Dear NVOS Members,
The articles contained in this e-newsletter are excerpted from AAOS newsletters and other media sources to help our members stay current on national issues.
The NVOS Staff |
| Medscape Report Looks At Positives, Negatives Of Physician Employment | |
A report released by Medscape compares survey data on employed  (defined as a physician who does not run a private practice) and self-employed physicians. The researchers queried more than 4,600 physicians and found that 38 percent of employed physicians indicated "financial security/less risk" as their primary reason for choosing employment. Addition reasons included "fewer administrative responsibilities" (29 percent), "better hours/work-life balance" (19 percent), and "other" (15 percent). Cited negatives to physician employment included "limited influence in decision-making" (45 percent), "more limited income potential" (44 percent), "too many rules" (34 percent), and "less control over work/schedule" (32 percent).
Read more...
View the report...
|
| FDA Proposes New Program To Increase Access To Certain Medical Devices; Agency Panel Votes Against New Painkiller |
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed a new program to provide earlier access to high-risk medical devices that are intended to treat or diagnose patients who have serious conditions and whose medical needs are unmet by current technology. The agency states that the proposed Expedited Access Premarket Approval Application for Unmet Medical Needs for Life Threatening or Irreversibly Debilitating Diseases or Conditions (EAP) program is not a new pathway to market, but a collaborative approach designed to facilitate product development under the agency's existing regulatory authorities. Although existing device programs have focused on reducing the time for the premarket review, EAP also seeks to reduce the time associated with product development. To be eligible for participation in the program, the medical device must meet the following criteria:
- Be intended to treat or diagnose a life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating disease or condition
- Represent one of the following:
1.no approved alternative treatment or diagnostic exists
2.a breakthrough technology that provides a clinically meaningful advantage over existing technology
3.offers a significant, clinically meaningful advantage over existing approved alternatives
4.availability is in the patient's best interest
- Have an acceptable data development plan that has been approved by FDA
In addition to the EAP, FDA has published a separate draft guidance that outlines the agency's current policy on when data can be collected after product approval and what actions are available to FDA if approval conditions are not met. The agency seeks public comment on both documents. The AAOS Biological Implants and Biomedical Engineering Committees plan to develop and submit comments on the draft guidances.
Read more...
Read the FDA statement...
In separate news, an FDA panel has voted unanimously against approval of a new drug that combines morphine sulfate and oxycodone hydrochloride in the same capsule.
Read more...
View the meeting materials...
|
| Report: ACA Could Affect Medical Liability Costs | |
A study conducted by The Rand Corporation projects that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could slightly increase medical liability costs, at least in the short-term. The authors summarize the estimated range of effects of five impact channels as of 2016, when the ACA is expected to be in full force. They project that "individual substitution effect," "provider treatment effect," and "direct fee effect" will not affect medical liability costs, but they estimate that "collateral source effect" (shift of costs away from liability insurers and toward health insurers) may have a 0 percent to -3.0 percent impact on medical liability costs, while "medical malpractice volume effect" (increased contact with physicians) may have a 0.4 percent to 7.8 percent impact. The authors note that the accuracy of their projections remains uncertain, state that all projected effects are "modest," and explain that long-term effects of the ACA are unclear.
Read more...
Read the complete report...
|
|
Study: Community Factors May Affect Hospital Readmission Rates
| |
According to information published online in the journal Health Services Research, a substantial amount of variation in hospital readmission rates may be attributed to community factors. The authors examined 4,073 U.S. hospitals with publicly reported 30-day readmission rates for patients discharged between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2010, with acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, or pneumonia, and compared that information against publicly available county data from the Area Resource File, the Census, Nursing Home Compare, and the Neilsen PopFacts datasets. They found that 58 percent of national variation in hospital readmission rates was explained by the county in which the hospital was located. The authors noted that the factors most strongly associated with higher readmission rates were measures related to access of care, which accounted for almost half of the total variation across counties.
Read the complete study...
|
| Study: Patient-Clinician Relationship May Affect Healthcare Outcomes | |
Information published online in PLoS One suggests that the patient-clinician relationship may have a small but statistically significant effect on healthcare outcomes. The research team conducted a meta-analysis of 13 randomized, controlled trials of adult patients in which the patient-clinician relationship was systematically manipulated and either objective or validated subjective healthcare outcomes were recorded. They found that the observed effect sizes for individual studies ranged from d = -0.23 to 0.66. Using a random-effects model, they estimated the overall effect size to be small (d = 0.11), but statistically significant.
Read more...
Read the complete study...
|
| IRS Warns Of Tax Scam Targeting Physicians |
According to information from the Indiana State Medical Association (ISMA), the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a warning regarding scam attempts directed at physicians, in which fraudulent federal income tax returns are filed using physician names and Social Security numbers. IRS officials believe the scam is an attempt to fraudulently recover tax refunds. Physicians who are victims of the fraud may receive a 5071C letter from the IRS with instructions to contact the IRS identity theft website. Physicians can also call IRS at 800-830-5084 to let officials know they did not file the returns referred to in the letters. The association notes that those who are victims of the fraud may not be able to electronically file their taxes this year, since a return with their Social Security number has already been filed. IRS recommends filing a paper return with Form 14039 Identity Theft Affidavit attached, along with copies of any relevant notices received from the IRS.
Read more...
A certified public accountant recommends that victims contact the three primary credit reporting agencies.
Read more...
ISMA has published an update containing further information.
Read more...
|
|
|
|
Register For The NVOS Annual Meeting
| |
|
|
2013-2014 Board of Directors
| |
|
|
