The Latest in IT Security

The Department of Health and Human Services today released a large set of records that offer an unprecedented look at just how lucrative the Medicare program is for many physicians and other health professionals. Currently, consumers have limited information about how physicians and other health care professionals practice medicine, said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius The data released today afford researchers, policymakers and the public a new window into health care spending and physician practice patterns. The data is spread across numerous large (100MB+) Microsoft Excel files and allows a straightforward comparison involving 6,000 different types of services and procedures. And theres a pathologist in New Jersey who took in $12.6 in Medicare payments for performing tissue exams and other tests. However, theres no way to be certain whether doctors are scamming the government-run program based on numbers alone. Important re: Medicare data–Its partial payments not profits.