One Question
Did You Know?
Applications Deadline Approaching for Sterling Bunnell Traveling Fellowship in Hand Surgery
The CMS 2010 ICD-10 and 5010 Conference Call Will Be Held June 15th
Survey Regarding the Effect of Medicare Cuts on Your Practice
Independent Payment Advisory Board - from AMA
Medical school enrollment rising, but obstacles remain - from AAOS
FDA unveils campaign to help providers report misleading drug promotion -from AAOS
One Question
How often do you want to receive ASSH news? Tell us in this week's One Question here. >>
Take a look at the results from the April 30, 2010 One Question about Self-Assessment Examination registration. >>
Did You Know?
…that the Early Bird Registration deadline for the 2010 Annual Meeting is only a month away?
Early Bird Registration ends June 14th. All registration materials (including the downloadable registration form) are online this year, so be sure to go to the 2010 ASSH Annual Meeting website to find all the information you need to register.
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Applications Deadline Approaching for Sterling Bunnell Traveling Fellowship in Hand Surgery
Applications are due June 1, 2010
The Bunnell Fellowship provides scholarship funding for a young Hand Surgeon to pursue an educational or academic goal with clearly delineated theme in a specific area of clinical interest, a scientific pursuit, or an educational mission. Learn more about the fellowship and how to apply on the ASSH website.
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The CMS 2010 ICD-10 and 5010 Conference Call Will Be Held June 15th
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a national provider conference call on “ICD-10 Implementation in a 5010 Environment” on Tuesday, June 15th at 12pm EST. All medical coders, physician office staff, provider billing staff, health records staff and all Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) providers should attend. Topics to be discussed include:
- ICD-10 implementation for services provided on and after October 1, 2013.
- Benefits of ICD-10 and the differences between ICD-10 and ICD-9-CM codes.
- The tools to use to convert codes – General Equivalence Mappings (GEMs).
- The proposal to freeze ICD-9-CM and ICD-10 code updates except for new technologies and diseases.
- A general Overview HIPAA version 5010 and D.0 and who is impacted.
- Compliance dates, benefits and 5010 scope versus ICD-10 Scope.
- What you need to do to prepare.
- Medicare FFS implementation of HIPAA version 5010 and D.0.
- The impact on paper claim forms.
This toll-free teleconference will include a question and answer session that will give participants an opportunity to ask questions of subject matter experts. Registration information will be announced soon, so hold the June 15th date now for this informative provider conference call. Additional information about ICD-10/5010 can be found on the CMS website.
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Survey Regarding the Effect of Medicare Cuts on Your Practice
ASSH is working with the AMA to determine how the threatened Medicare pay cuts and instability in the program are affecting physician practices. A survey was sent out to ASSH members earlier this week. The survey, which can be accessed at the link below, will be open through close of business May 21. Results will be collated for individual specialties and across all specialties. Results of the survey will be used in advocacy efforts to reform Medicare's current physician payment formula.
Follow this link to complete the Survey:
http://new.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0j3wDwR7nekp9aI&SVID=&Preview=Survey&BrandID=amaassn
If you are a member of more than one of the participating organizations, please only complete the survey once. Should you have any questions, please contact Dawn Briskey at dbriskey@assh.org. Thank you for helping us make a difference for you.
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Independent Payment Advisory Board - from AMA
One of the most controversial provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was the establishment of an Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). The AMA is opposed to the current scope and authority of IPAB and the lack of flexibility in its mandate. Modification of the IPAB authority and framework is one of the highest legislative priorities for the AMA in the next session of Congress. Read more about the IPAB here...
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Medical school enrollment rising, but obstacles remain - from AAOS
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Association of American Medical Colleges will fall short of its goal of increasing first-year medical school enrollment by 30 percent over 2002 numbers in 2015. The association projects enrollment levels to have increased by 23 percent in 2015, and 30 percent in 2018. Overall enrollment at both medical schools and osteopathic medical schools combined should increase by as much as 36 percent over 2002 levels. However, observers point out that increasing the number of students enrolled in medical school is likely to simply increase the competition for residency slots, which have only been growing at about 1 percent annually.
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FDA unveils campaign to help providers report misleading drug promotion -from AAOS
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the Bad Ad Program—an initiative designed to help healthcare providers recognize and report misleading prescription drug promotion. FDA monitors prescription drug promotion by reviewing promotional pieces submitted by sponsoring drug companies, investigating industry complaints, and conducting field surveillance at large medical conventions, but the agency has had limited ability to monitor promotional activities that occur in private. FDA encourages healthcare professionals to report potential drug promotion violations to the Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications. Reports can be submitted anonymously; however, the FDA encourages providers to include contact information so officials can follow-up, if necessary.
Read more...
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