Avicenna Medical Blog

Care Management Weekly News Update -1/30/18

Posted by DeAnn Dennis on Tue, Jan 30, 2018 @ 12:05 PM

Pharmacist Integration in Med Use Process Yields Positive Results at ACOs

Using pharmacists in accountable care organizations (ACOs) improves medication use by patients. That’s according to a study, “Optimization of Medication Use at Accountable Care Organizations,” which describes how ACOs manage medication use as part of their value-based contracting and care delivery.

How to Incorporate Family Caregivers in Chronic Care Management

“Many patients with chronic health conditions find that involving family and friends in their care provides a crucial source of day-to-day support,” the researchers wrote in the journal Families, Systems and Health. “In previous studies, over 60 percent of adults with diabetes or heart failure report that their family members and friends are regularly involved in their chronic illness self-management.”

Coding for Annual Wellness Visits

This month's coding questions look at coding for transition of care for a nursing facility patient and on Annual Wellness visits.

Behavioral Health Gains Momentum in Reimbursement

Recent legislative action and nationwide mental health initiatives have spurred progress in achieving more effective integration between physical health physicians and mental health providers. Integration between the mental and physical health communities will allow for all providers to account for whole patient care, rather than a single portion, as well as enable easier payer and patient solvency.

Study links Medicaid Expansion to Improved Access to High-Quality Surgical Care

Medicaid expansion may have improved patients' access to timely and high-quality surgical care, according to a new study. Researchers at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed trends in surgical care access and quality prior to the Affordable Care Act instituted Medicaid expansion, between 2010 and 2013, and after the coverage expansions went into effect, from 2014 to 2015.  

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