Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Paperwork, Insurance, Monitoring Changes Coming In New Medical Coding System
The Wall Street Journal: 70,000 Ways To Classify Ailments
Doctors, hospitals and insurers are bracing for possible disruptions on Oct. 1 when the U.S. health-care system switches to a massive new set of codes for describing illnesses and injuries. Under the new system, cardiologists will have not one but 845 codes for angioplasty. Dermatologists will need to specify which of eight kinds of acne a patient has. Gastroenterologists who don’t know what’s causing a patient’s stomachache will be asked to specify where the pain is and what other symptoms are present—gas? eructation (belching)?—since there is a separate code for each. (Beck, 9/27)
The Wall Street Journal: How Doctors Can Approach End-Of-Life Conversations
In 2016, after years of controversy, Medicare plans to begin reimbursing doctors for having discussions with patients about what type of medical care they want and don’t want near the end of their lives. Private insurers are likely to follow, some experts say, meaning voluntary end-of-life counseling could soon become a part of standard medical care. (Sadick, 9/27)
The Wall Street Journal: A Medical Detective Story: Why Doctors Make Diagnostic Errors
Physician and researcher Hardeep Singh probes one of the most vexing issues in medicine: diagnostic errors. As chief of health policy, quality and informatics at Houston’s Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Singh measures the human toll of such mistakes and investigates how technology can help clinicians avoid making them. ... He answered questions from The Wall Street Journal about what doctors and patients can do to make sure they get to the bottom of the diagnostic puzzle. (Landro, 9/26)
