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If you've noticed a small yet significant decrease in your pathology practice or clinical lab income for the first quarter of 2019, don't be surprised. That's because CMS estimates the 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) changes will result in an overall two percent decrease in pay to pathologists and independent laboratories, despite an increase in the conversion factor (CF).

we have come with the issue of "The Most Recommended Beauty Brands in 2019" in the Insightscare magazine.

We found that the MIPS 2020 and MIPS 2019 Quality measures are more similar than they are different. Nevertheless, we got into a bit of detail in this article to give you a better idea.

In MIPS 2019 and MIPS 2020, participants get to submit 6 quality measures data for 12 months (from January 1 to December 31, 2019, and January 1 to December 31, 2020, respectively). The amount of data to undergo submission depends on the collection (measure) type.

In this edition, "The 10 Smartest Healthcare Companies to Work for in 2019," we have enlisted the leading healthcare solution providers, who are the catalysts to technological advancements in this space. Owing to their remarkable contribution to the industry, we are stepping towards positive disruption to improve care and simultaneously improve the living for people.

MIPS 2019 performance year is about to end. Only a little time is left until eligible clinicians can report for MIPS healthcare. MIPS put forwards the opportunity to get incentives and bonuses aside from the regular payment model.

Small Medical Practices! P3Care has been doing well as MIPS Qualified Registry for four years now. During this time, we come up with many little tricks to achieve a minimum performance threshold to be safe from the penalty. Read the article below to know how small practices can avoid the negative payment adjustment in MIPS 2019 reporting.

Physicians! It's time to prepare for the MIPS 2019 reporting period. There's only a little time left. This time may be hectic and stressful, even for MIPS qualified registries. But don't worry, P3 Healthcare Solutions has come up with effective tips to target high MIPS scores. Let's be honest, MIPS QPP can be a daunting approach to earn incentives for those who are not careful.

Physical therapists are included as one of the groups of healthcare practitioners eligible for MIPS reporting in 2019. It was time their duties were rewarded with an open heart and a clear head. Physical therapy is a serious branch of medicine that, now, comes in the quality circle of the government where physical therapists (PTs) can receive incentives based on their performances.

I have always been passionate about Community Pharmacy and am proud of the way that the sector navigated itself through Covid-19 and is currently navigating itself through all the changes in the NHS landscape. When I started my role in Sep 2019 as the CEO of Kent LPC, I used to say that community pharmacy has changed more in the last five years than the 15 before that, however, I now believe community pharmacy has changed more in the last two years than the 20 before. The year 2019 saw the start of the five-year Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework which set out how community pharmacy would support delivery of the NHS long term plan. What PSNC (or any of us) when negotiating this deal had not envisaged was the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst the world turned upside down, we saw high street shops close their doors and immense pressure flood the NHS. Community pharmacy did what they always do, they adapted, teams came together, worked through, and showed resilience in the face of adversity. In Kent, I saw us integrate into primary are and into the NHS structure very quickly, in the first few weeks after Covid-19. All the usual red tape was removed, we all worked together to implement services to help patients in a matter of weeks when they would have normally taken months.

The British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) has published a positioning paper which sets out the objectives that need to be delivered through the next Voluntary Pricing and Access Scheme (VPAS) on Thursday (15 June). The paper details how a financially sustainable VPAS can support widened medicines access to patients. VPAS is an agreement between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). The scheme aims to limit increases in spending on branded medicines to no more than 2% per year via a rebate system which is charged on companies' sales revenues. Two years ago, the rate was 5.1% but for 2023 it has soared to 26.5%. Last year, the association had raised concerns over the rise in the VPAS rate for 2023 to 26.5 per cent. "The rocketing rate is in large part due to the growth in spend in on-patent medicines since 2019. Looking at the four completed years of the current VPAS scheme, data shows that the average annual growth rate for on-patent medicine sales value from 2019-22 was 18% compared to just 2% for off-patent products," said the association.

The Company Chemists Association (CCA)'s workforce finding showed that by 2024 eight years' worth of growth of the pharmacist workforce will have been funnelled away from community pharmacies. "In 2019, when NHS leaders realised they were unable to find enough GPs to meet the public's needs, they hastily decided to recruit pharmacists and other healthcare professionals to fill the gaps. This was implemented without any corresponding efforts to increase the supply of pharmacists, creating huge shortages," said CCA. "The bulk of the NHS's recruitment drive was paid for using additional money ringfenced by the NHS - the £2.4bn Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). We estimate over the life course of ARRS funding (2019-2024), the equivalent of eight years of growth in the number of pharmacists in England will have been funnelled directly into primary care at the expense of other sectors. At the current rate, CCA estimate that community pharmacy will have experienced the equivalent of three fallow years by 2024. To ensure the pharmacy network is protected and able to take pressure off other parts of the NHS, there are several urgent measures which must be implemented. Countering the impact of primary care recruitment: Community pharmacists should be commissioned to provide 'packages of care' on behalf of GPs, rather than taking pharmacists away from accessible high street settings.

Long waits for an ambulance or surgery led to the death of 112 people, and nearly 8,000 more people suffered harm while waiting for help in England last year. The data from NHS England, obtained by The Guardian, show that patient deaths arising directly from care delays have risen more than fivefold over the last three years. In 2019, there were 21 patient deaths due to NHS care delays, and 96 people suffered "severe harm" as compared to 152 last year. Adult mental health care was mostly affected with 471 patients experiencing harm due to delays, followed by childbirth care (253), eye problems (221), and trauma and general surgery (207). There has been increase of 97 percent in the overall number of people suffering some degree of harm, from 3,979 in 2019 to 7,856 in 2022.

The British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) has raised concerns over the rise in the VPAS rate for 2023 to 26.5 per cent. The Department of Health Social Care (DHSC) today announced that the 2019 voluntary scheme payment percentage for 2023 will be 26.5%. The 2019 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access is an agreement between the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. BGMA believes that the high VPAS tax for 2023 risks more medicines shortages, rising prices for the NHS via reduced competition, and new medicine launches to the UK being deferred. Mark Samuels, Chief Executive of BGMA, said: "Raising the VPAS tax to 26.5% will damage the UK's medicines supply because it will make some products lossmaking. It is more than a five-fold tax increase from 2021, and no industry can cope with this unpredictable and exceptional tax volatility.

From CBD infused-foods to dairy-free alternatives, Verdict Foodservice rounds up some of the health food trends that are launching across restaurants in 2019.

Gear up for 2019 and take charge of diagnostic and inpatient procedures coding with TCI's Hospital Inpatient Coder Bundle that gets you ICD-10-CM for Physicians & Hospitals and ICD-10-PCS Complete Code Set at one low price.

It is about accuracy of data for each performance category that matters the most in MIPS. As a MIPS Qualified Registry for the fourth time in a row is a living proof of our past performances and current status. In this article, we got a chance to reflect on a few MIPS data essentials; and thought they would be useful for clinicians before the submission window closes for good.

The NHS England is rapidly expanding the targeted lung health check programme (TLHC) across England to detect lung cancers at an early stage. Launched in 2019, it is a national scheme that identifies people aged 55-74 at increased risk of lung cancer to invite them for a lung health check and chest CT scan, if appropriate. Since then, it has heled detect over 3,000 lung cancers, mostly at an early stage when the condition is more treatable, Dr Jason Page, Clinical Director of South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw targeted lung health checks, revealed in a blog on the NHS website. The decision to initiate the programme follows a study that showed CT screening reduced lung cancer mortality by 26 per cent in men and between 39 per cent and 61 per cent in women.

Recently, the Indian Army took the Twiterrati by surprise as it claimed to have discovered the footprints of a Yeti around the Makalu base camp of Nepal on 0th of April. Indian Army even tweeted pictures of the mythical creature of Nepali folklore as well. Their Twitter post read, " For the first time, an #IndianArmy Mountaineering Expedition Team has sited Mysterious Footprints of mythical beast 'Yeti' measuring 32×15 inches close to Makalu Base Camp on 09 April 2019. This elusive snowman has only been sighted at Makalu-Barun National Park in the past."

Digital health interventions (DHIs) are fast emerging as vital tools to promote personal health and provide essential services. DHIs can be accessed through mobile phones, tablets and computers, as well as serve as effective support systems to improve personal health.