MSDC, alongside many other state and national medical societies, has shared our strong support for H.R. 451, the "Healthcare Truth and Transparency Act of 2011."  The 'Sullivan-Scott' bill is the first step towards providing patients with the proper information regarding education, training and medical qualifications of those providing health care services.

     Confusion about the length of education and training for health care professions, including physicians, nurses, assistants, technicians and other providers, can have a negative effect on a patients health care.  Providing the proper information to ensure a fully-informed patient will have an important impact on health care in the United States, and is an important first step in empowering the patient to make the best decision for their care in their particular situation.

     To read a copy of H.R. 451, the "Sullivan-Scott" bill, please click here.

     To read a copy of the letter sent to the Representatives' offices, please click here.

     There are several elements to the UnitedHealth Premium^® physician designation program which UnitedHealthcare wants to make everyone aware:   

§         Display June 1. Designations will display on June 1, 2011 and not March 30, as previously indicated.   

§         Updated information related to group affiliation. We urge physicians to check their designation on our secure website because some designations may have changed due to updated group affiliation information. Of course, we will notify any physician if their affiliation status changed.   

§         Extended reconsideration period to May 1. We have extended the reconsideration period until May 1 to accommodate any physicians who may have questions about their designation determination for display beginning June 1. Of course, as is our practice, physicians may submit a reconsideration request at any time. However, if not received before May 1, the reconsideration would impact changes already posted on our consumer sites. Please be assured that UnitedHealthcare will review all requests in an expeditious manner.

 

     Designation results and the full suite of assessment reports are available online. If physicians have not done so already, we ask that they register for the new Premium section of UnitedHealthcareOnline.com by following the instructions available on UnitedHealthcareOnline.com > UnitedHealth Premium.

 

Resources: UnitedHealthcareOnline.com > UnitedHealth Premium

E-mail: UnitedHealthcareOnline.com > UnitedHealth Premium > Contact Premium

Phone: Toll-free, 866-270-5588

ELIGIBLE PROFESSIONALS CALL: FRIDAY, APRIL 1

     On Friday, April 1, from 1:30 - 3:00 PM , the CMS Provider Communications Group will host a national provider education call for eligible professionals (including physicians) about registration for the Medicare Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program, which will cover the following topics and have a question and answer session.

• Eligibility for Incentives
• Switching between the Medicare and Medicaid Incentive Programs
• Reassigning Payments
• Pre-Registration
• Registration
• Helpful Resources

     In order to receive the call-in information, you must register for the call. It is important to note that if you are planning to sit in with a group, only one person needs to register to receive the call-in data. This registration is solely to reserve a phone line, NOT to allow participation.
     Registration will close at 1:30 p.m. ET on March 31, 2011, or when available space has been filled. No exceptions will be made, so please be sure to register prior to this time.
     To register for the call participants need to:

• Go to http://www.eventsvc.com/palmettogba/040111
• Fill in all required data. 
•  Verify that your time zone is displayed correctly in the drop down box. 
• Click "Register". 

     You will be taken to the "Thank you for registering" page and will receive a confirmation e-mail shortly thereafter. Please print and save this page, in the event that your server blocks the confirmation e-mails. If you do not receive the confirmation e-mail, please check your spam/junk mail filter as it may have been directed there. If assistance for hearing impaired services is needed the request must be sent to medicare.ttt@palmettogba.com no later than 3 business days before the event.

     Prior to each call, presentation materials will be available in the Upcoming Events section of the Spotlight Page on the CMS EHR website.

A New Webinar to Help Make Complex Patient Collections Function More Smoothly

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011, 12:15 PM 
Register Now!

     Handling self-pay issues within a medical practice has its challenges. In light of the highly personal relationships health care providers have with their patients, handling self-pays can be dicey. But many practices find the patient collections process to be more successful and less time-consuming with the help of electronic patient communications and collections tools and services. When properly designed and integrated into a practice's daily workflow, these tools and services relieve staff of much of the self-pay workload and make the process more efficient and effective.
     In this Webinar we will provide the guidance your practice needs to streamline this process by sharing:

• What your practice should do from pre-visit to follow-up
• What your vendor should do from providing a patient web portal to ensuring statement posting
• The 7 practical tips for establishing and maintaining a successful patient collections process that will not overtax your staff· 

To understand what your practice can do-and how we can help you-please join athenahealth Wednesday, March 23rd at 12:15 for a live Webinar.
Register Now!

NIDA Hosts the Addiction Performance Project

     The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) presents an innovative CME program, Addiction Performance Project, which offers healthcare providers the opportunity to help break down the stigma associated with addiction and promote a healthy dialogue that fosters compassion, cooperation, and understanding for patients living with this disease. This project is part of NIDAMED, NIDA's outreach to practicing physicians, physicians in training, and other health professionals.

     The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) will be hosting an event at its annual conference on Saturday, April 16, 2011, at 6:30pm in Washington, DC. Addiction Performance Project is free of charge and open to physicians, medical school faculty members, residents, other healthcare providers, and guests. For more information and to register, please visit www.drugabuse.gov/nidamed/APP.

    This activity is jointly sponsored by the Massachusetts Medical Society and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™

     Many primary care physicians are not aware of these facts. Very few discuss or refer their patients to clinical trials. It is critical that all types of community-based physicians-many of whom see patients before or after a cancer diagnosis has been made-are well-informed about cancer clinical trials so that they can better refer patients to cancer care locations that offer clinical trials among its treatment options.
     To better address this need, the Education Network to Advance Cancer Clinical Trials, in partnership with the Cancer Support Community, offers a free 1-hour online training course for primary care providers, called "Why Cancer Clinical Trials Are Important for My Practice," where physicians can learn more about clinical trials and use this information when speaking to patients about cancer treatment options. Offering free CME/CEU for physicians, this training discusses effective and practical ways to maximize patients' treatment options through appropriate referral and inform patients of clinical trials as an important treatment option in their cancer care.
     The course is available online 24/7, so you can register and complete the course at any time. A promotional flyer about this course is available here. For additional course information and free registration, please visit: http://www.enacct.org/our-programs/open-options