CMS announces 2-year delay in ICD-10 adoption

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has decided to move the implementation date of the ICD-10 coding system from 2011 to 2013 in response to thousands of comments from medical providers requesting an extension. The ICD-10 codes are designed to help physicians and hospitals boost their accuracy in billing health insurers for tests and other services.

Final slides from national meeting now available on CAHPS site

In December 2008, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality hosted a free national conference for users of the CAHPS family of surveys. Whether or not you were able to view it, you may want to take a look at the final presentations, which covered innovative uses of the various survey results as well as new instruments and items sets.

Companies debate savings from various models of health care reform

Deloitte reports that its health care reform plan would save the U.S. $500 billion by implementing electronic prescriptions and using only the most effective drugs and procedures. The company’s health reform plan calls for spending $220 billion over three years on e-prescribing, electronic medical records and a medical home model.

Editor’s Note: To assist case managers, health care professionals and consumers in interpreting proposals, the Rand Corporation’s health policy research program has created a Web-based dashboard called Comprehensive Assessment of Reform Efforts, or COMPARE, to show the impact of various health reform proposals on health care delivery and costs.

Physician-patient talks full of misunderstanding

An analysis of 74 meetings between physicians and patients to discuss treatment for severe arthritis of the knee found that in 18 percent of the encounters, both parties disagreed on whether or not the doctor had recommended knee replacement surgery. One researcher called the miscommunication disturbing, saying many times physicians and patients simply take it for granted that they understand each other.

Editor’s Note: Health literacy is one of the key obstacles in health care communication. Click here to view a CE Slide show on this topic – Impacting Health Literacy – and gain 2 contact hours.

AHRQ launches website on emerging therapies

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has launched Clinician-Consumer Health Advisory Information Network, a website that offers advice on emerging medical therapies. The site connects users to new information about evidence-based medicine that is gathered from AHRQ’s Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics.

What is your leadership style?

Whatever your natural style of leadership is, you’re not stuck with it, says leadership consultant Dan McCarthy. He offers a menu of 10 styles here – coaching, directorial and pace-setting to name a few.

Raise your voice to improve delivery to help your career

Voice coaches say a growing number of their clients are professionals who want to improve their delivery to help their careers. “I’ve trained doctors. I’ve trained CEOs. I’ve even trained one of the contestants on ‘Top Chef,’” says Bettye Zoller, a Dallas-based coach. “A great voice makes you sound more interesting, more intelligent and more trustworthy.”

Your mother is moving in? That’s great

A recent study by AARP shows that multigenerational households are on the rise, up from 5 million in 2000 to 6.2 million last year, an increase from 4.8 percent of all households to 5.3 percent. It’s not always a smooth ride – families being what they are – but it’s still an appealing solution to the work-life conundrum.