Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CMS' Chief Data Officer: Deluge Of Data Releases From Agency Not A Fad
NPR/ProPublica: What Feds' Push To Share Health Data Means For Patients
Two years ago, when the federal government first released data on how much Medicare paid physicians, the media coverage was widespread. Doctors who earned significant sums were dubbed "Medicare millionaires" and journalists highlighted unusual patterns in how some doctors bill for services. When Medicare released its third round of data last Thursday, the coverage was practically nonexistent. In some ways, that's because data releases from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have become almost routine. (Ornstein, 5/9)
Medscape: Medicare Posts More Payment Data On Individual Physicians
It's one more milestone in Medicare history that physicians probably don't want to celebrate. The program last week published online what individual physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other clinicians received in fee-for-service (FFS) payments during 2014, the third annual data dump of its kind. The public-use data allow anyone to look up submitted charges and payments for Medicare Part B services and procedures by clinician. (Lowes, 5/9)
Meanwhile, malpractice insurers and medical specialty groups are mining data on old malpractice suits to help fine-tune hospitals' approach to diagnosis and treatment —
The Wall Street Journal: Clues To Better Health Care From Old Malpractice Lawsuits
Doctors are learning valuable new lessons from past malpractice cases about mistakes that could put their patients at risk and expose them to lawsuits. Malpractice insurers and medical specialty groups are mining thousands of closed claims from suits that have been tried, dismissed or settled over the past few years. Their goal is to identify common reasons that doctors are sued and the underlying issues that threaten patient safety. They are sharing those insights with doctors and hospitals, which in turn are using them to develop new safety protocols and prevention strategies. (Landro, 5/9)
