Karl Bayer's Disputing Blog » Healthcare Disputes

Observations on Physician Management

By Holly Hayes - January 27, 2012

By Holly Hayes In our series about Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), physician management emerges as an area worthy of better understanding. Marc Bard and Mike Nugent make five observations about the “management of physicians and the achievement of outcomes” in their book “Accountable Care Organizations”: While greater clinical integration can be achieved without economics/financial integration, achieving a meaningful

How Did US Healthcare Get Linked to Employment?

By Holly Hayes - January 19, 2012

By Holly Hayes In the 19th century, hospitals were shelters for the sick or dying supported by churches or other religious institutions. By the 20th century, medical care was more advanced and more expensive. Hospital administrators began to search for ways to pay for ever advancing costly medical procedures. Marc Bard and Mike Nugent in their book Accountable Care Organizations, Your Guide to Strategy, Design, and Implementation, write about the

Elements of the Accountable Care Organization (ACO)

By Holly Hayes - January 13, 2012

By Holly Hayes Marc Bard, MD and Mike Nugent, authors of “Accountable Care Organization, Your Guide to Strategy, Design and Implementation” provide a list of elements common to most ACOs. As described in our previous post , there is still a great deal of ambiguity about the definition of an ACO. The American Hospital Association (AHA) has developed a list of key questions (see below) to ask in the development of an ACO. Bard and Nugen

What is an Accountable Care Organization (ACO)?

By Holly Hayes - December 30, 2011

By Holly Hayes A Wall Street Journal article from last week, titled “The Future of U.S. Health Care”, asks in the subtitle: “What is a Hospital? An Insurer? Even a Doctor? All the Lines in the Industry are Starting to Blur”. The same questions apply to the development of the Accountable Care Organization (ACO). Marc Bard and Mike Nugent provide some comprehensive answers about ACOs in their book: “Accountable Care Or

Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) in Central Texas

By Holly Hayes - December 23, 2011

by Holly Hayes The Austin-Ameircan Statesman reported this week Austin Regional Clinic (ARC) and Seton, two of the largest health care providers in Central Texas, are creating an “Accountable Care Organization (ACO), a collaboration of doctors, clinics and hospitals seeking to coordinate care so that patients receive more attention, especially patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes”. Since enactment of the 2010 federal heal

Texas Arbitration and Mediation Legislative Update | July 2011

By Holly Hayes - July 7, 2011

The following bills relating to alternative dispute resolution and health care were introduced by the 82nd Texas legislative session. The last day of the regular session was Monday, May 30, 2011. Click on the bill number to read its text and on the status link to find the bill’s legislative history. I. ADR Bills that Passed SB 1216 provides that a court “may order arbitration only if the court determines that the contract containing the agr

Tort Reform in Texas: Loser Pays Bill Signed into Law

By Holly Hayes - June 28, 2011

Texas Governor Rick Perry recently signed into law HB 274. The bill’s history is here and the HRO analysis is here. The bill is effective September 1, 2011 and directs the Supreme Court of Texas to create rules for the early dismissal of “causes of action that have no basis in law or fact on motion and without evidence.” The bill also allows trial courts to award attorney’s fees to a prevailing party on the court’s granting or d

Texas Arbitration and Mediation Legislative Update | May, 2011

By Holly Hayes - May 23, 2011

The following bills relating to alternative dispute resolution were introduced by the 82nd Texas legislative session. The last day of the regular session will be Monday, May 30, 2011. Click on the bill number to read its text and on the status link to find the bill’s legislative history. Stay tuned to Disputing for more legislative updates! SB 1216 provides that a court “may order arbitration only if the court determines that the contract c

Resident Communication Improves After Formal Training

By Holly Hayes - May 6, 2011

by Holly Hayes A Canadian study, “Assessing Residents’ Communication Skills: Disclosure of an Adverse Event to a Standardized Patient” from the March Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Canada (JOGC) reported results of a study to assess “residents’ communication skills involving the disclosure of a poor outcome to a standardized patient using a standardized patient encounter, and to compare their performance before and after f

Partnership for Patients Initiative Launched

By Holly Hayes - April 22, 2011

by Holly Hayes According to Healthcare.gov, Medicaid Services (CMS) has committed up to $500 million to examine different models for improving patient care and engagement as well as collaboration with patients to reduce hospital-acquired conditions and improve transition of patients between care providers. The initiative called: Partnership for Patients: Better Care, Lower Costs is a new public-private partnership designed to “help improve