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We plan on changing co-location providers this weekend, so this site will be unavailable for a couple of hours (perhaps more).

We plan on changing co-location providers this weekend, so this site will be unavailable for a couple of hours (perhaps more).

Hopefully, the move will be complete before Saturday morning.

Rising drug costs have frequently been in the news recently, and USA Today published another article in that vein. New drugs are expected to come on the market. While many of the new drugs will be covered by insurance, there is concern that the extremely high price tags will still place them out of reach of many patients (given that patients will still need to pay a portion of the costs). It appears that even treatments that have been around for a while (such as insulin) have risen in price recently.

Rising drug costs have frequently been in the news recently, and USA Today published another article in that vein. New drugs are expected to come on the market. While many of the new drugs will be covered by insurance, there is concern that the extremely high price tags will still place them out of reach of many patients (given that patients will still need to pay a portion of the costs). It appears that even treatments that have been around for a while (such as insulin) have risen in price recently.

As patients become more and more exposed the increasing costs of health care, I expect that many will start to learn what is and is not covered by their health plans and may start to make different selections when they choose a plan. Beyond that, however, I would also expect that patients start to question the cost-effectiveness of certain treatments or tests (as well as better understanding their side effects).

The end of the year tends to be a slower season for us, but we look forward to continuing our work in the new year. Happy New Year!

The end of the year tends to be a slower season for us, but we look forward to continuing our work in the new year. Happy New Year!

We wish you a merry Christmas and hope you get to enjoy time with family and friends.

We wish you a merry Christmas and hope you get to enjoy time with family and friends.

Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released some performance scores for group practices and individual physicians. Although the performance scores were for only around 40,000 individual physicians, the release of this data is notable in that the scores were for individual physicians and were in regards to clinical quality metrics.

Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released some performance scores for group practices and individual physicians. Although the performance scores were for only around 40,000 individual physicians, the release of this data is notable in that the scores were for individual physicians and were in regards to clinical quality metrics.

The scores were only for physicians who volunteered to participate in the PQRS program (where participating physicians are eligible for a financial bonus). However, given how CMS wants to link the vast majority of its traditional payments to quality or value by 2018, it's not hard to imagine CMS offering bigger and bigger incentives to participate in PQRS (and eventually, penalties for not joining). We're hopeful that the release of this data, as limited as it might be, is only a precursor to a larger industry shift that enables consumers to make better decisions when selecting a healthcare provider.