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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
Laundromats as a New Frontier in Community Health, Medicaid Outreach
May 29th 2025Lindsey Leininger, PhD, and Allister Chang, MPA, highlight the potential of laundromats as accessible, community-based settings to support Medicaid outreach, foster trust, and connect families with essential health and social services.
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Could On-Body Delivery of Isatuximab Bring More Competition to Anti-CD38 Myeloma Treatment?
June 6th 2025Results for IRAKLIA show noninferiority for Sanofi's on-body delivery system for isatuximab, compared with IV administration. Patients overwhelmingly preferred the hands-free delivery option.
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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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ICS Use Tied to Fewer Exacerbations in Patients With Bronchiectasis and Elevated Blood Eosinophils
June 6th 2025Inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use was common among patients with bronchiectasis and was associated with reduced exacerbations and hospitalizations in those with elevated blood eosinophil counts.
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