Should Nurse Practitioners Read X-Rays?
The CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health submitted a request for information regarding the B Reader Program from interested parties to determine whether they should allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to become B Readers.
OSHA Terminates COVID-19 Rulemaking
On January 15, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) terminated its healthcare COVID-19 rulemaking (90 Fed. Reg. 3665).
The Next 4 Years Could Be Interesting for Digital Health Policy
At a time when the nation is divided and combative, can digital health bridge that gap and bring both sides together? And could this help healthcare leaders plot a path forward for new ideas like AI, Hospital at Home, and wearables?
New Study Questions Lack of Rural Hospital at Home Programs
A new study of the Hospital at Home strategy questions whether it can stand up in rural areas and small hospitals, key markets for the innovative program’s growth and sustainability. In a December 23 study posted in JAMA, researchers from UCLA and the University of Pennsylvania say almost all of the healthcare organizations participating in the CMS Acute Hospital Care at Home program are large, urban, not-for-profit and academic hospitals.
AAAHC Earns Deemed Status Renewal from CMS
The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care announces today that it has been awarded CMS approval as a national accreditation organization for ambulatory surgery centers that request participation in the Medicare Deemed Status Accreditation program.
DEA Extends Telemedicine Prescription Waiver One More Year
Healthcare providers will be able to prescribe scheduled drugs via telemedicine for at least one more year, thanks to a last-minute extension of a pandemic-era waiver by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Anticipating OSHA’s Healthcare Rulemakings
OSHA has been developing three industry-specific rulemakings that could significantly impact healthcare industry compliance. By the end of the year, the industry could see one new final regulation and two proposed rules.
Are RPM Programs Riddled With Fraud?
Following a report this week from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) hinting at a possibility of fraud in requests for Medicare reimbursement in RPM programs, the Alliance for Connected Care has criticized the “inaccuracies and subjective nature” of that report and called on the OIG to retract it.
Can NPs and PAs Replace Physicians?
Non-physician providers like nurse practitioners and physician assistants have formally been around since the 1960s, but over the last 10 to 15 years, there’s been large growth in these areas, Bernard notes. In 2020, the number of non-physician providers was around 277,000, but more recent tallies bring that number to 545,000.
HHS Drops Plan to Restrict Hospital Use of Data-Tracking Tech
The rule stated that entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) “are not permitted to use tracking technologies in a manner that would result in impermissible disclosures of PHI to tracking technology vendors or any other violations of HIPAA Rules.”