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ChatGPT Adviser Harvey Castro, MD, Shares AI Insights at TexMed - 05/09/2024

As a Dallas emergency physician, Harvey Castro, MD, began experimenting with ChatGPT – an artificial intelligence chatbot trained on data from the internet to generate human-like responses to text prompts – in November 2022 after asking himself what he’d “want from AI in a hospital setting.”

Virtual Vigilance: Robust Cybersecurity Can Safeguard Practices - 05/09/2024

System blackouts. Ransom notes. Lost revenue. Compromised patient care. Once straight from physicians’ nightmares, these threats are now reality for their practices as cyberattacks infiltrate health care. The more medical practices and health care organizations fall victim to ransomware cyberattacks, the more important it becomes to prevent them.

TMA Spotlights Access Threats Posed by No Surprises Act to House Committee - 04/17/2024

Following a recent congressional field hearing on emergency care in rural and underserved communities, the Texas Medical Association emphasized in written comments how federal regulators’ flawed implementation of the No Surprises Act has exacerbated access challenges.

Seeking Balance: TMA Opposes Feds' Implementation of the No Surprises Act - 04/09/2024

The Texas Medical Association supported the patient protections in the federal No Surprises Act but also knew from the beginning that the law's payment arbitration provisions were flawed and could give insurers an advantage.

UPDATE: Cyberattack Disrupts Payment and Revenue Cycle Management - 03/12/2024

Physicians using Change Healthcare – a health care technology company that is part of Optum and owned by UnitedHealth Group – may experience claims disruptions after the company experienced a cyberattack on Feb. 21.

CMS Announces Flexibilities Following Cyberattack - 03/12/2024

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced several flexibilities that aim to help physicians in the wake of the cyberattack against Change Healthcare, which upset payment and revenue cycle management operations in pharmacies and health systems across the country.

TMA Develops New AI Education - 03/10/2024

Responding to significant interest from members after a 2023 standing-room-only TexMed event, the Texas Medical Association has developed a free webinar for members to learn how to integrate augmented or artificial intelligence technology, including ChatGPT, into patient care.

Feds Capitulate to Some of TMA’s NSA Regulatory Challenges Amid Appeal - 03/06/2024

Although federal regulators are appealing a recent court ruling in one of the Texas Medical Association’s four lawsuits regarding their implementation of the No Surprises Act, TMA already can declare a partial victory – via footnote.

New Federal IDR Data Highlight Importance of Ongoing TMA Advocacy - 03/05/2024

Health professionals and facilities are prevailing in most out-of-network payment disputes resolved under the federal No Surprises Act, but the implementation of the law remains flawed, as indicated by a significant backlog of unresolved disputes and other issues.

Extensions to End for Dispute Resolution Process Under No Surprises Act - 03/01/2024

After courtroom advocacy by the Texas Medical Association, physicians seeking to resolve out-of-network billing disputes under the No Surprises Act (NSA) received extensions of certain deadlines within the federal independent dispute resolution process. However, all currently applicable extensions will end March 14.

CMS Lifts Ban on Texting Patient Care Orders - 02/28/2024

Clinicians in hospitals and critical access hospitals may now securely text patient information and orders to other members of the health care team if using a compliant platform, thanks to advocacy by the Texas Medical Association.

Virtual Scribes Enhanced Relationships Between Patients and Physicians - 02/13/2024

At a time when physicians face burnout often due to administrative stress, two new studies from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital found virtual scribes cut physician burden by 16% and enhanced relationships between patients and 60% of physicians.

Feds Require AI Transparency, Define Info-Blocking Exceptions - 02/05/2024

First-of-their-kind transparency regulations established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services aim to help physicians determine the safety of artificial intelligence technology. The new rule also established a new information blocking exception and implemented a 21st Century Cures Act requirement for health IT developers. Read more.

Feds Propose Dispute Resolution Changes Under No Surprises Act - 01/22/2024

Heeding physician concerns about logistics and fairness, federal regulators recently proposed a series of changes to the independent dispute resolution process through which clinicians can dispute health plans’ initial payment for certain out-of-network care under the No Surprises Act.

Information-Blocking Disincentives Unfairly Penalize Practices, TMA Tells Feds - 01/16/2024

The Texas Medical Association and others in organized medicine are pushing back on proposed federal information-blocking rules to establish “disincentives,” financial and otherwise, that could discourage Medicare participation and compromise sensitive patient-physician discussions, among other concerns.

Added Security: Free Tool Helps Practices Comply with the HIPAA Security Rule - 01/05/2024

Federal officials updated a free tool to help small and medium-sized practices comply with the HIPAA Security Rule.

EHR Systems Must Give Practices Export Functionality - 12/13/2023

Practices and patients will be able to export electronic health information more easily thanks to a 21st Century Cures Act requirement that all certified electronic health records systems provide such functionality by Dec. 31.

Feds Extend Dispute Resolution Timelines Under No Surprises Act - 12/08/2023

As a byproduct of ongoing advocacy by the Texas Medical Association, physicians seeking to resolve out-of-network billing disputes under the flawed No Surprises Act may receive certain extensions through mid-January.

Misdirected: Health Plan Directories See Damaging Gaps Awaiting Final Rules - 12/04/2023

Health plan directories see damaging gaps while awaiting No Surprises Act final directory rules – and accountability.

Feds Propose Information-Blocking ‘Disincentives’ - 11/14/2023

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a proposed rule that would establish what it is calling “disincentives” that could amount to serious penalties for physicians and health care professionals found to have committed information blocking.

Executive Order Requires Safe, Secure Use of AI in Health Care - 11/10/2023

President Joe Biden signed an executive order Oct. 30 establishing new standards for the safe and secure use of artificial intelligence via federal oversight across different sectors, including health care.

Feds Update HIPAA Security Risk Assessment Tool - 11/01/2023

To aid small- and medium-sized practices in complying with the HIPAA Security Rule, federal officials have updated their risk assessment tool designed to help practices identify areas where electronic  protected health information (ePHI) is at risk.

No Surprises Act Arbitrations Resume for Some Claims - 10/11/2023

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has reopened the independent dispute resolution portal for new single and bundled – but not batched – claims, following decisions in TMA’s third and fourth lawsuits. The agency also announced certain deadline and enforcement extensions.

U.S. House Committee Spotlights TMA Leadership on Surprise-Billing Rules - 10/11/2023

As members of the U.S. House Committee on Ways & Means delved into the flawed implementation of the federal No Surprises Act in a recent hearing, discussion – and commendation – turned several times to the Texas Medical Association’s leadership on the topic.

TMA Wins Two More Surprise Billing Lawsuits; CMS Suspends Arbitrations - 10/03/2023

Marking a fourth victory for the Texas Medical Association in as many lawsuits, a court on Aug. 24 struck down a large portion of the regulations setting forth a methodology insurers use to calculate the qualifying payment amount, or QPA, used in surprise-billing disputes – part of a series of federal rules TMA has long argued skew the arbitration process in insurers’ favor.