While hospitals and cancer centers are taking cues from the hospitality industry-think hoteliers like Marriott, Hyatt, and even Ritz-Carlton-office practices are learning that improving the patient flow aids in running an efficient office. That is translating into increased profitability.
A new medication tracking system to counter drug diversion and counterfeiting might have some oncologists feeling a little safer about the chemotherapy they prescribe for their patients.
Dartmouth University researchers started investigating the phenomenon called the Cherenkov effect in 2011
When a patient receives the diagnosis of cancer, regardless of stage or severity of the disease, one of the many questions asked is how to pay for the treatment.
Last Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted on the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, with the Senate passing the bill last night.
Harnessing multiple components of the immune system to fight cancer is the focus of NewLink Genetics' clinical pipeline.
The anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody pidilizumab showed promising clinical activity and was safely administered to patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has released a set of guides and interactive tools to help medical practices improve their use of electronic health records.
Researchers in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of North Carolina Hospitals found that almost one-third of low-risk and almost one-half of intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients received a staging bone scan.
A new report about healthcare provider experience with clinical decision support tools says the systems are not integrated enough to deliver the strategic direction providers are looking for.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will make public a once previously confidential database of Medicare claims.
Single-agent neoadjuvant capecitabine combined with radiation therapy demonstrated similar outcomes as previously established standards of care for patients with stage II or stage III rectal cancer.
A survey of 46 representatives from accountable care organizations (ACOs) indicates that critical gaps remain in the organizations' ability to support, manage, and ensure appropriate medication use.
Patient care is shifting from inpatient to outpatient settings, especially in oncology.
With the October deadline for ICD-10 transition looming, now might be the time to consider integrating current electronic health records systems with clinically-driven revenue cycle management (RCM) software.
The transition to ICD-10 is likely to cost your practice both time and money, making a smooth implementation process all the more important.
San Diego-based Ambit Biosciences is staking its success on the kinome, a set of protein kinases in the genome and an important source for targeted therapies in oncology.
Provider-based research networks (PBRNs) make clinical trials available to community-based practices.
Patients who undergo androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to manage advanced prostate cancer will often face the prospect of a potentially dangerous testosterone surge before the downregulation of leuteinizing hormone (LH) secretion occurs and, within about 3 weeks, testosterone drops to castration-like levels.
Although the changeover to using ICD-10 billing codes won't be mandatory until October 1, 2014, there are many coding changes to consider starting on January 1. Specifically, the reimbursement rate for some genetic testing and imaging involving breast cancer will see significant changes.
As new cancer therapies have prolonged life, an interesting question has arisen among community oncologists: "Is it better to transfer long-term cancer survivors to general practitioners or develop clinics for long-term survivors within cancer centers?"
The first oncology-specific accountable care organization (ACO) reported more than a 2% savings in its first year of existence.
The tiny "raise" touted in the latest temporary fix to Medicare's Sustainable Growth Rate, which was wrapped inside the bipartisan budget deal headed to President Obama's desk, is anything but good news for oncologists.
The current American health care payment system that is tied to high-cost procedures, including cancer care, demonstrates the system's shortfalls and inefficiencies.
The use of accountable care organizations (ACOs) among the Medicare population is growing in use. How well beneficiaries with high-risk, high cost conditions such as cancer, will fare under an ACO have not been determined, but a new study from the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice suggests the possibility of significant reduction in Medicare spending.
Oncologists and other specialists who prescribe specialty medications are highly satisfied with their specialty pharmacy, but that satisfaction doesn't translate to some traditional drugstores.
Some radiation oncologists may breathe a little easier for now because the CMS has decided not to cap certain freestanding radiation oncology reimbursements in its Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule.
Medical practices are getting squeezed from all sides and are finding it difficult to stay financially solvent.
To respond to the growing demand in cancer services that the existing cancer center was experiencing, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center is expanding its comprehensive cancer center to help patients cope with the daunting challenges of cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized physician payment rates and policies for 2014.
