Health & Medical News

IOM panel seeks program to evaluate research, guidelines

February 11th, 2008    Posted by: Dr. Dobson

Buried in clinical guidelines and buffeted by the latest published research findings, what’s a physician to do when faced with a patient and a 15-minute treatment window? Begin to sort through the conflicting guidelines or analyze the latest research studies?

A Jan. 24 Institute of Medicine report suggests a way to bring order from the chaos that surrounds conflicting clinical guidelines and questions about how to choose the best available diagnostic, treatment or preventive service — but Congress would have to create a federal program to make it happen.

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Massachusetts society evaluates health plans’ doctor-rating programs

February 3rd, 2008    Posted by: Dr. Dobson

A California appeals court dealt another blow to health plans over their policy cancellation tactics.

The 4th District Court of Appeal unanimously said insurers have a responsibility to make sure patients’ policy applications are complete and accurate before issuing coverage — not after expensive claims come in the door. Judges said plans cannot revoke patients’ policies unless they fully investigate pre-enrollment forms up front or insurers show patients intentionally misled them.

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