Healthcare Roundup: MedPac and Hospitals, E-prescribing Savings, IT Worker Shortage, and More

(MoneyWatch)  MedPAC to hospitals: Suck it up - Although hospitals nationwide have seen their average margins go negative, Medicare is still paying them enough, says Glenn Hackbarth, chairman of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). Testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee, Hackbarth did not dispute a projection that the average hospital will lose 6.9 percent this year (an AHA survey showed that hospitals lost 7.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008). But he said that, according to MedPAC research, efficient hospitals can more than cover their costs with Medicare payments. (Source: Modern Healthcare)

Will e-prescribing cut costs? ?€" A study commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Care Association emphatically says Yes! In fact, consulting firm Visante, which did the study, estimates that e-prescribing savings will reduce drug and medical costs by $22 billion in the next 10 years. If this turns out to be true, the savings would more than offset the $19 billion in appropriations for health IT that Congress included in the stimulus legislation. However, another study has found that clinicians bypass more than 90 percent of the drug interaction alerts and 77 percent of the drug allergy alerts that pop up in their e-prescribing systems. So, unless the systems are improved, much of the potential savings will never be achieved, even if most doctors adopt e-prescribing. (Sources: Government Health IT, Healthcare IT News)

Health IT workers seen as scarce ?€" If you're unemployed, this might be a good time to retrain as a health IT technician. According to the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), achieving widespread adoption of electronic health records within the next five years will require up to 130,000 information technicians and 70,000 informatics specialists. Only a small percentage of these people are working in the field today. The AMIA has launched a program that could train up to 10,000 people in this area by 2010, and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is forming a workforce development group that will be announced at next month's HIMSS convention in Chicago. (Source: iHealthBeat)

Physicians reject need for MRSA screening ?€" Even as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement tries to persuade hospitals nationwide to adopt a surgical checklist, the physicians of Washington State--ground zero in the checklist campaign--oppose a bill that would require them to screen patients who are undergoing surgery or are in the ICU for a potentially deadly bug that's resistant to drugs. Known as MRSA, this strain of staphylococcus is an increasingly serious threat around the world. But, although the number of Washington hospital patients infected with these bacteria is rising rapidly, the Washington State Medical Association opposes the legislation. The society says it does not want doctors to be told how to fight MRSA. But four other states--California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania--have already passed similar laws. (Sources: Seattle Times, BNET Healthcare)

Illlinois hospitals required to give discounts ?€" Starting in April, Illinois hospitals will have to provide steep discounts to many uninsured patients. In urban areas, those who are uninsured and earn up to 600 percent of the federal poverty level ($127,200 for a family of four) will be eligible; the cutoff in rural areas of the state will be 300 percent of the FPL. Several hospitals in the Chicago area already provide these discounts. For example, Rush University Medical Center in Chicago will reduce hospital bills by 50 percent for any uninsured patient, regardless of income. Advocate Health Care, which recently had to refund $3.5 million to uninsured patients under a class-action settlement, offers free or discounted care to anyone who earns up to 400 percent of the FPL, or $82,500 for a family of four. (Sources: Chicago Tribune, Modern Healthcare)