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Weighing the Value of Clinical Decision Support Tools
A study from the RAND corporation, published in JAMA, found clinical decision support tools increased the proportion of tests for Medicare fee-for-service patients rated as appropriate.
The Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 passed by Congress made it mandatory for institutions to use appropriate clinical decision support (CDS) tools to qualify for Medicare reimbursement. Additionally, CDS is also a part of Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements for electronic medical records. The hope was that CDS would help reduce healthcare spending associated with unnecessary and expensive imaging such as MRI and CT scans.
However, a recent study from the RAND corporation, published in JAMA, found that these computer-based programs that match a patient's characteristics against treatment criteria and recommend a treatment, actually increased the proportion of tests for Medicare fee-for-service patients rated as appropriate. "In our full report to Congress, we've outlined a series of improvements to the decision support tools that we expect can lead to greater reductions in unnecessary tests," siad Peter S. Hussey, lead author of the study and a senior policy researcher at RAND.
Read more on ScienceDaily: http://bit.ly/1JlxtO1
New Research Challenges Assumptions About Hospital-Physician Integration, Medicare Patient Mix
April 22nd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Brady Post, PhD, lead author of a study published in the April 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, challenges the claim that hospital-employed physicians serve a more complex patient mix.
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Higher Weight-Adjusted Waist Index Tied to Greater Mortality Risk in Patients With Osteoarthritis
April 23rd 2025Researchers consider the weight-adjusted waist index a more precise predictor of mortality risk in patients with osteoarthritis than traditional obesity measures, like body mass index.
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Varied Access: The Pharmacogenetic Testing Coverage Divide
February 18th 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the author of a study published in the February 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® to uncover significant differences in coverage decisions for pharmacogenetic tests across major US health insurers.
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What's at Stake as Oral Arguments Are Presented in the Braidwood Case? Q&A With Richard Hughes IV
April 21st 2025Richard Hughes IV, JD, MPH, spoke about the upcoming oral arguments to be presented to the Supreme Court regarding the Braidwood case, which would determine how preventive services are guaranteed insurance coverage.
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