The DC Board of Medicine will be hosting an educational event at GWU's Jack Morton Auditorium located at 805 21st Street NW.  The event aligns with the on-going work MSDC has been doing to address some of the District's health care workforce needs.  The keynote speaker is Ed Salsberg, the Director of the National Center for Healthcare Workforce Analysis.  The event begins at 8:30am on Wednesday, September 28.  For more information, please click here.

     MSDC has been working with Councilmember David Catania's staff on crafting a health insurance exchange bill that addresses physicians' and patients' needs, and allows for the appropriate involvement of physicians and patients in governance roles.  A final bill is expected to move through the DC Council during the fall legislative session.  In support of these activities, MSDC has signed on to a letter with other patient and consumer advocacy groups.

     To view a copy of this letter, please click here.

Health Insurance Exchange Needs Survey Extended; All MSDC Member Physicians are Encouraged to Participate 

     In trying to reach as many District residents as it can, the Mayor's Health Reform Implementation Committee (HRIC) has decided to extend its online survey seeking public input on planning for a Health Insurance Exchange (HIX) for District residents. The HIX, which is similar to a virtual marketplace, is required by the federal health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and will serve a critical function in helping District residents secure more options for health care coverage with vastly improved consumer protections in place.

     The Health Insurance Exchange survey will continue to be available by clicking here or on the HRIC website at www.healthreform.dc.gov until September 16, 2011.

     All MSDC Member Physicians are encouraged to apply.

Call for Nominations
     The Medical Society of the District of Columbia presents our annual awards to individuals and organizations for outstanding service to the profession and the community. We have been presenting awards since 1941 and are very proud of the continued and distinguished history of these awards. We invite all MSDC members to submit nominations.

Entry Requirements
     Any member of the Medical Society may submit a nomination for one or more categories. Each nomination must have a separate submission. No past winners are eligible for nomination in their previous category. Click here to receive a Nomination Form.

Deadline
     All entries must be at the Medical Society by 5:00 PM on Friday, September 16, 2011. Mail entries to:

Special Awards Nominations

c/o Medical Society of DC
1250 23rd Street, NW, Suite 270
Washington, DC 20037.

Judges
     The Medical Society's Board of Directors will review all nominations submitted by the deadline. The decisions of the Board will be final.

Presentation
     The awards will be presented at MSDC's Annual Meeting on October 26, 2011.

Four Awards

1. Certificate of Meritorious Service - Presented to a physician in recognition of distinguished service to the medical profession.
2. Dr. Charles H. Epps, III Community Service Award - Presented to a physician for outstanding public service to the community.
3. Distinguished Service Award - Presented to a physician member for outstanding service to the Medical Society of the District of Columbia.
4. John Benjamin Nichols Award - Presented to a lay person, organization, or both, in recognition of outstanding contributions toward improving the health of the community.

Questions
     Contact Chris Lee at lee@msdc.org for any questions you may have.

     The AMA and other stakeholders strongly opposed a burdensome new Medicare paperwork requirement that was scheduled to take effect in 2011. Following significant outreach to CMS concerning the impact this requirement would have, CMS issued a proposed rule that would retract the policy requiring a physician signature on laboratory test requisitions and reinstate the prior policy that does not require the physician's signature. In a comment letter on the proposed rule, the AMA applauded CMS's decision to retract this policy.

 

AMA comments on proposed definition of "patient-centered outcomes research" 

     On Sept. 1, the AMA along with 26 medical specialty societies, submitted a letter to the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) responding to its call for input on its proposed definition of "patient-centered outcomes research." The letter conveys support for the proposed broad definition of patient-centered outcomes research, which involves a comparison of different modalities, including health delivery models, to manage a specific health problem, condition, or disease, but seeks clarification on whether a component of the proposed definition includes cost analysis. The letter also recommends 2011-2012 Comparative Effectiveness Research priority areas. Read more about PCORI

 

National Provider Call:  Physician Quality Reporting System & Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program - Register Now

     On Tuesday, September  13 from 1:30-3pm, CMS will host a national provider call on the Physician Quality Reporting System & Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program, including a question and answer session following the presentation.

     Agenda:

• Opening Remarks
• Announcements
• Overview on the Final Rule on the 2011 Changes to Medicare Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program
• Question & Answer Session

     Target Audience:  Medical coders, physician office staff, provider billing staff, health records staff, vendors, and all Medicare Fee-For-Service providers.

     Registration information:  In order to receive the call-in information, you must register for the call.  Registration will close at 1:30pm on Mon Sep 12 or when available space has been filled; no exceptions will be made, so please register early.  For more details, including instructions on registering for the call, please visit  http://www.eventsvc.com/PalmettoGBA/091311.

 

National Provider Call:  Medicare FFS Implementation of HIPAA Version 5010 and D.0 Transactions - Register Now

     On Wednesday, September 14; 2-3:30pm, CMS will host its nineteenth National Education Call regarding Medicare FFS's implementation of HIPAA Version 5010 and D.0 transaction standards.

     Target Audience:  Vendors, clearinghouses, and providers who need to make Medicare FFS-specific changes in compliance with HIPAA Version 5010 requirements.

     Agenda (there will be no slide presentation for this call):

• HIPAA Version 5010 Status Update
• Question & Answer Session

     If you would like to submit a question related to this topic in advance of, during, or following the call, please email your inquiry to the 5010 FFS Information resource mailbox at 5010FFSinfo@cms.hhs.gov.  Note that this resource will only accept emails the day before, the day of, and the day after this call; your emailed questions will be answered as soon as possible, and may not be answered during the call.

     Registration Information:  In order to receive the call-in information, you must register for the call.  Registration will close at 2pm on Tue Sep 13 or when available space has been filled; no exceptions will be made, so please register early.  For more details, including instructions on registering for the call, please visit http://www.eventsvc.com/PalmettoGBA/091411.

 

Provider Enrollment Revalidation - Wait Until You Hear From Your Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC)

     All providers and suppliers who enrolled in the Medicare program prior to Friday, March 25, 2011, will be required to submit their enrollment information so they can be revalidated under new risk screening criteria required by the Affordable Care Act (section 6401a). Providers/suppliers who enrolled on or after Friday, March 25, 2011 have already been subject to this screening, and need not revalidate at this time.
     Do NOT submit your revalidation until you are notified to do so by your MAC. You will receive a notice to revalidate between now and March 2013.
     This will allow MACs to process revalidations in a timely fashion and allow providers to take advantage of innovative technologies and streamlined enrollment processes now under development. Updates will be shared with the provider community as these efforts progress.
     For more information about provider revalidation, review the Medicare Learning Network's Special Edition Article #SE1126, titled Further Details on the Revalidation of Provider Enrollment Information

 http://www.cms.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE1126.pdf