Remaining independent and complying with the Affordable Care Act (signed into law in March of 2012), is difficult while possible for independent and small group practices. However, given the difficulties, a large percentage of currently practicing physicians and medical practices have moved to an employee arrangement. Further, approximately 75% of new graduates intend to be employees of a large system over the next five years. The current independent practices and small group practices have good…
ACA Archives - Diederich Healthcare
Undoubtedly, one of the largest issues facing physicians today is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as the ACA. The bill, which was passed on March 23rd, 2010, outlined comprehensive health care reform initiatives that will eventually change the landscape of physician practice as we currently know it. Although opinions on the Act and what it means for health care delivery are highly divided, one thing is for certain – the changes…
Data compliance standards (HIPAA, HITECH and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) and the implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHR) requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) require medical practices and healthcare organizations to not only utilize electronic data, but also ensure that the data is secure and methods are in place to report and recover any lost or stolen information. Any company that maintains private personal/financial information on customers/patients has the responsibility to protect that information. Any unauthorized…
This article is part of a series: Part 1 Part 2 All of the factors addressed in Parts 1 and 2 of this article… increased patient population, increase in coverage benefits, change in practice/healthcare delivery models, changes in reimbursement models …contribute to intensified and newly created Medical Professional Liability (MPL) issues. Current MPL litigation trends are showing a reduction in the frequency of claims, but an increase in severity of awards. Large plaintiff verdicts…
This article is part of a series: Part 1 Part 3 Millions of additional insureds seeking healthcare from the same population of practicing physicians who are receiving ever-reducing reimbursement rates will cause physician practices to change rapidly and dramatically. The formation of Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) appears to be the root of the response to newly created physician reimbursement models. An ACO is a “healthcare organization characterized by a payment and care delivery model…
This article is part of a series: Part 2 Part 3 Medical practices and the delivery of healthcare are adapting to accommodate current and imminent changes in the patient population, the health coverage available to the patient population, and reimbursement models resulting from the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA’s creation of a dramatic and possibly overwhelming influx of new patients with access to healthcare is one of the base forces causing physicians to…
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