APMA News Brief

One day after outgoing Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) Chairman David Vandewater urged healthcare executives at the group's annual policy conference to appeal to Congress on behalf of hospitals, legislators took the stage to tell the audience what their policies – and respective parties – are doing for the industry. Click here to continue reading.

Editor's note: Visit APMA's healthcare reform page for more resources and information on how the ACA affects the profession.

Americans, it is said, are living in the midst of an information revolution. Every facet of commerce and culture is being transformed by internet-driven technologies that greatly increase the speed of transactions while affording users unprecedented insight and options.

Visit http://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2015/03/03/military-healthcare-11-billion-record-system-will-be-obsolete-before-its-even-built/ to view the full article online.

Overlooked in the tousle over whether subsidies for low-income Americans survive or whether Medicaid expands in red states are other parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA): those elements that seek to make healthcare better, safer, and more in line with what patients and families want.

Visit http://www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-week/0315/CMS-3-Year-Update-on-Quality-Measures-Finds-Progress-But-Important-Gaps-Remains to view the full article online.

While ICD-10 may be a huge expense for many of your clients, there’s a good chance that small physician practices might not end up hurting as much as first thought.

Visit http://www.bsminfo.com/doc/saving-big-on-icd-small-physician-practices-0001 to view the full article online.

For many women, comfortable flats are a wardrobe staple. Despite the shoes’ popularity, some experts have a warning. They say some types of flats can lead to a host of potential health problems, including toe infection, that could even require surgery.

Visit http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/flat-shoes-linked-womens-foot-problems/story?id=29261502 to view the full article online.

An estimated 3.9 million Americans are reaching 65 years old this year, there’s growing demand among seniors (67 percent) who want digital health tools for accessing care services from home, according to an Accenture survey.

Visit http://hitconsultant.net/2015/03/02/top-5-digital-health-tools-tech-savvy-seniors/ to view the full article online.

Low serum vitamin D levels are more closely associated with diabetes than obesity is, claim Spanish researchers, who go on to suggest that vitamin D deficiency may be linked to an increased risk for type 2 diabetes.

Visit http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/840780 to view the full article online.

Peripheral Arterial Disease, often referred to as PAD, is a condition in which narrowing of the peripheral arteries can cause limited blood flow to your legs.

Visit http://www.healthcanal.com/blood-heart-circulation/60793-peripheral-arterial-disease.html to view the full article online.

Just two months into the year and 2015 has already been labeled "The Year of the Healthcare Hack" by cybersecurity experts and national media. But while a massive data breach has yet to target senior living, the industry — like its broader health care peers — is far from hack-proof.

Visit http://seniorhousingnews.com/2015/03/02/senior-living-prime-target-hackers/ to view the full article online.

If you have diabetes you must pay special attention to your feet. It’s important to understand how the disease affects your feet so you can know how best to keep them healthy and what changes to be on the lookout for.

Visit http://www.yorkregion.com/shopping-story/5455083-caring-for-your-feet-when-you-have-diabetes/ to view the full article online.

Think you're too young, too healthy or too cool to suffer from bunions? Think again. Bunions are the most common type of foot woes podiatrists treat every day, and if you're a woman, you are as much as nine times more likely to get a bunion than any man you know – including your grandfather.

Visit http://www.semissourian.com/story/2170807.html to view the full article online.

In the coming days, the Supreme Court will weigh whether states that rely on the federal health care exchange can provide subsidies to make insurance affordable. Special correspondent Sarah Varney of Kaiser Health News reports on how millions will be affected if the Court wipes out financial help in 34 states. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: Learn more about health insurance exchanges and read APMA’s policy briefs at APMA's healthcare reform page.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires businesses with 50 or more full-time employees to offer affordable health insurance, and those that don’t, face hefty penalties.

Visit http://www.mainstreet.com/article/affordable-care-act-penalizes-businesses-for-misclassifying-workers to view the full article online.

Small physician practices of one to five doctors may find ICD-10 testing more challenging than bigger medical facilities. Luckily, the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) released a white paper last week that offers a comprehensive plan for small physician practices looking to begin ICD-10 testing. Click here to continue reading.

Editor’s note: APMA’s ICD-10 Resources will help you prepare for the transition to happen Oct. 1, 2015.

Technology is accelerating change in the health industry at a rapid pace, and broad adoption of healthcare information technology is expected to save as much as $80 billion annually, according to the Rand Corporation.

Visit http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/244771/how-healthcare-will-impact-culture-brands.html to view the full article online.

Members of Congress may be battling among themselves over health care policy, but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle continue to express strong support for primary care and expanded access for patients in need.

Visit http://www.aafp.org/news/government-medicine/20150302hillvisits.html to view the full article online.

As data becomes increasingly interoperable — as it should and needs to be — we shouldn’t wager over security responsibilities. Sharing data also means acknowledging and sharing the risks inherent in protecting that data while maintaining a unified front against threats. Click here to continue reading.

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

Hospitals and health systems are snapping up technology tools to help them manage the ICD-10 transition, but the largest healthcare organizations have moved beyond the basics of ICD-10 preparation and are focusing instead on population health management and patient engagement as their top priorities in 2015.

Visit http://healthitanalytics.com/2015/03/03/icd-10-population-health-management-atop-hospital-budgets/ to view the full article online.

A silent killer is contributing to the well-documented decrease of independent physicians in the U.S. Poorly executed implementations of IT in healthcare have pushed some physicians to their limits and left them seriously considering giving up on their EHR systems or joining larger health systems to reduce their IT burdens.

Visit http://searchhealthit.techtarget.com/feature/Poor-execution-of-IT-in-healthcare-endangers-physician-independence to view the full article online.