APMA News Brief

CMS is conducting the 2018 Burdens Associated with Reporting Quality Measures Study, as outlined in the Quality Payment Program Year 2 final rule (CMS 5522-FC). Clinicians and groups who are eligible for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) that participate successfully in the study will receive full credit for the 2018 MIPS Improvement Activities performance category. Applications for this study will be accepted through March 23, and applicants will be notified in spring of 2018 if selected.

Visit https://www.apma.org/News/NewsDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=29114 to view the full article online.

The Physicians Advocacy Institute, a non-profit group, is asking the Department of Health and Human Services to do more to support physicians in independent practices.

Visit https://revcycleintelligence.com/news/doctors-to-hhs-level-the-playing-field-for-independent-practices to view the full article online.

Beginning March 5, physicians will have to verify but not re-document students' notes in a medical record.

Visit https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/cms-ends-obama-policy-requiring-docs-to-rewrite-students-medical-notes/516781/ to view the full article online.

According to a new study, current trends in physician compensation include an increasing move to value-based incentives.

Visit https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/generalprofessionalissues/71071 to view the full article online.

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, signed into law by President Trump late last week, includes provisions that affect healthcare reimbursement.

Visit https://revcycleintelligence.com/news/how-the-bipartisan-budget-act-of-2018-impacts-claims-reimbursement to view the full article online.

The increasing importance of mobile health and clinical decision support tools are among the most significant trends in health-care IT.

Visit http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/medical-economics/news/7-health-it-trends-watch-2018 to view the full article online.

Social determinants of health are becoming an increasing focus of payers, according to a new survey.

Visit https://healthpayerintelligence.com/news/80-of-payers-aim-to-address-social-determinants-of-health to view the full article online.

Among the cities witnessing declines in physician salaries are Phoenix and Denver.

Visit http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/medical-economics/news/top-5-locations-physician-salaries-are-declining-0?page=0,0 to view the full article online.

The reasons behind health-care costs can vary widely among different regions of the country, according to a new report.

Visit https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/reducing-healthcare-costs-not-one-size-fits-all-report-finds/517004/ to view the full article online.

Following post-operative foot care instructions carefully is a must for successful recovery.

Visit https://us.blastingnews.com/lifestyle/2018/02/tips-for-recovering-foot-health-and-function-after-surgery-002301455.html to view the full article online.

Early identification of problems can help people with diabetes take proper care of their feet.

Visit https://www.health24.com/Medical/Diabetes/Living-with-diabetes/how-to-spot-diabetic-foot-complications-early-20180125 to view the full article online.

Forensic podiatry, using gait analysis, helped police identify a suspect in a package store robbery.

Visit https://patch.com/tennessee/across-tn/somethings-afoot-podiatrist-cracks-tennessee-robbery to view the full article online.