Tresa Haywood, 50, has had a complicated medical history in recent years. She was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder, in 2000. Two years later came a diagnosis of diabetes, followed by diagnoses of hypoxia – low oxygen in the tissue – irritable bowel syndrome and other conditions in 2004. She was even believed…
WellStar Health System announced a partnership Friday with Northwest Georgia Oncology Centers (NGOC) to enhance community-based cancer care in the northwest Atlanta suburbs. The Marietta-based oncology group’s main service is providing chemotherapy infusion to cancer patients. The locations that will serve WellStar patients in this partnership will be in Marietta, Austell, Douglasville, Hiram, Cartersville and…
For generations, the U.S. physician workforce has been overwhelmingly male. But that’s changing, especially among younger doctors. The Association of American Medical Colleges reported in 2017 that for the first time ever, women made up a majority (50.7 percent) of those enrolling in medical schools. That trend continued last year, with 51.6 percent of enrollees being women….
The legislative tug-of-war over surprise medical billing continued Thursday as a House panel approved a new version of a Senate bill that aims to curb these unexpected charges to patients. The vote on Senate Bill 56 came as lawmakers were taking action on several health care proposals over the past couple of days. What’s known…
I am writing to applaud the Georgia House of Representatives for taking a step last week toward better health for Georgians, as members voted in favor of HB 287, the Preceptor Tax Incentive Program (PTIP). I am really hoping that the Georgia Senate will follow suit during this legislative session, beginning with the upcoming hearing…
A Senate committee voted Wednesday in favor of a bill to create a state commission to analyze Georgia’s behavioral health services and recommend improvements. The commission would be authorized to take ‘’a very deep dive’’ into the state’s mental health system, said Rep. Kevin Tanner (R-Dawsonville), lead sponsor of House Bill 514. He said Gov….
Overdose deaths from opioids, including prescription opioids and heroin, have increased almost six times since 1999. Overdoses involving opioids killed more than 47,000 people in 2017, and a third of those deaths involved prescription medications. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has expanded its data tool involving opioid prescriptions. Its update to its “mapping tool’’ shows “the agency’s…
This Commentary is written by Jean Moody-Williams, regional CMS administrator Leveraging community partnerships and critical data is one of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ key strategies to help tailor prevention and treatment efforts to combat the opioid crisis, particularly in rural communities. With that aim, CMS launched an expanded version of the Opioid Prescribing…
Proposed changes to the state’s certificate-of-need program have stirred up a storm at the Georgia General Assembly. The CON system regulates health care facility construction and the provision of medical services in the state. Legislation has been introduced to fundamentally overhaul CON, but hospitals have fought against major changes. In a new GHN Commentary, Lt….
The thorny problem of surprise medical billing has once again sparked competing remedies within the General Assembly. Past attempts at a solution have ended in failure and frustration. Whether this year’s bills will actually lead to a resolution is anyone’s guess. Surprise bills occur when consumers have procedures or visit ERs at hospitals in their insurance…