The nearly 30-year-old Stark Law could be due for an overhaul, according to CMS. The agency is requesting public feedback on how to streamline the law’s administrative requirements and retool it to better fit with modern alternative payment models and value-based care.
Around a dozen employees of the Washington Health System (WHS) in Washington County, Pennsylvania, have reportedly been suspended for HIPAA violations involving alleged inappropriate access to patient records, according to the Washington County Observer-Reporter.
With new attention on the care continuum, many new roles are being created to both complement the comprehensive needs of patients and ensure that licensed individuals have the opportunity to work at the top of their license. As a result, many organizations are adding positions called navigators or health coaches to provide more support to the patient and family around the logistics of care.
In a continued effort to combat the opioid epidemic, CMS released a roadmap detailing its progress toward addressing the crisis as well as its plans for slowing opioid dependence. CMS noted that while the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics indicate the opioid epidemic is not slowing down, efforts aimed at combatting the epidemic must continue.
