CMS Focusing on Better Aligning Quality Measures, Adding New ACO Models
Are you exasperated by all the different quality measures you’re required to report? One official at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) knows exactly how you feel. “I led care transformation at a health system before coming into this role, and we had this huge spreadsheet of the 500 different metrics from all […]
Clinical trial demonstrates that the ketogenic diet is effective at controlling polycystic kidney disease
It’s official: The ketogenic diet proved to be effective at controlling polycystic kidney disease (PKD) in the first randomized controlled clinical trial of ketogenic metabolic therapy for PKD. “I’m really happy about these clinical trial results,” said UC Santa Barbara biologist Thomas Weimbs, whose lab was part of an international collaboration to investigate the effect […]
Want to Fix Medicare Pay for Primary Care Docs? How About Two Fee Schedules?
How can Medicare payments to primary care doctors be fixed? Hoangmai Pham, MD, MPH, former official at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) during the Obama administration, has a few ideas. How about two separate fee schedules? “Rather than insisting that CMS govern fees for all physician services in one fee schedule, set […]
Turkey-Syria Quake Death Toll Could Top 20,000, WHO Official Says
A senior official at the World Health Organization warned Monday the death toll from the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria could rise “eightfold” as rescue efforts continue. Catherine Smallwood, WHO’s senior emergency officer for Europe, told the AFP injuries and fatalities linked to severe earthquakes often rise “significantly” in the week after the disaster. […]
WHO Says Don’t Blame Monkeys For Monkeypox Spread After Attacks On Animals
A World Health Organization official spoke up for monkeys following a string of attacks against primates in Brazil, saying they’re not responsible for the growing monkeypox outbreak. Margaret Harris, a WHO spokesperson, told a United Nations news conference in Geneva on Tuesday that the monkeypox virus has been found in many animals and is more […]
HHS Prepares for Imminent Launch of 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
This Saturday marks the official launch for the three-digit 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which officials hope will make the service more accessible and effective than the current 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. While not all states are prepared for the launch, HHS officials on a press call sounded excited about and confident in the […]
WHO Official: COVID Outbreak In North Korea Is Likely ‘Getting Worse, Not Better’
LONDON (AP) — A top official at the World Health Organization said the U.N. health agency assumes the coronavirus outbreak in North Korea is “getting worse, not better,” despite the secretive country’s recent claims that COVID-19 is slowing there. At a briefing on Wednesday, WHO’s emergencies chief Dr. Mike Ryan appealed to North Korean authorities […]
COVID’s Death Toll 3 Times Worse Than Official Counts
The global COVID-19 death toll may be three times higher than official tallies suggest, according to a systematic analysis of excess mortality during the pandemic. From Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2021, global deaths directly attributed to COVID-19 reached 5.9 million, yet estimates put excess deaths during this period at a staggering 18.2 million […]