| Medicare Coverage for PET Scans to Diagnose Alzheimer's |
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| The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that runs the Medicare program, has decided to cover positron emission tomography (PET) scans for Medicare patients with suspected Alzheimer's disease. Medicare patients who have been diagnosed with dementia and who have experienced a six-month decline in cognitive abilities are eligible for PET scans, as are Medicare patients with early dementia or unexpected memory loss who are enrolled in certain clinical trials. More... |
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| The Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank |
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| The Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank (HIPDB) was created in an attempt to combat healthcare fraud. HIPDB requires the reporting of final actions that have been taken against healthcare providers, practitioners, and suppliers.
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| Validity of Noncompete Clauses in Physicians' Contracts |
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| In general, noncompete covenants in physicians' contracts require the physician to agree not to compete with his or her employer for a certain period of time within a certain geographical area. Ordinarily, noncompete covenants in employment contracts will be upheld if they are not too broad in time or in area.
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| Antitrust Analysis of Hospital High Technology Joint Ventures |
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| Often hospitals will enter into joint ventures with other hospitals to purchase and use high technology equipment in order to share the cost of the equipment. These ventures usually benefit consumers by providing services at a lower cost or by providing services that otherwise would not have been available in the area, but sometimes these joint ventures can lessen competition in the market, resulting in an antitrust violation. More... |
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| Medical Peer Review |
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| Medical peer review is a process by which a reviewing body reviews the care and treatment given by physicians to patients who suffered an unfavorable medical outcome to determine whether poor medical treatment or decisions was the cause of the unfavorable outcome. The federal Health Care Quality Immunity Act (HCQIA) immunizes hospitals and medical staff participating in professional peer review from civil lawsuits. More... |
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