The American journal of managed care
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To evaluate the cost savings outcomes, from the payer's perspective, of deploying vibration-controlled transient elastography/controlled attenuation parameter (VCTE/CAP) machines for detecting and monitoring fatty liver disease (FLD). ⋯ We conclude that deploying VCTE/CAP devices is a financially advantageous solution to address the epidemic of FLD.
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To examine how primary care practices use the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey and its patient-centered medical home (PCMH) items during their PCMH transition. ⋯ CAHPS surveys were considered actionable for PCMH transformation and used in standardizing and coordinating care. The CAHPS PCMH items were considered integral to the continuous QI needed for moving beyond formal PCMH recognition and maximizing transformation. This supports the National Committee for Quality Assurance's recommendation to administer the CAHPS or CAHPS PCMH survey for PCMH transformation.
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High-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT) testing was approved in the United States to better facilitate diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Although hsTnT has been widely studied internationally, the impact of hsTnT on discharge diagnoses and health care utilization within the United States is less known. We sought to evaluate the effects of implementing hsTnT on diagnosis patterns and stress testing utilization. ⋯ Variations in discharge diagnosis patterns and increases in stress test utilization were observed following hsTnT implementation. Hospitals can expect similar changes, which may have long-term implications on health care utilization, cost, and hospital reimbursement.
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Among a group of primary care accountable care organizations, patients with hypertension were 50% less likely to have a blood pressure recorded in April compared with February.
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Reaching the goals set by the Health Care Payment and Learning Action Network requires an unyielding and unrelenting focus on encouraging providers to adopt advanced alternative payment models (APMs). Many of these models will continue to be voluntary because they either are in early stages or have not yet proven their effectiveness. ⋯ Either way, getting today's high performers into those programs and keeping them engaged to continue to innovate and set new benchmarks is as important as attracting and improving the performance of poorer performers. That will require a shift in Medicare's policy on pricing and evaluating APMs.