Richard Payerchin

The bill has a mass of legislative supporters – at least 41 senators and 127 representatives, along with more than 370 organizations representing patients, physicians, hospitals and Medicare Advantage plans.

Urologist Alex Shteynshlyuger, MD, and others have argued that insurance companies should compensate physicians and their staff for the time spent compiling patient records for payers to review before authorizing treatments.

"Good public and economic policy must align costs, benefits, and incentives; currently, all costs are incurred by physician practices, and all financial savings and benefits from prior authorization accrue to health insurance plans, leading to perverse incentives,” says Alex Shteynshlyuger, MD.

Prior authorizations for medical care will become quicker and easier, while saving money, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Patients fear their personal data could be compromised, with 63% concerned increasing use of artificial intelligence will put their health information at risk.

Last year, a single health care breach involved 2 million records, but in the first half of 2023, there were 5 health care breaches of at least 3 million records each.

Overall staffing levels were up “marginally,” suggesting some stabilization and return to levels from before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from the American Medical Group Association.

The economic burden is based on three components: excess medical care expenditures, lost labor market productivity, and premature death.

Among medical groups, 65% said they will employ advanced practice providers in 2023.

“There is a growing consensus that a hard medical liability insurance market exists in a considerable number of states and is slowly spreading across the United States as more physicians face higher insurance premiums,” said AMA President Jack Resneck Jr., MD.

The Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center of the US Department of Health and Human Services recently published a mobile device security checklist.

Prior authorizations are a paperwork burden that takes up physicians’ and staff time while delaying care for patients, according to 93% of doctors surveyed by the AMA.

Based on 5- and 10-year study periods, physicians with single or multiple paid medical malpractice claims “were shown to have a greatly elevated risk of having additional paid claims during a future period,” the authors wrote.

“Lack of budget, remotely shared personal data between patients and hospital systems, and outdated software all point to avenues for hackers to infiltrate and gain access to health-related sensitive data,” the report stated.

Researchers compared survey responses from patients who had in-person visits and those who used telehealth consultations at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Bill reduces but does not prevent cut to physician reimbursement for Medicare in 2023.

"The prior authorization and interoperability proposals we are announcing today would streamline the prior authorization process and promote health care data sharing to improve the care experience across providers, patients, and caregivers – helping us to address avoidable delays in patient care and achieve better health outcomes for all,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure.

“Individuals in all workplaces have the right to a safe environment, out of harm’s way and free of intimidation or reprisal,” said AMA President Jack Resneck Jr., MD.

Workplace burnout among physicians is approaching crisis levels worldwide – possibly the highest levels seen in the history of health care systems, according to a recent study.

A new survey found that despite greater awareness of the issue, little progress has been made in the battle against physician burnout.

The survey examined perceptions of physicians and technology among 2000 patients.

“Our findings provide a potential mechanism for the gender gap in burnout, which has implications for workforce mental health and physician retention,” said Lisa S. Rotenstein, MD.

“With interstate licensure waivers expired or expected to expire soon, the question of how to design longer-term licensure policies to facilitate interstate telehealth is urgent,” said senior study author Chad Ellimoottil, MD.

Participants reported lower levels of emotional exhaustion and imposter syndrome.

“This is a very dangerous situation for medical device companies who want to keep their product and patients safe and reduce risk to their business and brand,” the report warns.