| Today's News and Trends | Nearly a year after the deal was first announced, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and health IT giant Cerner have finalized a $10 billion contract for Cerner to replace the VA’s in-house electronic health record (EHR) system. Nearly a year after the deal was first announced, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and health IT giant Cerner have finalized a $10 billion contract for Cerner to replace the VA’s in-house electronic health record (EHR) system. | | |
| Vermont has become the first state to pass a law to allow prescription drugs to be imported from Canada, but the plan still has to be approved by HHS—a tall order considering HHS Secretary Alex Azar’s comments that pharmaceutical imports are a “gimmick” and may be unsafe. Vermont has become the first state to pass a law to allow prescription drugs to be imported from Canada, but the plan still has to be approved by HHS—a tall order considering HHS Secretary Alex Azar’s comments that pharmaceutical imports are a “gimmick” and may be unsafe. | | |
| The top senators on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs had floated the idea of issuing a subpoena to CMS Administrator Seema Verma, MPH, after she repeatedly declined to testify before the panel on Medicaid fraud and overpayments. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, later said Congress and the agency will "work cooperatively." The top senators on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs had floated the idea of issuing a subpoena to CMS Administrator Seema Verma, MPH, after she repeatedly declined to testify before the panel on Medicaid fraud and overpayments. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, later said Congress and the agency will "work cooperatively." | | |
| Primary care physicians and non-physician practitioners have seen their compensation rise more rapidly than specialists, which the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) said is evidence of the worsening shortage of primary care doctors. Primary care physicians and non-physician practitioners have seen their compensation rise more rapidly than specialists, which the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) said is evidence of the worsening shortage of primary care doctors. | | |
| A judge in Riverside County, California, ruled the state legislature violated the law by passing the state’s aid-in-dying act during a special session limited to healthcare funding, giving the state’s attorney general five days to respond or else it would again be illegal for terminal patients to be given life-ending drugs by physicians. A judge in Riverside County, California, ruled the state legislature violated the law by passing the state’s aid-in-dying act during a special session limited to healthcare funding, giving the state’s attorney general five days to respond or else it would again be illegal for terminal patients to be given life-ending drugs by physicians. | | |
| Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston has long been touted as one of the top hospitals in the country for heart transplant and surgery. In recent years, however, its quality scores have plummeted and top physicians have left, all while the center was being led by a relatively inexperienced surgeon. Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston has long been touted as one of the top hospitals in the country for heart transplant and surgery. In recent years, however, its quality scores have plummeted and top physicians have left, all while the center was being led by a relatively inexperienced surgeon. | | |
| The report from Illinois' Cook County inspector general pinned much of the blame on the system’s bureaucracy, citing “a significant number of registration clerks, coders and billers who do not possess adequate self-motivation or the required skill sets and knowledge base” to do the jobs they’ve been assigned. The report from Illinois' Cook County inspector general pinned much of the blame on the system’s bureaucracy, citing “a significant number of registration clerks, coders and billers who do not possess adequate self-motivation or the required skill sets and knowledge base” to do the jobs they’ve been assigned. | | |
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