Nutrition Tips for Preventing and Managing Chronic Conditions The most common, costly, and preventable health problems are chronic conditions: heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity are familiar examples. These conditions are considered preventable because they can be managed, eradicated, or avoided by lifestyle choices, such as proper nutrition and exercise. More than one-third (36%)…

CPC+ and Oculus Health: Improving Primary Care Delivery for Americans Better Primary Care, Better Health Care The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed CPC+ (Comprehensive Primary Care Plus) to strengthen primary care through multi-payment reform and improved care delivery. This primary care medical home model is regionally-based, addressing critical gaps in primary care…

Your Dog Is A Great Caregiver: Pets Treat Chronic Illnesses Therapy Animals: Love, Loyalty, and Companionship The notion of using pets as therapy for chronic illnesses has become mainstream. Service dogs have long been used to help humans with disabilities ranging from blindness, deafness, and even post-traumatic stress disorder. Registered service animals require intensive training…

Americans Don’t Want Primary Care: They Want Convenience Is Direct Primary Care failing Americans? The U.S. still believes that face-to-face contact is the solution to solving the primary care crisis. This is the Direct Primary Care model and the model is best described as the “old fashioned” doctor-patient relationship. For years, the primary care crisis has plagued…

Transparency in Healthcare is Easier Than You Think Fair Trade and U.S. Healthcare The concept of fair trade is relatively simple: an approach to business based on dialogue, transparency, and respect which ensures that everyone in involved in the creation and distribution of goods and services is paid a fair wage for products produced. To succeed in…

CMS Announces Cuts to Medicare Physician Fee Payment Rates in 2018 Changes to Impact Health Care Access in Underserved Communities Last week, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a series of changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule in 2018. The proposal includes a plan to slash Medicare payments by half for services provided…

Medicare Reporting Challenges to Impact Independent Practices in 2018 Independent medical practices across the country brace for another series of changes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: new legislation, performance-based incentives and reporting requirements, compliance demands, more inpatient codes, and astonishing cuts to Medicare physician fee payment rates. Private practices across the country stand…

How Private Practices Can Expand Diabetes Care Financial Impact of Diabetes in the U.S. The staggering impact of diabetes on our healthcare system cannot be understated. The most recent research from the American Diabetes Associationestimates that the total cost of diagnosed diabetes has risen to $245 billion in 2012 from $174 billion in 2007 — a 41…