Upcoming Events
| 2010 Physician
Quality Reporting Initiative & Electronic Prescribing Incentive
Program Conference Call
Thursday, April 15
3:30-5:00pm
AMA's Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement
Friday, April 23
Nomination Deadline
National Capital Region Asthma Partnership Conference
May 6
9:00am-3:30pm
Kellogg Conference Center at Galaudett University
800 Florida Avenue, NE
Washington, DC
ProAssurance Loss Prevention Seminars**
Click to Register
April 20
American College of Cardiology
2400 N. St. NW
Washington, DC
May 20
American College of Cardiology
2400 N. St. NW
Washington, DC
June 16
American College of Cardiology
2400 N. St. NW
Washington, DC
July 14
Hilton Arlington
950 N. Stafford St.
Arlington, VA
July 29
American College of Cardiology
2400 N. St. NW
Washington, DC
September 21
American College of Cardiology
2400 N. St. NW
Washington, DC
September 22
The Legacy
1775 Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD
October 19
American College of Cardiology
2400 N. St. NW
Washington, DC
November 16
American College of Cardiology
2400 N. St. NW
Washington, DC
**All programs begin registration at 5:30pm, and have the program from 6pm - 8pm.
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2009-2010 Board of Directors
| Stuart F. Seides, MD
At-Large; Chair of the Board
Peter E. Lavine, MD
President; AMA Alternate Delegate
Frederick C. Finelli, MD
President-Elect
Joseph Gutierrez, MD
Treasurer; AMA Delegation Chair
Robert W. Keisling, MD
At-Large; Secretary
Carlos A. Silva, MD
AMA Delegate
Laura L. Tosi, MD
At-Large; AMA Alternate Delegate
James C. Cobey, MD
At-Large
Julian R. Craig, MD
At-Large
John W. Larsen, MD
At-Large
Joan B. Loveland, MD
At-Large
Richard McCarthy, MD
At-Large
Reginald Robinson,MD
At-Large
K. Edward Shanbacker
Executive Vice President
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Contact the MSDC Office
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1115 30th Street, NW
Suite 100
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 466-1800 (phone)
(202) 452-1542 (fax)
info@msdc.org
www.msdc.org
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Forward Me!
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Medicare Patients and Physicians in DC Join Petition Drive to Congress to Call for Medicare Reform
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Washington, DC- The Medical Society of the District of
Columbia has announced today that it has joined 49 other state medical
societies and 12 national specialty societies in petitioning Congress to
permanently reform Medicare and protect critical access to medical care for
seniors.
The petition, "Stop the Medicare
Meltdown," began as a program from the Texas Medical Association but has grown
into a nationwide petition drive. The
petition urges Congress to fix the flawed payment formula that threatens care
for our nation's Medicare recipients, including senior citizens and people with
disabilities, and 850,000 military family members covered by TriCare.
Under the current Medicare model,
every physician who treats a Medicare patient will face a 21% cut in
reimbursement, placing enormous financial strain on each medical practice to continue
treating Medicare patients.
"For a Medicare
patient, hearing, 'I'm sorry, but I just can't afford to accept Medicare any
longer and stay in practice,' is devastating," said MSDC President Peter E.
Lavine, MD. "Some patients have been seeing the same doctor for 10, 20 years.
Going out and finding another doctor is just
not an option for these senior patients."
To continue reading this article, click here.
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21% Medicare Cut to be Considered This Evening in the U.S. Senate
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Congress returns to Washington from its Spring Recess today, Monday,
April 12. One of the first tasks facing the Senate will be a cloture vote
scheduled for 5:30pm this evening on H.R. 4851, which extends a number of
expiring programs, including a reprieve from the 21 percent Medicare physician
payment cut that was originally scheduled to take effect on January 1.
The most recent reprieve from the 2010 payment cuts expired on April
1. Subsequently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) instructed
its carriers to refrain from processing any claims for services provided on or
after April 1 for 10 working days, to minimize administrative complications and
other disruptions that would result from calculating payments that reflect a
rate reduction that Congress is expected to overturn. That 10 day grace period
expires on Wednesday, April 14. If Congress fails to pass H.R. 4851 or similar
legislation by close of business on Wednesday, Medicare law will require
carriers to begin processing claims for services provided in April with the 21
percent cut.
It is
uncertain whether the cloture vote will succeed on Monday evening. Even if that
vote is successful, the subsequent debate on the Senate floor could continue
beyond the April 14 deadline for the current Medicare claims
hold.
The AMA has
urged patient and physician grassroots to continue pressuring their Senators to
support a permanent repeal of the SGR (http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/health-system-reform/repeal-medicare-sgr.shtml).
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Joseph E. Gutierrez, MD, FACS, a local physician and MSDC Board Member, has been Nominated for the AMA Board of Trustees
| Joseph E Gutierrez, MD, FACS, has been nominated by the
Coalition of State Medical and National Specialty Societies to run for the
position of Trustee within the American Medical Association (AMA). The nomination is the first step in an
election process that ends with a vote by the AMA House of Delegates at their
annual meeting in Chicago in June.
Dr. Gutierrez has twice served as
President of the Medical Society of the District of Columbia (MSDC), and has
been a long-time member of its Board of Directors. He has also served on and
chaired numerous committees of MSDC, and has been a recipient of its
Distinguished Service Award. He has served the District of Columbia on various
mayoral Task Forces and Advisory Committees. He has also been selected by his
peers to the Washingtonian Magazine's Top Doctors, and the Consumer's Research
Council's America's Top Surgeons. He is currently MSDC's Treasurer and Chair of
the Finance Committee, and serves on its Executive Committee.
Dr. Gutierrez has long been in the
AMA House of Delegates as a Delegate and Alternate Delegate, and is the Chair
of the DC Delegation to the AMA-HOD. He is the Immediate Past Chair of the
Southeastern Delegation. He has represented his Medical Staff at the AMA-OMSS
since its founding as the HMSS. He has served on and chaired Reference
Committees; chaired the AMA-OMSS Task Force on Study of the AMA and OMSS;
served on the Consortium for the Study of the Federation and the Committee on
the Organization of Organizations. He has served on the Selection Committee of
the AMA's Pride in the Profession Awards, and has just completed his terms
as the AMA's Representative on The Joint Commission's Professional Technical
Advisory Committee on Hospital Accreditation Procedures.
Congratulations, Dr. Gutierrez! All
physicians in the District are proud of your accomplishments so far and
encourage you in this next opportunity!
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From the AMA: Call for Work Group and Advisory Group Nominations
|  The
Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement® (PCPI) is engaging in a
pilot project with the American Board
of Medical Specialties (ABMS) to develop performance measures related to high
priority clinical areas for integration into ABMS
Maintenance
of Certification® programs. The
PCPI and the American
Board of Allergy and Immunology are jointly beginning a measure
development, specification, and testing project to identify and define quality
measures toward improving outcomes for pediatric and adult patient populations
with atopic dermatitis. The PCPI invites you to submit a
nomination(s) to serve on the work group or advisory group for this pilot
project. Available below is a more detailed
invitation to submit a nomination, a nomination form for the work group and
advisory group, and the PCPI Conflict of Interest policy. Please submit your nomination materials by
e-mail to consortium@ama-assn.org by Friday, April 23, 2010. InvitationNomination FormPCPI Conflict of Interest Policy |
Update from Highmark Medicare Services
| 2010 Physician
Quality Reporting Initiative & Electronic Prescribing Incentive
Program
The Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Provider Communications Group will host
a national provider conference call on the 2010 Physician Quality Reporting
Initiative (PQRI) and Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program (eRx). This
toll-free call will take place from 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m., EDT, on Thursday, April
15, 2010. In order to receive the call-in information, you must register
for the call. Registration will close at 3:30 p.m. EDT on April 14, 2010, or
when available space has been filled.
http://www.eventsvc.com/palmettogba/register/2a6c989e-429e-4597-be6a-94d784c26d39New PC-ACE Pro32
Helpful Tips and Solution Guide Now Posted on the Electronic Billing (EDI)
Center A PC-ACE Pro32
Helpful Tips and Solution Guide has now been added to the Electronic Billing
(EDI) Center on the PC-ACE Pro32 index page. This reference guide is intended to
serve as a resource tool of helpful tips and solutions for PC-ACE Pro32
software. https://www.highmarkmedicareservices.com/edi/pdf/pc-ace/pc_ace_pro32_guide.pdfCMS Announces Series of Nationwide RAC 101 Calls. See below
for information related to calls- April 28, 2010 1:00pm - 2:30pm
EST: Nationwide RAC 101 Call, 1-877-251-0301
- May 4, 2010 1:00pm -
2:30pm EST: Nationwide RAC 101 Call for Home Health and Hospice Providers, 1-877-251-0301
- May 5, 2010 1:00pm - 2:30pm EST:
Nationwide RAC 101 Call for DMEPOS, 1-877-251-0301
- May 12, 2010
1:00pm - 2:30pm EST: Nationwide RAC 101 Call for Physicians,
1-877-251-0301
Appeals
Alert! Highmark
Medicare Services is receiving numerous misdirected Reconsideration Requests
(second level appeal requests). Please follow
the appeal rights included in your redetermination letter. A Reconsideration
Request Form is also included with the appeal letter. Please complete the form
and send only to the address listed below. FCSO QIC Part B
North PO Box 45208 Jacksonville, FL 32232-5208 You can find
additional Reconsideration Request Forms as well as additional appeals
information at our Appeals Center. https://www.highmarkmedicareservices.com/partb/forms/pdf/rrf.pdf |
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The Top Ten Reasons- Physicians are Sued for Malpractice
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While a majority of
malpractice claims against physicians involve an adverse outcome, or the
patient's perception of one, few patient injuries are the result of medical
negligence or incompetence. Adverse outcomes can occur despite excellent
medical care. Indeed, the majority of claims against physicians ultimately are
closed with no payment to the claimant.
Analysis of closed
claims and depositions gives insights into the reasons patients are angry
enough to sue after they've experienced an adverse outcome-even one that is not
their doctor's fault. Here are the top 10 reasons physicians are sued for
malpractice:
1. Weak medical records
Attorneys
may be encouraged to pursue an injury case if the medical record does not
adequately explain what the doctor did or did not do. Records will undermine a
defense if they lack documentation of the physician's rationale for critical
decisions, as will factual errors, omissions, illegible entries, unresolved contradictions,
or questionable alterations.
An altered record almost always
guarantees even a medically-defensible case will be settled. A Texas case
involving a filled prescription which was misread because of illegibility
resulted in a $450,000 verdict against a physician; jurors said they were
angered that the patient died because of illegible handwriting and indicated
their verdict would have been higher had the patient's attorney asked for more
compensation.
To read more, please click here.
Copyright © 2010 ProAssurance Corporation. Adapted from an
article by David Karp © 1999.
This article is not
intended to provide legal advice, and no attempt is made to suggest more or
less appropriate medical conduct.
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Register for the National Capital Region Asthma Partnership Conference, May 6th
| The State
Asthma Control Programs of the District of Columbia (DC), Maryland (MD), and
Virginia (VA) state health departments are hosting their first annual regional
conference for health professional and community organizations. Their goal is to
form a regional partnership to address common issues. The event will focus on
three areas selected from the states' asthma plans:
- Educate health care
providers on the NHLBI asthma
guidelines
- Promote healthy homes
- Raise asthma awareness
throughout the region
The event will be held at the Kellogg Conference Center at Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Avenue, NE in Washington, DC on Thursday, May
6, 2010, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Check-in starts at 8:30 a.m. Continental
breakfast and lunch will be provided.
The conference features remarks by James P. Kiley, PhD, Director, Division of Lung
Diseases, NHLBI; presentations by experts on the asthma guidelines, healthy
homes, and social marketing campaigns; luncheon keynote speech by Donald Shell,
MD, MA, Health Officer, Prince George's County Health Department; and
participant workshops.
Please
complete the linked registration form and submit it to Ms. Shawntay Warren by
fax at (202) 546-5607 or by e-mail at shawntay@dcasthmapartnership.org. The
registration form and agenda also may be downloaded from www.dcasthmapartnership.org.
For
questions, call Ms. Warren at (202)
464-4327.
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