U.S. doctors and teaching hospitals got $6.49 billion from drug and medical-device makers in 2014, according to new government data on the financial links between the companies and the people who prescribe their products.
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Editor’s note: Read more about how the Open Payments program affects you on APMA.org.

Your patient health care data is most likely scattered
throughout the medical universe, in everything from notes scribbled by various
doctors to test results resting in far-flung computer systems.

Physician groups have led much of the resistance against ICD-10 implementation. At its June Delegates meeting, the American Medical Association approved a resolution from W. Jeff Terry, MD, for a two-year grace period to protect physicians from errors and mistakes related to the code set.
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Editor’s note: Are you prepared for ICD-10? APMA has everything you need to prepare for the inevitable ICD-10 transition.?

Despite Obamacare's efficacy at reducing costs
while helping more patients have access to health care, the industry has many
problems outstanding. Robots are coming to save the day. 

Highlighting positive movements in health care, all related by the theme of
under-appreciated innovations.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case next term on whether a self-funded insurer should have to turn over certain information to the state of Vermont — a case that could have far-reaching implications.

Only about one in eight people with so-called pre-diabetes, often a precursor to full-blown disease, know they have a problem, a U.S. study found.

Increased weight and decreased exercise have been in large part responsible for the great increase in Type 2 diabetes which comprises 90 to 95 percent of diabetes cases.
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Editor's note: Studies prove care by a podiatrist helps prevent diabetes complications and saves health care dollars.

Incorporating pet care in the routine of a child with diabetes brings significant
improvements to the monitoring and management of the disease, a study by pediatric diabetes researchers found out.

For pregnant women with type 1 diabetes, good control of blood sugar might make a difference in how well their child does in school years later, according to new research from Denmark. 

Unequal health care continues to be a serious
problem for black Americans more than a decade after the Institute of Medicine issued
a landmark report showing that minority patients were less likely to receive the same quality health care as white patients, racial and ethnic disparities continue to plague the U.S. health care system.

Bring on the sky-high wedges, peep-toe pumps and dainty, little sandals! Nothing can ruin a pair of sexy summer shoes like the eyesore of a bunion or corn. They're the worst! Dr. Suzanne Levine, a NYC podiatrist, definitely agrees. This pro has seen it all and knows how to treat all the common foot woes.

We communicate with our friends, our families and our coworkers via email and Facebook, and apparently, most Americans also wish that they could keep in touch with their health care providers this way. A national survey of 2,252 pharmacy customers conducted by Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health highlights the gap between what patients want from their health care providers in terms of communication and engagement, and what they're actually getting. 
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Some of us do it to get healthier, others do it as a way to lose weight. Still others just want the thrill of doing something they once thought impossible. No matter how you look at it, running a marathon is a huge accomplishment. But what does race day actually do to you?

The U.S. spends 18 percent of its GDP on health care each year. Though this percentage far exceeds that of other developed economies, government projections say it will only continue to rise in the coming years. It is often said that the US desperately needs to reduce health care costs — and analysts at Goldman Sachs think a major spending reduction is not far off, thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT). 
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Editor’s Note: Learn more about Health IT options on APMA.org.

Weeks after the deadline for final implementation plans, the state Department of Health has awarded $7.3 billion to hospitals and health care providers across the state to reform New York’s Medicaid system.
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Editor's note: See APMA’s Medicaid resources at APMA.org.

Many questions remain regarding the corrupt rural Texas hospital chain operated by Dr. Tariq Mahmood — questions that Congress must make sure to get answered.

The Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) was implemented through the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Although repealed in April 2015 with the passage of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), the SGR had an enormous effect on Medicare services, according to the American College of Physicians.
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Editor’s note: Read more about the Medicare Physician Payment Update on APMA.org.

In the national discourse about interoperability, much of the focus is on enabling a doctor using one electronic health record to access patient information residing in a different hospital’s EHR, even when another vendor built it. But is that really the best way to give doctors the data they need?
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Editor’s Note: Review APMA’s EHR resources for more information on purchasing an EHR system.

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against the complaint filed by David King and his three Virginia co-plaintiffs. The SCOTUS majority opinion concluded that the intent of section 1321 of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) health exchange provision was to provide tax credits for all eligible enrollees whether the exchange is state-run or not. 
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Editor’s Note: APMA Legislative Committee Chair Seth Rubenstein, DPM, examines the King v. Burwell case in his June column.

The country finally has an opportunity to change the subject on health care, after the Supreme Court again upheld President Barack Obama's law. There's no shortage of pressing issues, including prescription drug prices, high insurance deductibles and long-term care.

One of the promises of Obamacare was that it would reduce health care costs. Since its passage on March 23, 2010, has this promise been kept? In this article, we’ll examine this issue by looking at the annual rate of inflation for the Consumer Price Index, compared to the inflation rate for health care.

The recent Supreme Court 6-3 ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) allows health insurance consumers to receive federal subsidies regardless of their state’s role in running their insurance market makes healthcare insurance coverage. Now that the legal and political jousting is coming to somewhat a close, the real work begins as state and federal agencies gear up to handle the inflow of new enrollments and all that comes with it.