 46% of markets, one insurer had a share of 50% or more, a new report from the American Medical Association shows. The report comes a few months after President Joe Biden directed federal agencies to ramp up oversight of healthcare consolidation.

The post AMA report: U.S. has “highly concentrated” payer markets that stifle competition   appeared first on MedCity News.

The government’s proposed changes to HIPAA aim to provide guardrails against data breaches and misuse, but some of the modifications may not work as intended. Three healthcare experts delved into the ways in which certain proposals could provide inappropriate access to health data during a recent panel discussion.

The post Some proposed HIPAA changes could inadvertently expose the data it’s supposed to protect appeared first on MedCity News.

Recent efforts to improve transparency haven’t made much of a difference, one author noted. But earlier reforms made a dent the “most egregious” practices.

The post New study ties pharma payments to prescription practices appeared first on MedCity News.

The American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association are asking Congress for $100 billion in funding to offset hospital costs related to Covid-19, saying it could make a difference in health systems’ response to the pandemic.

The post Hospitals ask for $100B funding, interim payments in fight against Covid-19 appeared first on MedCity News.

The House Education and Labor Committee advanced a bill to protect patients from surprise medical bills. A separate, rival bill from the House Ways and Means Committee is backed by hospitals and provider groups.

The post Proposal to tamp down surprise billing clears House committee appeared first on MedCity News.

The health plan hopes to better address the needs of underserved populations through community-based teams that can understand and overcome social barriers to care.

The post Health2047 spins out Medicare Advantage company Zing Health appeared first on MedCity News.

Called the AMA Ed Hub, it includes educational information on topics like hypertension, oncology, professional well-being, patient care, ethics, health disparities and lifestyle behaviors.

The post American Medical Association reveals online education platform for physicians appeared first on MedCity News.

The duo is supporting the creation of nearly two dozen new ICD-10 codes related to social determinants of health.

The post UnitedHealthcare and AMA unite to address social determinants of health appeared first on MedCity News.

PatientPoint will give patients and physicians AMA-developed educational material to help them identify the risks for the diseases and encourage them to take action.

The post American Medical Association and PatientPoint team up to address diabetes and cardiovascular disease appeared first on MedCity News.

In a letter addressed to the CEOs of Facebook, Pinterest, Amazon, Google, Youtube and Twitter, AMA executive vice president CEO James Madara wrote about the medical community’s concern about the spread of misinformation on vaccines.

The post AMA urges tech giants to combat misinformation about vaccines appeared first on MedCity News.

With $2 million in seed funding, the company, First Mile Care, is utilizing a coaching and support model in an effort to reverse prediabetes.

The post Health2047 spinout leverages community-based approach to tackle prediabetes appeared first on MedCity News.

The organization believes the deal would cause an increase in premiums, a reduction in competition in health insurance markets and a rise in drug spending and out-of-pocket costs for consumers.

The post American Medical Association says CVS-Aetna merger shouldn’t happen appeared first on MedCity News.

The competition seeks solutions that show how patient health data can be captured by mobile devices, sent to a physician and turned into actionable information used to improve health outcomes.

The post Google, American Medical Association link up to create interoperability competition appeared first on MedCity News.

New research from Accenture and the American Medical Association found that more than four in five doctors have had some type of cyberattack in their practices. More than half of surveyed respondents indicated they’re very or extremely concerned about future cyberattacks.

The post Survey: 83% of physicians have experienced a cyberattack in their practices appeared first on MedCity News.

Physicians and healthcare entrepreneurs have a new way to meet and engage in meaningful dialogue: the Physician Innovation Network, a new online platform out of the American Medical Association.

The post AMA’s Physician Innovation Network lets providers connect with health tech startups appeared first on MedCity News.

The American Medical Association has founded the Integrated Health Model Initiative, a collaborative that brings the healthcare and technology sectors together around a shared data model. Organizations such as Cerner and IBM have already signed on as participants.

The post AMA launches initiative focused on organizing health data appeared first on MedCity News.

A new study published in the Annals of Family Medicine found family physicians spent 5.9 hours out of their 11.4-hour workday in the EHR, completing tasks ranging from documentation to inbox management.

The post EHR tasks take up half of the primary care physician’s workday appeared first on MedCity News.