Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Most Doctors Say They’re Not Prepared for MACRA

We told you recently that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services lowered the threshold for physicians to be exempt from MACRA’s reporting requirements in 2018. It’s a good thing, too: 75% of physicians involved in practice decision-making say they do not feel well prepared to participate in MACRA’s Quality Payment Program (QPP). The data were just released by the American Medical Association and KPMG. The QPP pushes eligible providers to choose between the Advanced Alternative …

Pressure Mounts to Put Off Stage 3 of Meaningful Use

The College of Healthcare Information Management (CHIME) has joined 15 other organizations in asking Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to delay implementation of Stage 3 Meaningful Use and Certified EHR Technology requirements indefinitely. In a February 17 letter to Price, they stressed the importance of reducing regulatory burdens for physicians while “ensuring patients benefit from the best technology…and that the goal of a truly interoperable healthcare system comes to fruition.” The letter singled out …

UCA Asks Price to Delay New EHR Requirements

The Urgent Care Association (UCA) has petitioned Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, MD to delay implementation of Stage 3 of the Meaningful Use program, as well as “Stage 3-like” measures in the MIPS program, indefinitely. UCA joined with 15 other organizations in crafting a letter that also requested that eligible clinicians not be required to move to EHR technology certified to the 2015 edition. Release of proposed requirements for MIPS and APMs …

Navigating Around Legislative Obstacles and Proving Value in 2017

Urgent care in a shifting healthcare delivery environment brings to mind Shel Silverstein’s children’s classic, The Missing Piece Meets the Big O. In that tale, the missing piece stands alone, waiting for someone to come along and take it somewhere. Various shapes come by, but none are quite right. Some could not roll. Some had too many missing pieces. Finally, a shape comes along that fits just right and they roll along until the missing …

UCA Webinars: Preparing for the New Medicare Quality Payment Program

Ensuring payers send you every penny you earned can seem like a daunting challenge, especially with new rules—or entire systems—coming out every year. To help you start the new year on the right track, the Urgent Care Association is hosting two webinars on January 11 and 18 to discuss the new Medicare Quality Payment Program. Each one-hour webinar is designed for physicians, physician assistants, nurses/nurse practitioners, coders/billers, and IT staff. The presenter will be Camille …

How to Avoid Burnout? The Answer Is in the Exam Room

Much has been written of late regarding physician burnout. And why not? The rates of burnout are astronomical and the consequences are scary. Consider these statistics: Medscape Physician Lifestyle Report 2015 notes that almost half of physicians report experiencing burnout. The Physicians Foundation’s 2014 Survey of America’s Physicians reveals that physicians are far more likely to burn out than professionals in any other line of work, and that only 40% of physicians over 46 years …

New Year Brings New CMS Patient Survey—But Probably No New Insights

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will ask Medicare beneficiaries how their healthcare providers are doing under the new Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), which was supposed to help improve the quality of care while lowering cost. No revelations are expected, however, because the survey is voluntary and CMS has taken a relaxed approach to getting providers on board with the new system. In addition, survey results—which, presumably, will be made public to …

UCA Seeks Accommodations for Small Practices in Proposed CMS Payments System

A new payment system being considered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will have to make more accommodations for smaller practices—such as many urgent care centers—if there’s any hope of it succeeding, according to comments the Urgent Care Association (UCA) submitted to CMS. In its current form, the Merit-Based Incentive Payments System (MIPS) would require some clinicians to get an exemption from MIPS by participating in an Advanced Alternative Payment Model or …

Will New CMS Program Boost Medicare Quality Bonuses?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) calls it a brand-new platform, while skeptics are saying it’s just the same-old structure with a fresh coat of paint. Either way, CMS is rolling out the Quality Payment Program, which it says will ease documentation requirements for physicians while also providing new opportunities to earn bonuses by providing quality care. Under the program, physicians can receive Medicare reimbursement by participating in either the Merit-Based Incentive Payment …