ASSH Weekly Member Upd@te
December 18th, 2009
A Message from the ASSH President
- Dr. Szabo shares a report from the Evidence Based Practice Committee
Did You Know?
- AFSH donations return research dollars eight-fold
One Question
- What are our members' needs, desires and values for the upcoming year?
ASSH News
- Presidential Update from December Council Meeting
- Call for Weiland Medal Applications
- Now Accepting Applications for the AFSH-HVO Young Surgeon Traveling Fellowship
- OMeGA Medical Grants Association Announces 2010-2011 Grant Opportunities
- View the 2009 Annual Meeting Highlights Online
ASSH Courses and Meetings
- Electives in Hand Surgery - Deadline Extension
- Call for Senior Volunteers for Clinical Consultation Corner - Deadline Dec. 28
- General Orthopaedic Review
- Comprehensive Review in Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery
Healthcare News
- House Passes Extension Delaying Medicare Pay Cut
- CMS Instructions on New Counsultation Services Reimbursement Policy
A Message from the ASSH President
Our Evidence Based Practice Committee serves an increasingly important role in helping our members in many ways. Recently they have reviewed practice guidelines including distal radius fractures and rotator cuff pathology, and they have weighed in with opinions on our behalf. I have asked them to correspond with us about innovations and new information with regards to evidence found in the literature. What follows is the first of their bimonthly reports. My thanks to Dave & Joy for their efforts to keep us informed.
Regards,
Bob Szabo
Evidence Based Practice Committee Report - December 2009
Did You Know?
In the past two years, the American Foundation for Surgery of the Hand (AFSH) has invested over $300,000 in seed grants for hand and upper extremity research, and that these seed grants have resulted in another $2.4. million to the researchers from other sources? This is an eight-fold increase from the original AFSH investment. Your contribution to the AFSH in 2009 will support researchers in 2010. Contribute to the 2009 AFSH Member to Member Campaign online today or visit the AFSH website for other ways to donate. For more information about AFSH-supported projects and activities, see the AFSH President's Update.
One Question
With all the changes accompanying the practice of hand surgery as we close 2009, the Hand Society would like to know what you, as a hand surgeon, need, desire and value for the upcoming year. Please answer this week's One Question.
ASSH News
Presidential Update from December Council Meeting
Dr. Szabo, president of the ASSH, recently sent out a Presidential Update discussing critical events from the December Council meeting in Rosemont, IL. Read the update on our website.
Call for Weiland Medal Applications
Deadline is April 1, 2010
Applications are now being accepted for the 2010 Andrew J. Weiland Medal for Outstanding Research in Hand Surgery. The medal is awarded annually to a mid-career researcher dedicated to advancing patient care in the field of hand surgery.
The award is a $20,000 unrestricted gift and will honor a hand surgeon-scientist who has contributed a body of research that advances the field. The medal recognizes and supports outstanding research in order to continue Weiland’s vision for the field of hand surgery. It will be awarded to a mid-career surgeon who is less than 55 years old or a surgeon who is less than 15 years from hand fellowship training. The medal will be presented at the 2010 ASSH Annual Meeting in Boston.
For more information please visit the ASSH website.
Now Accepting Applications for the AFSH-HVO Young Surgeon Traveling Fellowship
Applications for the 2010 American Foundation for Surgery of the Hand - Health Volunteers Overseas Young Surgeon Traveling Fellowship are being accepted. All eligible surgeons (R3, R4, R5, Fellows and Surgeons within three years of completing their fellowship) with an interest in spending 4 weeks at an appropriate HVO teaching site in a developing country are invited to apply. Learn more about the AFSH-HVO Young Surgeon Overseas Traveling Fellowship on the ASSH website. Application deadline is March 31, 2010 or email info@hvousa.org.
This fellowship is available due to a generous grant from the American Foundation for Surgery of the Hand (AFSH).
OMeGA Medical Grants Association Announces 2010-2011 Grant Opportunities
OMeGA will begin accepting grants applications for the 2010-2011 academic year on January 4, 2010. Fellowship grants up to $75,000 are available to academic programs in all nine orthopaedic sub-specialty areas, including Hand and Upper Extremity. Applications are reviewed by OMeGA board and review committee members. Grants are awarded based on objective criteria, and not on the use, order, or purchase of any products or services of any specific medical device manufacturer.
Residency grants up to $5,000 are also available. Applications with a broader benefit to the residency/general education program are given special consideration. Educational items include but are not limited to publications and other educational resources, courses, skills lab and cadaver sessions, and visiting professors.
The deadline to submit is Wednesday, March 24, 2010.
Download OMeGA grant criteria overview (PDF), the Grant Request FAQ (PDF), or visit their website, www.omegamedicalgrants.org, for additional information.
Catch 2009 Annual Meeting Highlights Online
Did you miss the Presidential Address at the Annual Meeting in San Francisco? You can watch online at our website, or visit our channel on YouTube to see this and other Hand Society videos. Not only do we capture and share meeting highlights, but our Public Awareness Committee is hard at work creating patient interest videos, like this newly updated trigger finger video.
Link to them on your practice website and share them with patients! Questions? Contact Tara Havenga (thavenga@assh.org).
ASSH Courses and Meetings
Electives in Hand Surgery
February 5-6, 2010
InterContinental New Orleans Hotel, New Orleans, LA
Extended Registration Deadline: January 15, 2010
Housing Deadline: January 13, 2010
This course will highlight fundamental anatomical knowledge with which both therapists and surgeons alike should be familiar. Additionally, topics which are infrequently seen in educational forums but are clinically common, including congenital anomalies, non-microvascular soft tissue coverage of the hand, ulnar sided wrist pain and innovations in hand surgery will be covered during this program by experts in their respective fields.
There will be concurrent programming on Friday and Saturday morning, giving attendees the choice of which topic best meets their needs. Afternoon sessions will bring the entire group together for a general session on a broad topic of interest. Additionally, attendees can sign up for one of the Industry Sponsored Product Demonstration Workshops taking place throughout the program to help supplement their experience. Download the course brochure for more information or register online today!
Call for Senior Volunteers! - Clinical Consultation Corner
65th ASSH Annual Meeting - Friday, September 4, 2010
John B. Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts
The Clinical Consultation Corner has become one of the favorite features of the ASSH Annual Meeting. These small group sessions provide attendees a venue to consult on a difficult hand/wrist case with two ASSH members.
For the 2010 Annual Meeting, the chair of Clinical Consultation Corners, David Nelson, MD, would like to invite Senior members to lend their expertise and experience and join two practicing ASSH members as consultants for these sessions. There will be a total of 8 one-hour Consultation Corners scheduled on Friday, September 4, from 7-8 am, 8-9 am, 12-1 pm and 1-2 pm. Each 2010 session will have no more than 8 attendees per session and will be staffed by three ASSH members (two practicing members and one Senior member).
If you are planning to attend the 2010 Annual Meeting in Boston and would like to participate as an expert Senior consultant, please contact David Nelson, MD at nelsondl@pacbell.net or the ASSH Central Office by Monday, December 28, 2009, at alegaspi@assh.org or 847-384-8300 if you have any questions.
General Orthopaedic Review
July 15, 2010
Renaissance Downtown Hotel - Chicago, IL
Registration Deadline: June 21, 2010
Co-Sponsored by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH)
This one-day review course, brought to you by the AAOS and ASSH, prepares you for the general orthopaedic questions on the combined CAQ exam in Hand Surgery. Held just one day prior to the ASSH Comprehensive Review in Hand Surgery course, this is a convenient opportunity to review generally accepted principles of orthopaedics across the specialties and to prepare you to maintain your certification. A skilled faculty of experienced clinicians will focus on what you need to know in all the other specialty areas of orthopaedics for the exam. Review registration fees and program details on the General Orthopaedic Review course web page. Get started by registering online today.
Comprehensive Review in Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery
July 16-18, 2010
Renaissance Downtown Hotel - Chicago, IL
Registration Deadline: June 21, 2010
The ASSH Comprehensive Review Course is designed as an advanced review course and update for practicing hand surgeons. The course will review the topical concepts of anatomy, biomechanics and pathology as well as diagnostic and treatment methods relating to hand and elbow surgery. The faculty are recognized experts in hand surgery and have been selected for their knowledge, expertise and contributions relating to the subject matter they present. Learn more about this program and review the registration fees by visiting the Comprehensive Review Course web page. Or, if you’re ready to sign up register online.
Healthcare News
House Passes Extension Delaying Medicare Pay Cut
Wednesday afternoon, the House passed a two month extension of expiring appropriations for the Department of Defense that included a two month extension of the sustainable growth rate (SGR). In other words, the legislation would stop the 21.2% Medicare pay cut scheduled take effect on January 1 for a period that will end March 1, 2010. Importantly, the legislation does not affect any of the other payment policies included in the final 2010 fee schedule rule; those will take effect on schedule.
A cloture motion on the DOD extension bill was filed in the Senate on Wednesday. Votes on cloture and passage should be completed this weekend.
CMS Instructions on New Counsultation Services Reimbursement Policy
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released detailed instructions for providers on how to adjust their coding for consultative evaluation and management (E/M) services. As of January 1, 2010, CMS will no longer recognize Current Procedural Terminology codes 99241-99245 and 99251-99255, which reimburse physicians for providing consultative E/M services. Providers will instead be expected to use the appropriate new or established patient office, outpatient, or inpatient visit code. This change is effective for Medicare only; other carriers have not yet stated whether they will adopt similar policies for consultative services.