Among a laundry list of proposed changes to policies and payment for hospital outpatient services unveiled on Tuesday, the Bush administration, via the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS; Baltimore), asked for a cut of 5.1% across the board in Medicare payments for services provided by doctors to elderly and disabled patients in the outpatient setting in 2007. more»

In an afternoon keynote on the second day of the Pay-For-Performance leadership summit, Arnold Milstein, MD, of Mercer Human Resources Consulting (New York), provided the payer perspective on P4P, bringing with him several years’ experience as a member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC). more»

Assessing the sustainability of payment reform” is not only an exercise in prognostication – one that is difficult to avoid indulging in of late – and also the title of a discussion at the fourth annual Leadership Summit on Healthcare Quality & Pay-For-Performance held here at the Marriott Copley Place hotel. more»

The 4th Annual World Congress Leadership Summit on Healthcare Quality and Pay-for- Performance wraps up in Boston today. Over 300 decision makers and experts from provider and insurer organizations are tackling tough issues such as the sustainability of payment reform, and how best to measure quality as a result of P4P. more»

Nearly 100 nursing lead-ers from across the country convened June 15-16 at the Allerton Crowne Plaza in downtown Chicago. Their mission was lofty — to tackle the tough issues facing our healthcare industry today and into the future. Presented by World Congress, the Leadership Summit for Senior Healthcare and Nurse Executives included sessions about improving the work environment, addressing the current state of medical care in the U.S., raising cultural commitment among nurses and increasing hospital performance through efficient systems. more»

The medical device industry must consider its role in cost containment and cost-effectiveness in the overall U.S. healthcare picture, argued experts at the recent World Healthcare Congress in Washington, D.C. The U.S. healthcare system is lagging behind its fellow industrialized nations in terms of the quality and cost of healthcare, and the degree to which it is willing to learn from models in other countries may be key, experts said. more»

If the financial markets operated like the healthcare market does with data, you would have to call 100 people every day to find out how the market is doing," said Greg Simon, CEO of FasterCures. The need for the pharmaceutical industry to make better use of large existing databases was the theme of a panel discussion Simon moderated at the World Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C. on April 20. more»

Not many knew that the `Knowledge Commission' is working on a report, until the Finance Minister (FM), P. Chidambaram, said so, on April 17. Inaugurating the Biocon Pharmaceuticals' multi-product biologics facility in Bangalore, the FM said he was waiting for the report to make more investments in the fields of IT (information technology) and BT (biotechnology). more»

The World Health Care Congress geared to CEOs, senior executives, and government officials from large employers, hospitals, health systems, health plans, pharmaceutical and biotech companies was held in Washington D.C. on April 17-19, 2006. The topics included electronic health records, quality and safety issues, private sector health IT initiatives, clinical transformation, business models for health IT, pay for performance issues, plus other topics. more»

Are our health care dollars more judiciously spent developing life-saving wonder drugs or providing better access for all? A lively panel debated that moral conundrum Tuesday at the World Health Care Congress. Reigning CMS honcho Mark McClellan faced off against firebrand health economist Uwe Reinhardt in a session dubbed "Access vs. Innovation." more»

The final day of the World Health Care Congress focused on the Bush administration's plans for reforming the health insurance market. more»

In an effort to make good on its commitment to the health care industry to be present from "lab to bedside," Microsoft announced another series of partnerships aiming at the health care industry. At the World Health Care Congress from April 17 to 19, Microsoft released its vision for "knowledge driven health plans" in conjunction with 22 companies that will provide solutions based on its framework. more»

SNOW: Good afternoon; thanks so much for having me here today. This is an important gathering and the subject matter is simply critical. I appreciate very much the topic you've asked me to address, because the economic impact of health care is absolutely central to the policy discussions that surround the issue. more»

Good afternoon; thanks so much for having me here today. This is an important gathering and the subject matter is simply critical. I appreciate very much the topic you've asked me to address, because the economic impact of health care is absolutely central to the policy discussions that surround the issue. more»

SEC. SNOW: Jerry, thank you for that nice introduction -- brief and to the point. I appreciate it very much. And I'm delighted to be here to join this important group at this important conference to talk about a subject that's awfully important. more»

I joined the Bush administration about 14 or 15 months ago, but unfortunately my wife and two twin daughters, who are now seniors in high school, were not able to join me. But because you invited me today, I was able to get my wife to come out one day early. She's coming out tomorrow for the visit of President Hu and the luncheon, but I got her to come out today. more»

Top health care executives consider escalating coststheir industry's biggest challenge, according to the results of asurvey released today by Accenture (NYSE: ACN) at the 3rd Annual WorldHealth Care Congress. more»

Wal-Mart executive Susan Chambers, author of a health-care memo last year that raised eyebrows and outraged critics, told the World Health Care Congress in Washington on Monday that the company is expanding its health-care coverage for employees. more»