Many Alabama providers participated in the Quality Payment Program in 2017, under MIPS (Merit Based Incentive Program). A handful participated in a MIPS APM (Alternative Payment Model), which is a baby step towards alternative payments, but still left the participants free from downside risks.

Sunlight provides the energy that powers all life on earth. However, those radiant waves also have a darker side. They are a leading suspect in cellular changes that lead to melanoma, a cancer that can rapidly become lethal as it moves into surrounding lymph nodes and beyond.

"We have a problem with patients disregarding their medical provider, and that shows in many ways," says Maddox Casey, CPA, MBA, with Warren Averett healthcare division.

Only 4,177 rural health clinics (RHCs) exist in the entire U.S. A little over one hundred of those reside in Alabama.

If you are wandering the halls of the University of South Alabama's School of Medicine, hear music and someone counting to the beat, it's probably Dr. Fun and her colleagues.

If you ask a healthcare provider to state the healthcare laws and regulations that give them a headache, you are likely to receive a range of responses.

We recently reported that Michael Granston, Director of the Civil Fraud Section of the Department of Justice (DOJ), made comments during a November 2017 healthcare compliance conference suggesting that in cases where the DOJ has determined allegations in a qui tam (or "whistleblower") lawsuit lack merit, the government may more aggressively exercise its statutory authority - rarely used in the past - to dismiss such cases.

The battle over 340B continues as hospitals serving some of the nation's most vulnerable patients worry what will happen if $1.6 billion in cuts go through.

A study by researchers at the UAB School of Health Professions published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, connects aerobic physical activity -- like walking -- to better sleep for post-primary treatment breast cancer survivors.

Results from a clinical trial of more than 250 participants with progressive multiple sclerosis revealed that ibudilast was better than a placebo in slowing down brain shrinkage.

While blood and marrow transplants can save the life of a pediatric cancer patient, research out of the UAB found that those patients may be at an increased risk of premature death years or even decades after the procedure as compared with the general population.

Physician-scientists from UAB using big-data recently summarized in the Journal of the American Heart Association the prevalence of cardiovascular manifestations, rates of defibrillator placement (ICD) and predictors of in-hospital mortality in sarcoidosis -- a disorder that affects multiple organs.

In the past, tumors were often treated based on where they first presented. In the lung, they were treated as lung cancer. In the prostate, odds were that a prostate cancer protocol would offer the greatest hope for a cure.

Nowhere is efficiency more important than in the practice of medicine. Orthopaedists at the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center have embraced that philosophy through specialty care in its Hip Center.

As we age, the cartilage in our joints begin to deteriorate. Years of use will gradually wear down the cushion provided by cartilage and can lead to inflammation, swelling and, finally, arthritis.

Back pain is one of the most common reasons people go to the doctor, but not all back problems require surgery. Most causes of the pain can be treated with non-surgical methods in a doctor's office.

The ACL Play-It-Safe Program™ is being implemented across the country to help athletes understand the mechanics of movement and reduce non-contact ACL injuries.

In less than two centuries, medical science has accomplished miracles--vaccines, anesthesia, antibiotics and now even heart and face transplants. It has saved millions.

Larry Dixon recently received the William Henry Sanders Award from the Medical Association of the State of Alabama for his continued dedication to the health of the residents of Alabama.

Shelby Baptist Medical Center recently performed its first Electromagnetic Navigation Bronchoscopy, a a minimally invasive approach that accesses difficult-to-reach areas of the lung, aiding in the diagnosis of lung disease and leading to earlier, personalized treatment, potentially saving lives.

Nena Sanders, vice provost of Samford University's College of Health Sciences and professor of Ida Moffett School of Nursing, and Michael Hogue, professor and associate dean of the Center for Faith and Health, have been named to the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame.

The American Heart Association has honored Birmingham business leader Marcella Roberts with the Louis B. Russell, Jr. Memorial Award for her work with underserved populations.

Adam Finck, PT, DPT, SCS, CSCS and Andrew Kupper PT, DPT, SCS, CSCS of Champion Sports Medicine have earning the designation as board-certified sports clinical specialists (SCS).

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration has awarded Samford University's Ida Moffett School of Nursing a $2.1 million grant to help make graduate nursing education more affordable for currently practicing or teaching nurses committed to careers in nursing education.

Jay Pennisson has been named group chief financial officer for Brookwood Baptist Health and chief financial officer for Brookwood Baptist Medical Center.

Laura Kezar, MD, who is a professor and associate dean for students at UAB School of Medicine, is now also serving as the Physiatrist for the Aspire Physical Recovery Center at Cahaba where she is doing rounds twice a week.

DCH Health System hospitals are among the first in Alabama to use a new infant safety system that digitally scans a baby's footprints after birth.

September is National Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) Awareness Month

U.S. News & World Report has named DCH Regional Medical Center a High Performing Hospital in the areas of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Heart Failure.

Daniel Listi has been named chief executive officer of Shelby Baptist Medical Center. Listi joins the Brookwood Baptist Health System having recently served as Group chief operating officer of Tenet Health's El Paso/Rio Grande Valley and COO of Valley Baptist Medical Center - Harlingten, Texas.