Nearly 25 percent of physician practices expect to be ready for the upcoming ICD-10 transition, while another 25 percent are unsure, according to a survey by the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange, Clinical Innovation & Technology reports.
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Editor’s Note: Are you prepared for the ICD-10 transition? If there’s any doubt in your mind, attend our ICD-10 InSight webinar Thursday, August 20, and our ICD-10 InSight seminar in Washington, DC, August 22.  

Following the July 27 issued ICD-10 frequently asked questions list, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated some of the information. These updates primarily clear up confusion regarding family codes and what qualifies as a billable code, otherwise known as a valid code.

The Medicaid program would benefit from increased transparency, better beneficiary access to specialty and dental care, and automatic assistance from the federal government during economic downturns, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
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Editor’s Note: Visit APMA’s eAdvocacy site today and take a few minutes to encourage your legislators to support our HELLPP Act, which would ensure access to care by podiatrists for Medicaid patients.

Despite its generally dismal health care cost management history, the U.S. is uniquely positioned to make big progress on health care costs and health. It has led advanced countries in cutting smoking prevalence by more than half. A similar campaign is now gaining traction with obesity, which drives a large part of the chronic disease that accounts for 80 percent of U.S. health care cost.
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Editor’s Note: Studies show care by a podiatrist can significantly cut health care costs for patients with diabetes. 

Entrepreneurs are giving the health care industry a much-needed injection of innovation. Enthusiasm for new ideas and solutions in health care is clear from the 200 percent growth in funding for digital health companies between 2010 and 2014.

As hospital operators begin to report second period earnings — the sixth consecutive quarter of new revenue from once uninsured patients — the number and size of unpaid medical bills continues to fall thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

The groups are warning that Americans are already affected by the tax in the form of higher copays and deductibles, and, if it is not repealed, it could lead to reduced health care
coverage and other benefits.

Hundreds of medical providers banned from a Medicaid program in one state are able to take part in another state's program despite regulations designed to stop them, according to a report by an independent federal auditor to be released on Wednesday.

Medical professionals agree that wearing shoes with heels that exceed that height — particularly those higher than 2 or 3 inches — may complement your image but are apt to send you teetering into foot and leg problems.

Only one-third of American seniors with diabetes have their disease under control as defined by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) guidelines, according to research published in the July issue of Diabetes Care.
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Editor’s Note: Direct your patients with diabetes to APMA’s diabetes resources, available year round.

If you have diabetes, in many ways your diet is your medicine. When foods are high in carbohydrates, fat and sodium, they increase your risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, weight gain, heart disease and uncontrolled sugar.

Hammertoes are a frequent cause of discomfort, especially among women. One of the most common mistakes people make is to assume this condition will just go away by itself, without treatment and without seeing a podiatrist.

Runners, raise your hands if you've ever had plantar fasciitis — actually, raise your hands if you've never had plantar fasciitis. This painful and chronic foot condition affects one in 10 people and it seems like every long-time runner has experienced it at some point.

Americans have long stood out among residents of developed nations for how much they fret over, and are bankrupted by, health care costs. But well into the second year of expanded
coverage under the Affordable Care Act, those worries have eased significantly in the nation's most populous state.

A new partnership between health care data repository IBM Watson Health and CVS Pharmacy could have huge implications for prescription-holding customers yearning for relevant,
up-to-date data that could help them make better health-related decisions.

Recent public surveys show that Americans strongly support Medicare and Medicaid, the twin pillars of the health care safety net, and that approval of the Affordable Care Act, President Obama's health care reform law, is steadily rising.

Hoping to avoid another political uproar over the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration is trying to persuade states to cut back big rate increases requested by many health insurance companies for 2016.

Actuaries at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the government agency that runs those programs, have released their estimates of national health spending for 2014
through 2024.