Posted on March 20th, 2012 by Rick Gulla
As Massachusetts moves quickly toward a new system of paying for health care, a key question that remains is this: Are physicians ready for global payments? It’s a critical one for doctors, because within such contracts, they bear the clinical responsibility for and the financial risk associated with managing the medical care of their patients. [...]
Filed under: Health Policy, Health Reform, Payment Reform | No Comments »
Posted on December 2nd, 2011 by Rick Gulla
“Within my lifetime, our profession has changed profoundly. The practice of medicine is exciting but extremely complicated – scientifically, technologically, financially and academically. And we are at a breaking point.” So began the 200th Annual Oration of the Massachusetts Medical Society, delivered by Sean Palfrey, M.D., professor of pediatrics and public health at the Boston [...]
Filed under: Health, Health Policy, Health Reform, Interim Meeting 2011, Medicine, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 2nd, 2011 by Erica Noonan
Lowering health care costs has been an objective for decades, but Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Susan Dentzer argued on Monday that there is “new urgency” among federal lawmakers to tackle the issue. Income gains in American households over the past 10 years have been largely wiped out by skyrocketing health care costs, and federal health care [...]
Filed under: Health Reform, State of the State: 2011 | No Comments »
Posted on November 1st, 2011 by Erica Noonan
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley on Monday called on the state’s physicians to become more involved in shaping major health care reform initiatives on the horizon. Physician leadership and input is crucial to efforts to successfully implement new practice models, she said, such as accountable care organizations. “You can make a difference when you come [...]
Filed under: Accountable Care Organizations, Health Reform, State of the State: 2011 | No Comments »
Posted on August 2nd, 2011 by Frank Fortin
By Lynda Young, MD President, Massachusetts Medical Society After weeks of wrangling, the U.S. House and Senate have passed a plan to deal with the nation’s debt, and the President has signed it. Through it all, Medicare beneficiaries have been protected, and that is a good thing. No one, however, yet knows exactly how this [...]
Filed under: Health Reform, Medicare | 1 Comment »
Posted on May 22nd, 2011 by Frank Fortin
Spirited debate at the MMS House of Delegates Saturday led to the adoption of 18 principles on health care reform that the Society plans to share with local and national legislators. The principle that dominated deliberations asserted that “health care reform must enable patient choice in access to physicians, hospitals, and other services while recognizing [...]
Filed under: Accountable Care Organizations, Annual Meeting 2011, Defensive medicine, Global Payments, Health Policy, Health Reform, Malpractice, Payment Reform, medical liability reform | No Comments »
Posted on May 21st, 2011 by Rick Gulla
When you face a tough situation and need some potential answers, you seek an expert. That’s what the MMS Committee on Publications did when choosing its speaker for the 2011 Shattuck Lecture. Harvey Fineberg, M.D., President of the Institute of Medicine, delivered the Shattuck Lecture Friday and gave his answer to what perhaps is one of the most [...]
Filed under: Annual Meeting 2011, Health Policy, Health Reform | No Comments »
Posted on May 20th, 2011 by Rick Gulla
For those individuals seeking a greater understanding of what the interplay of medicine, physicians, patients, and society could be, and perhaps should be, the MMS’s Annual Education Program today provided fertile territory and thought-provoking time well spent. Patients First – Social Accountability: The Mission of Medicine was moderated by Liz Walker, former television journalist and founder of the Walker [...]
Filed under: Annual Meeting 2011, Health Reform, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted on May 19th, 2011 by Frank Fortin
Massachusetts Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. JudyAnn Bigby offered a little something for everyone at this morning’s opening session of the MMS House of Delegates. After emphatically defending the state’s record on health reform, Dr. Bigby told the delegates that she agrees with the MMS payment reform principle that “one size doesn’t fit all.” [...]
Filed under: Accountable Care Organizations, Annual Meeting 2011, Health Reform, Payment Reform, Videos | No Comments »
Posted on May 9th, 2011 by Lloyd Resnick
In addressing more than 200 Massachusetts physicians gathered this morning for Doctors’ Day at the State House, Gov. Deval Patrick reiterated his sense of urgency about controlling unsustainable health care costs. “The complexity of this has to stop defeating us,” the governor said. “We have to stop looking for blame and start finding solutions.” At [...]
Filed under: Global Payments, Health Reform, Mass. Legislature, Payment Reform | No Comments »
