APMA News Brief

For the medical professional, 2015 presents another year of changes and continued challenges. From meaningful use struggles to Medicare physician payments, the AMA has identified the following 10 key issues for physicians to monitor in the year ahead.

Visit http://hitconsultant.net/2015/01/06/ama-10-key-issues-for-physicians-to-watch-in-2015/ to view the full article online.

Venous ulcers are the most common ulcerations that occur in the lower extremities. It has been estimated that 2.5 million people suffer from venous insufficiency, and approximately 20 percent of them develop venous ulcers.

Visit http://www.delconewsnetwork.com/articles/2015/01/12/life/doc54b420f07c220277973418.txt to view the full article online.

Diabetes frequently affects adults over 65. However, the best way for this age group to manage their glucose levels has been poorly defined by experts. New research now suggests that a substantial number of older adults with diabetes are being overtreated for the disease. Click here to continue reading.

Editor's note: Studies prove care by a podiatrist helps prevent diabetes complications and saves healthcare dollars.

Medical billing paperwork and insurance-related red tape cost the U.S. economy approximately $471 billion in 2012, 80 percent of which is waste due to the inefficiency of the nation’s complex, multi-payer way of financing care, a group of researchers say.

Visit http://www.physiciansnews.com/2015/01/12/375-billion-annually-wasted-on-health-care-paperwork/ to view the full article online.

Themes this year covered the gamut of healthcare technology including trends transforming health IT (EHR, meaningful use), mobile healthcare, patient engagement, big data and much more.

Visit http://hitconsultant.net/2015/01/12/25-best-health-tech-infographics-of-2014/ to view the full article online.

The Affordable Care Act, or ACA, has helped millions of uninsured Americans — particularly Latinos — gain affordable, high-quality health care coverage. As enrollment for 2015 coverage begins, here are five facts to keep in mind about the effects of the ACA on the Latino community.

Visit https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2015/01/13/104283/5-key-facts-about-the-affordable-care-act-for-latinos/ to view the full article online.

President Barack Obama's signature health care law will bring a new twist to tax-filing in 2015, a year in which much else will seem familiar when you're working on your return.

Visit http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/quiet-year-terms-tax-aca-twist-28190025 to view the full article online.

It's not just about how many steps you've taken or how many calories you've burned in a day. Wearable fitness trackers and health monitors are becoming more commonplace and diverse, but just what do you do with all of that data?

Visit http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/technology/sns-bc-us-tec--gadget-show-health-trackers-20150111-story.html to view the full article online.

When Youngstown State University assistant volleyball coach Sarah Smith began having chronic heel and arch pain in her feet last summer she did not go to a private doctor. Instead she was referred to the athletic department’s podiatrist, Dr. Michelle Anania.

Visit http://www.akronlegalnews.com/editorial/11897 to view the full article online.

60 Minutes ran an eye-raising exposé of the health law’s many shortcomings — or as correspondent Lesley Stahl called the segment, "What Obamacare Doesn’t Do." Unfortunately, when it came to telling a complete story about the Affordable Care Act, there was a lot that 60 Minutes itself didn’t do.

Visit http://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2015/01/11/60-minutes-just-called-obamacare-a-disaster-heres-what-they-didnt-tell-you/ to view the full article online.

One of the first implemented tenets of the Affordable Care Act was to give insured Americans access to free preventive care. But more than four years after this policy began, many people are still unaware of these preventive health benefits or how to take advantage of them.

Visit http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-insurance/articles/2015/01/12/how-to-make-the-most-of-free-preventive-care-under-the-aca to view the full article online.

As the temperatures approach freezing, the blood vessels close to the skin begin to constrict in an effort to keep the circulation at the core of your body to keep your body temperature up as the outside temperature drops. Your toes are very susceptible to this and can easily have damage from the cold due to frostbite.

Visit http://www.kyforward.com/our-health/2015/01/09/foot-health-when-dealing-with-extreme-cold-dont-forget-to-protect-feet-against-frostbite/ to view the full article online.

We're making New Year's resolutions left and right, it seems, but one we really want to concentrate on this year is to take better care of our feet. Click here to continue reading.

Editor's note: Recommend APMA Seal products to your patients.

The new Republican Congress began its session with an attempt to narrow the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer mandate by exempting certain veterans and their families from counting toward the number of employees at small businesses.

Visit http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=426567c0-c7d3-4a7e-b974-070d8834a9b5 to view the full article online.

Electronic medical records (EMRs) have been growing in use by physicians nationwide and are seen as a valuable tool to patient care, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t drawbacks. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: Review APMA’s EHR resources for more information on purchasing an EHR system.

It’s 2015, and ICD-10 is coming ... again. Some of us have made good use of an extra year to prepare, but for many smaller hospitals and physician practices, it appears that the procrastination caused by the last delay (from 2013 to 2014) is being repeated. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: To stay up to date with the latest ICD-10 news and events, bookmark APMA.org/ICD10.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a Feb. 13 deadline for insurers to disclose how many people they cover through individual and small-group policies. Insurers can file their form submissions to CMS beginning Feb. 9.

Visit http://www.fiercehealthpayer.com/story/deadline-set-insurers-filing-risk-management-program-policies/2015-01-13 to view the full article online.

Some consumers are ditching subsidies out of principle, opting to pay more for health insurance.

Visit http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/01/12/americans-protest-obamacare-by-refusing-health-insurance-subsidies to view the full article online.

As healthcare fraud of all types becomes, distressingly, more common every day, Mark Ford of Deloitte shares his perspectives on what healthcare leaders are doing right — and wrong — these days.

Visit http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/article/healthcare-fraud-one-expert-shares-trans-industry-perspective to view the full article online.

Industry change in healthcare IT has been frenetic in the last few years, and 2015 shows no signs of any decrease in activity or intensity. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: Don’t miss APMA’s Health IT resources on APMA.org.

To start off 2015, I offer my list of the seven most memorable healthcare books of the last year. The list includes three books that confront head-on the difficult issue of patient death, three more on politics and money in healthcare, and finally, my vote for The Most Memorable Book of 2014.

Visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leah-binder/the-top-7-healthcare-book_b_6445570.html to view the full article online.