- Two big problems with generic-drug substitution (cnbc.com)
New York court…reaffirmed an injunction against Actavis that requires the pharmaceutical company to continue promoting and selling Namenda, an old medication… Actavis wanted to downscale its support of the drug.. The court's decision is a landmark ruling because it will force a company to manufacture, market, and distribute a product it no longer wishes to support. We need a better system that has less potential to dampen competition and innovation.
- U.S. suffering from prescription drug shortage (viralnews365.com)
Disruptions in production, safety recalls, difficulties finding key raw ingredients, shifts in demand and decisions to discontinue certain products are just some of the reasons pharmaceutical makers give for not having enough supply. With early warning, the FDA can make arrangements with other manufacturing plants, streamline regulations and assist drugmakers ...
- OIG reports revisit questionable billing and fraud within Medicare Part D (fiercehealthpayer.com)Fraud Still Plagues Medicare's Prescription Drug Program (npr.org)
Two new reports released by the Office of Inspector General indicate that rising Medicare Part D costs linked to commonly abused opioids, coupled with questionable billing practices and geographic fraud hotspots, point to missed opportunities for fraud prevention by CMS.
- 100 days to ICD-10: Where the industry stands (fiercehealthit.com)
Bills call for grace periods; Survey finds testing lagging.The implementation deadline for ICD-10 is only 100 days away, but lawmakers on Capitol Hill continue to push for transition periods or an outright ban of the code set while surveys reveal that participation in testing still lags.
- Canadian Pharmacists Association Expresses Its Support for Bill C-692 (pharmacists.ca)
CPhA today expressed its support for Bill C-692,..The Proper Use of Prescription Drugs Act," include: 1)..conference ..to develop and implement a comprehensive federal framework to address the proper use of prescription drugs..2)..provide pharmacists with the ability to better manage controlled substances for patients..3) formalizing "National Prescription Drug Drop-off Day"
- 16 Critical Access Hospitals are Best of the Best (healthcareitnews.com)
For the past five years, iVantage Health Analytics has been compiling an annual list of the top 100 critical access hospitals in America. Just 16 facilities have made it onto the list every year of the survey.
- New estimates say Medicare Advantage inflated risk scores cost $2 billion a year (fiercehealthpayer.com)
Insurers use consultants and software to root out additional diagnoses, making patients seem sicker than they are. Medicare Advantage plans could have a problem with risk scores that are manipulated by insurers to get a higher reimbursement,…says inflated risk scores cost Medicare $2 billion in 2014. Although this may not classify as outright fraud..
- Anesthesiologist trashes sedated patient — and it ends up costing her (washingtonpost.com)
..he pressed play on his way home, he was shocked out of his anesthesia-induced stupor: He found that he had recorded the entire examination and that the surgical team had mocked and insulted him as soon as he drifted off to sleep...instructing an assistant to lie to him, and then placed a false diagnosis on his chart.
- Bill Helps Medical Marijuana Users Access Organ Transplants (kolotv.com)
California lawmakers have passed a bill that prevents medical marijuana users from being denied organ transplants just because they use pot….bill would help medical marijuana users access organ transplants by prohibiting a hospital or doctor from disqualifying a person solely because of medical marijuana use.
- Insurers Gaming Medicare Might Cost Washington Billions a Year (bloomberg.com)
Health plans get paid more for covering sicker patients. Are they exaggerating how ill people really are?...Anita Silingo accused health insurance companies of brazenly ripping off the government…filed a sealed whistleblower lawsuit…MedXM exaggerated or outright fabricated illnesses to get its clients higher fees from Medicare….described costs the government billions a year.