CMS Pushes Further Transparency In The Healthcare Industry
At the 2018 Health Datapalooza, The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced their plans to further improve the healthcare system by taking medical records and making them easy to read and access for both patient and provider. CMS will be overhauling the EHR Incentive Program and will focus on requiring better accessibility to patient records and will also continue to promote Blue Button 2.0, which connects Medicare patients to their claims data. Both of these programs aim to give patients their records in an easily accessible digital format and increase patient involvement in their own healthcare decisions.
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Hospitals Will Begin To Post Prices For Their Services Online
Formerly, hospitals were required to provide their prices in a public format, but there has never been a universal requirement for how this information is to be displayed. This new change, enforced by Medicare, would place pricing information in an easily accessible online platform. This new online format will allow for cost comparison and patient preparation for the costs they may incur as well as numerous other benefits for the healthcare industry.
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The Senate Is Working To Fight The Opioid Epidemic
As part of the fight against the opioid epidemic, the senate wants to highlight the importance of telemedicine to improve accessibility to medical services. Through telemedicine, providers will be able to reach a much wider patient network, therefore limiting the amount of people left alone to struggle with something as serious as opioid addiction.
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