For a mere 68 cents per day, you simply can't afford
to miss out!
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Help a Med Student!
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Midwestern University / AMA Social Event Friday,
February 13th, 2009
6p
- 8:30p
Midwestern University Cafeteria
This
unique event, "Speed Specialty Networking" allows students to learn about
multiple specialties by rotating every 10 minutes to a table representing a
different specialty. During their time at a particular table, they can network
and get familiar with not only the physician at the table, but also the
specialty that physician represents.
This
represents an excellent opportunity for physicians to help medical
students with their networking skills, as well as with the daunting task of choosing
a specialty.
Food & Drinks will be served. Click here to RSVP by 1/31/09(Please include your specialty)
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Feel the need to be better InforMed?
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Join our Mailing List
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We
must hang together, gentlemen...else,
we shall most assuredly
hang separately.
- Benjamin Franklin, 1776 |
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Polivas Stravinsky Recital
Physicians for The Phoenix Symphony welcome medical colleagues and guests to
their Winter Recital
Sunday, February 8th
Steinway of Phoenix
14418 N. Scottsdale Road
SW corner of
Scottsdale & Acoma
2:30pm Hors d'oeuvres & Wine
3:30pm - Mr. Stravinsky will perform works by Chopin, Debussy, Bach-Arzoumanov,
Gershwin and more...
$20.00 per person
RSVP by 2/5/09 to
Donna Deeks at 602/452-0424 or
ddeeks@phoenixsymphony.org |
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The Doctor Is In. Computer Care for the Caregiver
Call today
602/253-2983
or www.medabytes.com |
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Often imitated - but
never duplicated!
The MCMS
2009 Pictorial Directory
is coming soon!
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Maricopa County
Medical Society
326 E. Coronado Road
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Ph: 602/251-2015
Fax: 602/256-2749
Serving medicine,
serving the community
since 1892...
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InforMed
Society is published
by the Maricopa County Medical Society. Copyright © 2009.
All rights
reserved.
Questions or comments,
please email us at:
InforMed@mcmsonline.com
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Medical Liability Reform:
Out with the Old, In with the New & ACOG Survey
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The incoming Obama Administration
and the strong Democratic Congress will have little interest in pushing major
medical liability reform legislation.
President Bush was an MLR champion,
focusing on the need for reform at events across the nation. Who can forget his
famous quote: "Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too
many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across the
country." (Poplar Bluff,
MO, Sept. 6, 2004.)
In 2009, though, the American
Association for Justice (AAJ), formerly known as the Association of Trial
Lawyers of America (ATLA), has made clear that it will defeat all attempts to
change our current system of medical justice in any health care reform efforts.
AAJ's Senior Vice President for
Public Affairs said the group will be "on guard" during the debate on
reform, to "ensure that attempts to limit medical malpractice are killed, especially
through the establishment of specialized health courts that aim to make
medical tort cases more efficient than jury trials."
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Need any other reason to educate the
public and Congress on the subject of professional liability? To take the ACOG survey click here
Results are vital to our educational efforts with
lawmakers and the public.
All Fellows and Junior Fellows in
Practice who complete the survey by March 6, 2009 will have a chance to win a
$100 gift card to the ACOG bookstore. Five winners will be chosen at random. |
United Healthcare PDP Ratings Appeal
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Physicians should appeal their
rating in United Healthcare's (UHC) Premium Designation Program (PDP) by 1/27/09 if they believe it is wrong. According to a letter UHC sent 12/23/08 to its more than 220,000 participating physicians, only appeals received by 1/27/09 are guaranteed to be adjudicated and updated for the scheduled March
release of new ratings for physicians in the PDP. Although physicians may appeal
their designation status to UHC at any time, successful appeals received after
that date may not be reflected in the initial release of new
ratings.
How does the PDP
work?
In UHC's PDP, physicians who pass
UHC's quality check are awarded one star in the UHC directory. A second star is
added to those who also pass UHC's "efficiency," or lowest cost of care,
criteria. Participating physicians who do not pass the quality check are given
no stars, and physicians with insufficient data to be rated are so designated.
Some two-star physicians may also be eligible for a fee schedule update through
the UHC Practice Rewards Program.
How accurate are
the ratings?
The PDP is based on UHC claims data
as measured against their physician performance measures for quality. Efficiency
is measured using UHC's episode treatment groups, or ETGs, methodology, which is
solely based on cost-of-care factors. Like most physician profiling systems, UHC
claims that its data is risk adjusted; however, the risk adjustment factors are
limited, and the state of the art for this type of risk adjustment is still
somewhat primitive. Questionable physician attribution techniques and small
sample sizes used to determine ratings (as few as 10 patients' records) also
contribute greatly to rating results that are frequently inconsistent with the
actual cost and quality of care being delivered.
What can I do
about my rating?
Because of the unreliable nature of
these results, physicians in the PDP, particularly those who were given only one
or no stars for their rating, are encouraged to check the data and analyses that
were used to create their ratings. By checking the information that was used to
create the rating, physicians may find incorrectly attributed patient episodes
or treatments that were due to patient preference or other extenuating
circumstances. Physicians who find such errors can appeal the rating results and
have them corrected before the ratings are ever used or
published.
How do I see my
data and appeal my results?
Physicians must visit https://ereports.uhc.com/ReportCard and
log in using their ID and password, which appears on the letter they received
from UHC announcing their rating. Requests for reconsideration must be submitted
in writing or electronically. Please include the Designation Detail report, with
your comments, and the signed attestation.
Physicians who do not have their copy of that letter,
experience difficulty with the Web site or do not understand their data are
asked to contact UHC at (866) 270-5588.
Remember, appeals must be sent via
e-mail, fax or postal mail and must be received by UHC by 1/27/09 to
assure they will be reviewed prior to the publication of the physician
ratings.
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Bruce Pearson CEO of both John C. Lincoln Hospitals
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John C. Lincoln North Mountain
Hospital CEO Bruce Pearson is now also CEO of John C. Lincoln Deer Valley
Hospital. The expansion of Pearson's responsibilities for managing both
John C. Lincoln Hospitals, effective Jan. 1, was announced by Health Network
Executive Vice President and COO Rhonda Forsyth.
"We've done an evaluation of our needs and started to
identify opportunities to improve operational effectiveness," she said.
"Our objective in combining the hospital CEO positions is to improve the
ways our hospitals work together to care for patients and to take advantage
of Network-wide operational efficiencies."
Pearson joined John C. Lincoln in May 2008
after spending more than 25 years within the Banner Health organization. "He
excels in areas critical to the successful operation of a hospital and care
of patients, and also brings an excellent perspective of how to work as a
system," Forsyth said.
John C. Lincoln Hospitals have been regularly recognized
by experts for high quality of patient care, performance excellence and
employee satisfaction. |
Online Cardio-Metabolic Medical Conference
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Cardiocare Live is hosting an online medical conference on
3/3/09 - 3/4/09
- 13 AMA PRA
Category 1 Credits designated by Johns Hopkins, and 13 CME credits via the
AAFP
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Presentations
from leading cardiologists including Roger Blumenthal, MD, Professor, Division
of Cardiology - Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Clyde Yancy, MD, Medical Director -
Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute.
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Attendance is
FREE; attendees save time and travel cost by attending online!
For additional information, including a full list of faculty and registration, please click here. |
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AZ Medical Board License Renewal Now Online!
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The Arizona Medical Board
now allows physicians to save postage and paper, and to renew their biennial
medical licenses online at the Board's Web site, www.azmd.gov. Payment of the $500
licensure fee may be made by credit card, but only Visa or Mastercard is
accepted. There is an additional $8 convenience fee for renewals
submitted online.
The Arizona Medical Board
will still send physicians a renewal notice in the mail approximately two
months prior to renewal date.
To locate the license
renewal module and its instructions, place cursor over "Physician Center"
in the menu on the left side of the homepage, and click on "License Renewal -
Apply Online" in the secondary menu that appears.
The renewal process is
step-by-step and should take less than 15 minutes. Since January 1, 2008,
state and federal laws have required all applicants, including those renewing
their licenses, to provide evidence they are U.S. citizens or are here
legally. Citizens must provide a copy of a birth certificate or
passport. Non-U.S. citizens must provide a copy of a Visa or Alien
Registration Card. These documents can be faxed to the Board.
If a physician chooses not
to renew online by credit card, he or she can print a blank renewal form to
send with a check or money order.
The Medical Board first made
the transition to a paperless office in 2000, but only recently has had the
ability to accept license renewals online.
The Arizona Medical Board
licenses and regulates more than 19,900 allopathic physicians (MDs).
Board offices are located at 9545
East Doubletree Ranch Road in Scottsdale.
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Time of Day can be Critical in Chemotherapy
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The time of day that
chemotherapy drugs are taken may be a major factor in the effectiveness of the
treatment and the extent of its side effects, according to a new study. The
results have important implications for cancer treatment.
Our body's daily rhythms are synchronized with the sun
and coordinated by the body's circadian clock. While a region of the brain
operates as the master biological clock, the system is complex and operates in
virtually every cell of the body. It regulates our sleep, body temperature,
eating habits and activity level. When our circadian rhythms are disrupted,
sleep disorders may arise, as well as a host of other problems, including
obesity, depression, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Read more...
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AZ Medical Board Seeks Help with
Challenging Cases
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As a physician, you have invested years of study in medical
school and post-graduate training. You
have spent countless hours refining your skills. And, you have devoted time and energy building
your practice and earning the respect of your peers.
Now you have an opportunity to share your expertise, obtain
Continuing Medical Education credits to fulfill your license renewal
requirements, and earn a little extra cash.
The Arizona Medical Board needs physicians to be Outside
Medical Consultants and review cases involving quality of care. By agreeing to provide opinions on these
cases, you will join a team of dedicated and respected individuals committed to
fairly, impartially and justly regulating their peers. Medical Consultants work from home at hours
that are convenient to them. This allows
you to conveniently and securely review cases and then submit your opinions to
the Board online.
To sign up to be an Arizona Medical Board Outside Medical
Consultant, or to get more information, please contact Christina Hedrei at
chedrei@azmd.gov or (480) 551-2728.
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