Fighting RH Disease Worldwide
An international rheumatology confederation is seeking ideas for better rheumatology education and clinical practice in the developing world. The International League of Associations of Rheumatology plans to spend up to $100,000 on projects around the world next year. A similar funding cycle in 2010 has supported efforts to improve pediatric rheumatology training in Latin America, a repository of rheumatology data in India, rheumatology fellowships in Kenya, and other work in Africa. More information on how to submit a request for funding is available at
NIH Launches Bone Health Site
The National Institutes of Health wants to tell your patients more about osteoporosis. The agency has launched
New Hip, Knee Quality Measures
Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are developing two outcome measurements aimed at assessing the quality of care for Medicare patients who have undergone elective hip and knee replacements. One measurement will be based on complications following elective total hip or knee replacement, and the other will take account of 30-day, all-cause readmission rates following the procedures. Still in draft form, both would require reporting through Medicare Part A inpatient claims data. If adopted, the two measurements would be reported in quality data on the Hospital Compare Web site and would factor into Medicare's Reporting Hospital Quality Data for Annual Payment Update (RHQDAPU) program. The draft specifications are available at
www.cms.gov/MMS/17_CallforPublicComment.asp
Many Subspecialists Get Sued
About 40% of internal medicine subspecialists have been sued during their careers, according to a survey from the American Medical Association. Doctors in general internal medicine were less likely to have faced lawsuits (34%), but ob.gyns. and general surgeons were far more likely to have been sued (both groups, 69%). About 21% of the internal medicine subspecialists said that they had been targeted two or more times. However, only 3.6% had been sued in the 12 months before the survey. The AMA compiled the report from data in its 2007-2008 Physician Practice Information survey. “The findings in this report validate the need for national and state medical liability reform to rein in our out-of-control system where lawsuits are a matter of when, not if, for physicians,” Dr. J. James Rohack, AMA immediate past president, said in a statement.
Part D Premiums Edge Up
Medicare beneficiaries can expect their monthly Part D prescription drug premiums to rise next year, but only by about $1, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Officials at the agency estimated that the average monthly premium for standard Part D drug coverage will be $30, about $1 more than in 2010. By shopping around, beneficiaries may be able to find plans with lower premiums than they are paying now, CMS Administrator Donald Berwick said during a press conference to announce the new rates. He and other officials said premium rates will remain relatively steady in 2011 because minor cost increases for the Part D plans have been offset by increased use of generic drugs. Also starting in 2011, Medicare beneficiaries will be eligible for 50% discounts of if they spend enough on brand name prescriptions to reach the Part D coverage gap, or doughnut hole.
Foreign Training Upholds Quality
Foreign-trained physicians provide the same quality of care as do physicians trained at U.S. medical schools, according to a study published in the journal Health Affairs. Using data from Pennsylvania, the researchers found no significant difference in the death rates of patients treated by international medical school graduates vs. those treated by graduates of U.S. medical schools. However, the study also found that the patients of U.S.-born doctors who graduated from non-U.S. medical schools had higher rates of in-hospital deaths than did the patients of foreign-born international medical school graduates. “It is reassuring to know that patients of [international graduates] receive the same quality of care that they would receive from a physician trained in the United States,” John Norcini, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research and lead author of the study, said in a statement.