ION National Meeting
Open to all ION physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners November 13-15, 2009 Las Vegas, NV Register ONLINE
Community Oncology Conference
One Great Conference...Two Great Locations!
Scottsdale, AZ - Feb 5-6, 2010
Atlanta, GA - April 8-9, 2010
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Contact Us
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Melissa Welch
Southwest Oncology Network
6921 Shoreview Drive
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Lord of the Files
Visit the official blog for guests and subscribers of the Oncology Manager's Briefcase.
Click Here
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Suggested Reading
Motivating Employees
In a fast-paced, engaging style, Motivating Employees reveals how Southwest, Disney, and other legendary companies have turned themselves into "motivating organizations, workplaces that inspire employees to do excellent work because they want to!
Entertaining case histories and examples show how you can create an environment in which employees feel passionate about their jobs and put the best of themselves into everything they do. Tips, tools, and techniques in Motivating Employees will show you how to reawaken the pioneer spirit in your organization, and teach your employees to tap their own motivational energy for extraordinary creativity, desire, and work output.
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Membership Minute
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Did you know that as a SWON member, you are entitled to a FREE subscription to Oncology Managers Briefcase.com? OMB is a website designed for managers of oncology practices, supplying more than 700 sample forms, industry contact information and much more.
To take advantage of your free subscription go to www.oncolcoymanagersbriefcase.com and sign up. Select Single Membership and when prompted for a coupon code enter SWON12. I hope that you take advantage of this great resource!
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CMS Relaxes Fraud, Waste, and Abuse (FWA) Training Requirements for Medicare Advantage Contractors
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On Friday, October 9, 2009, CMS circulated a proposed rule (Proposed Rule) that would significantly ease the compliance burden associated with fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA) education required for hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, and other providers and suppliers doing business with Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. When finalized, the Proposed Rule will change the existing regulations governing FWA education published on December 5, 2007, clarified by CMS on August 21, 2009. Read More |
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Democrats push to reverse Medicare payment cuts to doctors
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senate Democrats struggled Tuesday to find enough votes to pass a controversial measure intended to ensure that doctors experience no cut in Medicare reimbursement payments over the next 10 years.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow says reversing the cuts is needed to create more stability for health care providers.
The bill would cost $247 billion and is separate from proposals to overhaul the nation's health care system expected to reach the House and Senate in coming weeks.
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| Xeloda Price Change
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| Effective November 1, 2009, Roche will be implementing a Xeloda® (capecitabine) contract price change. For more information, click here. |
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| The War on Specialists
ObamaCare punishes cardiology and oncology to finance GPs.
In President Obama's Washington, medical specialists are slightly more popular than the H1N1 virus. Compared to bread-and-butter primary care doctors, specialists cost more to train and make more use of expensive procedures and technology-and therefore cost the government more money. Even so, the quiet war Democrats are waging on specialists is astonishing.
From Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus's health-care bill to changes the Administration is pushing in Medicare, Democrats are systematically attacking specific medical fields like cardiology and oncology. With almost no scrutiny, they're trying to engineer a "cheaper" system so that government can afford to buy health care for all-even if the price is fewer and less innovative ways of extending and improving lives. Read More. |
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CMS Releases Q4 ASP Fee Schedule
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| The payment amounts that will be used to pay for Part B covered drugs for the fourth quarter of 2009 are outlined at the link below. Comparing the fourth quarter 2009 payment amounts with the previous quarter reveals that for the most part average drug prices in the market remain stable. On average, prices for the top part B drugs increased by less than 1%.
For most of the higher volume drugs (34 out of the top 50), the prices changed 2 percent or less. Overall, the prices for 32 of the top 50 drugs increased, while 6 remained the same. In general, among the top drugs with a decrease, there are a number of competitive market factors at work - multiple manufacturers, alternative therapies, new products, recent generic entrants, or market shifts to lower priced products.
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