We are back to this discussion again about putting doctor’s Medicare claim information out for consumers.  If you read here often enough you know how I feel about the waste of money to do this and it has no purpose as the public will not gain anything here, plus how many have the time anymore for goodness sakes.

Digital Illiteracy Is Killing Us With New Bill Wanting MD Medicare Compensation Put Online-No Clue on the Cost, Time and Truckloads of Errors to Audit and Correct

Then you have this frivolous law suit by Dow Jones which makes it even worse.

Dow Jones Files Lawsuit Against HHS To Overturn Ruling To Keep Medicare Physician Compensation Confidential In the False Name of Transparency-Distraction is More Like It

Some just think IT Infrastructure costs grow on trees, i.e. some members of Congress who are into cutting costs right now.  This is a good move via the AMA to give doctors the opportunity to review the information but gee, how much and howimage big will the files be?  Unless you have done any medical billing or been involved in this complex project then you probably won’t get this, but believe me this is a mess and something that should be considered “optional” to even think about.  We have the new HHS anti fraud algorithms running now to help out so give it a chance before we spend million on this project that will in no way even get near any ROI for anyone. 

Do Some Think That Health IT Costs and Systems Grow On Trees-Certainly Starting To Give That Impression of Late

Digital illiteracy coming into play again once more.  Have some of our members of Congress learn how to bill with a crash course and let them see the business and I’m sure this would be thought about twice and the whole idea canned.  I have not even began to address security and that’s another concern of it’s own.  BD   

Press Release:

Proposed Medicare data release rule needs improved safeguards, appeals process

WASHINGTON – Ensuring public reports on Medicare and private payer data are valid, reliable and actionable is critical, the American Medical Association (AMA) and 81 physician organizations told the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today in comments submitted on the proposed rule on Medicare data for performance measurement. The organizations applauded the inclusion of safeguards that protect patients and physicians in the rule, but noted several critical issues must be resolved for physician measurement and public reporting to be effective.

“The release of accurate data provides an opportunity to inform patients and physicians and to advance the quality of care in the Medicare program,” said AMA President Peter W. Carmel, M.D. “CMS has included critical safeguards in this proposed rule, but further action is needed to ensure the information is reliable and the process is equitable.”

In the comment letter, the organizations called on CMS to ensure physicians have the opportunity to review their data for accuracy and to appeal any errors before their information is made public. The AMA also urged CMS to standardize the process for developing the public reports and the type of information they will include, not only across the Medicare system but for private insurance data as well.

“Just as the release of reliable information can be helpful for patients and physicians, the release of incorrect information could harm patients and the entire Medicare system,” Dr. Carmel said. “The reports should compare apples to apples – using the same data from both private insurers and Medicare – and allow a full review and appeals process before publication, to provide the most accurate information.”

The comment letter provides detailed recommendations to CMS on additional safeguards and ways to standardize the data collection to assist in developing meaningful, actionable reports.

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