I’m continually miffed by the outrage expressed by physicians about their declining reimbursement rates. Now there’s a whole new list of reimbursement models that are starting to be pushed including “Medical Homes”, ACO’s (Accountable Care Organizations), vertical integration and bundled reimbursement. Many pundits believe they are disguised words for “capitation” and will result in further decline in physician revenue.

**ALERT ** ALERT ** ALERT**

The office of Inspector General (OIG) has released its “2011 Workplan”. In other words, these areas of compliance are going to be targeted for audit (and fined accordingly, I’m sure).

The areas of specific focus for physicians / medical practices are:

I don’t pretend to be a prophet but the forces who are driving the healthcare reform change are making their direction clear. Over the last few months, high government officials have been spreading their message in various venues, including professional journals and the mainstream media. Buzzwords like “medical homes”, “vertically integrated delivery systems” and “accountable healthcare organizations” are popping up everywhere.

Here’s what many “people in the know” are thinking the new healthcare system will look like.

Physicians are at the epicenter of one of the most dramatic periods of change in America’s healthcare system. The rules and strategies for physician success are changing rapidly, and most physicians feel trapped and confused.

We now are faced with a “new normal” in many sectors in our economy…healthcare more than others, and it’s happening at a time when physician satisfaction is at an all time low. Change is here and the old rules will not work in the future. The Obama Administration’s Healthcare Reform spokespeople stated in a recent article in the Annals of Internal Medicine, “Physicians will need to embrace rather than resist change”. The article, a must read for all physicians, outlines the changes your government expects from you as a physician.