Annual Appalachian Research Day set for September in Hazard The University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH) has released the agenda for the fifth annual Appalachian Research Day: Come Sit on the Porch. The one-day event, which shares results of health research conducted with communities in Appalachia, will be held Wednesday, Sept.…
Rural Health Roundup
U of L To Participate In New Four-State Study On Rural Health Outcomes A new study hopes to help researchers understand what causes high rates of heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders (HLBS) in rural Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Dubbed the Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal (RURAL) study, Stephanie Boone, PhD, assistant professor, University…
Kentucky enacts medical review panel law regarding malpractice claims
By: Robin McGuffin and Dustyn Jones On March 16, 2017, Governor Matt Bevin signed into law a bill that requires medical malpractice plaintiffs to obtain an opinion from a panel of healthcare providers regarding the merits of their claims before filing suit in court. The law is an attempt to eliminate frivolous lawsuits and lower…
2017 Legislative session wrap-up
The short session has ended, with 847 bills filed and 158 bills passed through both chambers. By Ben Keeton The 2017 legislative session has ended, and the new Republican majority helped push through a number of bills that will impact the healthcare system. Although this session was technically a “short session,” lawmakers filed 847 bills…
America’s Health Rankings Annual Report
In an annual check up of our nation’s health, Kentucky ranked 44th among all 50 states in 2015. Those findings come from United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings Annual Report, which has been measuring national and state health for just over a quarter of a century. As the state medical director for UnitedHealthcare, I always look forward…
Kentucky ACO a leader with high performance numbers across the board for both shared savings and quality score.
Calendar year 2014 was a successful year for Kentucky Accountable Care Organizations and the Medicare beneficiaries they serve. Eight ACOs have Medicare beneficiaries residing in Kentucky assigned to them, and five of these saved Medicare significant dollars – over $46 million total. Additionally, some of these organizations showed improvements in Quality Metrics that CMS measures…