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Published on: 12/10/2007
Last Visited: 12/10/2007
Commenting on participating in Medicare's experiment with globally priced cardiology episodes, Richard Shemin, MD, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Boston University Medical Center, said the challenge was to alter protocols to fit within the global payment system without compromising the care physicians provide.The cardiologists canceled all standing orders for bypass patients, which forced them to think twice before ordering any procedure, he said.Shemin found global payments to be vastly superior to several alternatives and much less onerous than such options as capitation.
Shemin's team has been saving almost $100,000 annually just by substituting less expensive but equally effective anesthetics and other pharmaceuticals.