MASSDEVICE ON CALL — About a month after meaningful use attestation opened up, the first payment from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid arrived in Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s bank account last week.
Beth Israel was the first hospital to attest to meaningful use, a financial incentive program that allocates funds to providers who demonstrate use of certified electronic health record technology. Hospital payments start with a $2 million base fund and a final payment is made once CMS settles the hospital’s cost report.
The transfer arrived right on schedule May 19, the day incentive payments became available, according to BIDMC CIO Dr. John Halamka.
Beth Israel began preparations for attestation last summer and filed to meaningful use payments on the first day of stimulus disbursements.
The hospital has not received information about its final payment calculation or timing, according to Halamka.
Nearly three-quarters of physicians report monthly instances of disruptive behavior by fellow docs
More than 70 percent of physicians said disruptive behavior occurs at least once a month at their institutions and 10 percent reported that incidents occurred every day, according to a study of 840 doctors and physician leaders presented by the American College of Physician Executives and QuantiaMD. The study found a host of negative and disruptive behaviors, from discrimination to substance abuse and even physical assault. The most prevalent concerns reported were refusal to cooperate with others, refusal to follow protocol, yelling and trash talk. Half of the participants reported that patients had switched physicians or left the practice due to disruptive behavior.
Medicare: Rep. Paul Ryan defends his plan on YouTube
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) released a new video defending his controversial plan to reform Medicare, On the Money reports. Ryan’s plan would transform Medicare into a voucher system for those currently under 55 years old. The AARP and the chief of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services attacked the plan in April, arguing that it would block innovative programs to improve care for people on Medicaid and shift health care costs to seniors and people with disabilities. In the new video, Ryan argues that President Barack Obama’s approach to Medicare takes control out of the hands of individuals and lets Washington make health care decisions.
MassChallenge finalists announced
MassChallenge, an international startup competition now in its second year, unveiled its list of 125 finalists for this year’s competition. Finalists will receive mentoring and three months of free office space in MassChallenge’s Boston headquarters as they vie for the $1 million in cash prizes to be announced in October. The competition accepts entries from anywhere in the world and from any industry.
U.S. medical journal sues sister journal in the U.K.
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery is mired in family squabbling as the U.S. version of the journal filed for trademark rights to the journal’s name and logo against its U.K. counterpart, the Boston Business Journal reports. The parent company, Needham, Mass.-based Journal Corp., owns trademark rights to the name in the European Union, but the British journal claims the American side breached license agreements by planning to launch new web-based products.
