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Managing medical decision-making has become big business. Over the past few years, “clinical pathways” have become one of the most common tools for medical decision-making in oncology. Until recently, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN [ Read More ]
We have seen rocky years before, but 2016 will certainly be challenging in the oncology arena. In the past 10 years, the operating environment for oncology providers who treat patients with cancer has changed significantly. We have seen the rise [ Read More ]
When the federal Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) rollercoaster ended in repeal, physicians across the country sighed with relief. There would be no more waiting for Congress to modify the automatic double-digit reductions that the annual SGR calculations threatened. However, the [ Read More ]
Just when you thought grade school and report cards were a distant memory, here comes a loud wake-up call. Report cards and grading systems are now (or soon will be) very visible parts of our future as healthcare providers. We [ Read More ]
The Christiana Care Health System has delivered cutting-edge cancer care to the Delaware tristate area since 1940, when it opened Delaware’s first cancer clinic at the Memorial Hospital. Memorial was eventually integrated with 2 other hospitals, Delaware Hospital and Wilmington [ Read More ]
By the time you read this, October 1 will be behind us. The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition, Clinical Modification/Procedure Coding System (ICD-10) will be the new standard of the land. It was mandated that all healthcare providers in [ Read More ]
June 30, 2015, was the deadline for submission of practice-based applications to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) for the Oncology Care Model (OCM). The dust has settled. Those who were going to apply have done so, and [ Read More ]
If your practice or cancer center receives, handles, stores, compounds, dispenses, administers, or disposes of hazardous drugs, you may soon be affected by the US Pharmacopeial Convention’s General Chapter 800 Hazardous Drugs—Handling in Healthcare Settings (USP 800). It will affect [ Read More ]
The federal government is determined to shift Medicare’s traditional fee-for-service plans into alternative quality-based or value-based payment programs. Currently more than 400 accountable care organizations (ACOs) and more than 100 hospitals and other healthcare groups accept Medicare bundled payments, but [ Read More ]
I grew up in a lower middle class household. My dad was an insurance salesman, and we needed to live within a budget. The thought that we might buy something without considering the cost was unfathomable. As a doctor now, [ Read More ]