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APMA News Brief
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August 11, 2016 In This Issue
National News
What PATIENTS Are Reading
Podiatry Insurance Company of America (PICA)
National News

The final rule for the new Medicare payment system is expected by November, yet the draft rule issued in April has many physicians in small or rural practices concerned that proper considerations have not been taken to set them up for success.




Editor’s note: APMA is your source for MACRA resources.

 
Healthcare’s transition to value-based payments is ratcheting up the pressure on independent medical practices battling for survival, and data is the ammunition they need to have any chance of winning.
 
Small practices are set to receive a sizable slice of federal funding in an effort to ease their transition into the Quality Payment Program (QPP), but the shift has not started without its strains. 
 

Even as the Affordable Care Act remains a political flash point, new research shows it is dramatically improving poor patients’ access to medical care in states that have used the law to expand their Medicaid safety net.




Editor's note: Visit APMA's health care reform page for more resources and information on how the ACA affects you.

 
What Patients are Reading
One of the most important purchases on any parent's back-to-school shopping list should be a pair of proper fitting shoes.



Editor’s note: Share APMA’s Back-to-School shoe shopping tips and video with your patients.
 
If you have heel pain when you get out of bed every morning, it could be plantar fasciitis. 
 
According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly one-fourth of American adults have some form of foot pain, and the tendency to suffer from foot ailments increases as we age. 
 
Sharon Whitt is settling in for a ten-minute treatment that she credits with getting the spring back in her step. 
 
Diabetic neuropathy is nerve damage due to diabetes.
 
Medical Wave, LLP
The Goldfarb Foundation
Bizmatics, Inc.
Patients who are first-time users of pain-killing opioids should be prescribed a small dose without refills to reduce the risk of long-term use and possible addiction, a new study suggests. 
 
As part of their quest to deliver a better patient experience, healthcare providers have been placing greater emphasis on clinicians' communication skills. 
 

As more and more sick patients are going online and using social media to search for answers about their health, it’s raising a lot of thorny ethical questions for doctors.




Editor’s note: Join the conversation with colleagues on the APMA Member Facebook page.
 
A recent Jackson Healthcare report on physician trends found that 85% of providers have adopted electronic health records (EHR) systems.



Editor’s note: Review APMA's EHR resources for more information on purchasing an EHR system.
 
When people seek and recommend care, they align those needs with doctors—not the practices they work within. 
 
Think of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) as a 1,500-piece jigsaw puzzle, or a pathway to success in tying payments to value. 
 
BNA Burz North America American Society of Podiatric Medical Assistants Ortho-Dynamics Orthotic Laboratory PAL Health Technologies
 

 

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