The Rundown | Week of 7.3.2017

Healthcare is a rapidly evolving industry – it’s difficult to read up on everything that matters to you. But the success of your practice can depend on how knowledgeable you are about changes in the healthcare landscape. Privia has compiled a weekly list of important articles we are reading on healthcare industry trends, clinical best practices and legislative updates for your convenience. Here are some of the important articles and blogs on healthcare that stood out this week:

• Survey Finds Fewer than 1 in 4 doctors prepared for MACRA, Fierce Healthcare  

>> “The survey also found that 90% of the doctors described the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), one of two payment tracks under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), as burdensome. Only 8% of the doctors said they are very prepared for long-term financial success under the program.”

• The Health of the Nation: Special Public Health Watch Report, Contagion Live

>> “Overall, the report notes, life expectancy increased for the total population of the country between 1975 and 2015; however, the assessment revealed that the important metric for health actually declined between 2014 and 2015, by 0.1 years, for the total population. Meanwhile, infant mortality rate dropped by 63% over the 40-year period.”

• Medicaid waiver program helped public hospitals improve care to California’s most needy, UCLA Newsroom

>> “’California’s health system reforms are a beacon for the rest of the nation,’ said Nadereh Pourat, the director of research of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and leader of the evaluation project. ‘These strong results are significant, because they show how national reform can be successfully implemented. The waiver program illustrates that with an adequate supply of funds, California has improved the health of its population by strengthening its health care delivery system under Medicaid.’”

• Obamacare Has Problems. The Senate Health Care Bill Doesn’t Solve Them, Experts Say, NPR

>> “NPR asked several health care experts to tell us what they view as the biggest problems with the current health care system. Then we asked: Does the Senate bill fix them? Most of the experts we consulted (backed up by a Congressional Budget Office assessment) said that for the most part, no — the Senate bill won’t solve the health care system’s problems and that it, in fact, could make some of those problems worse.”

>>BONUS: The Rundown: The Senate healthcare bill – 5 things you need to know

• The Best-Positioned Tech Giant In Healthcare? The Answer Might Surprise You, Forbes

>> “But while participating on a panel at a recent Festival of Genomics meeting in San Diego, I learned that apparently, Facebook is where patients with rare conditions, and their families, often go to connect with others in similar situations–typically via private groups. Apparently, these can be extremely specific–the example the panelist cited was childhood epilepsy due to one or another individual genetic mutation. Families reportedly self-organize into private groups based on the specific mutation, and share experiences and learnings.”