Dear NVOS Members,
The articles contained in this e-newsletter are excerpted from AAOS newsletters and other media sources to help our members stay current on national issues.
The NVOS Staff |
Will The Sunshine Act "Sensationalize" Physician Connections With Industry?
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According to Modern Physician, a number of physicians have raised concerns that data released under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act could negatively affect the reputations of some physicians after details of their relationships with industry are publicized. Critics of the program argue that the media could "sensationalize" data taken out of context, and at least one physician has asked if the data would track such items as industry payments for coffee and pastries at accredited continuing medical education events. A spokesperson for the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) states that more than 90 percent of physicians report having some relationship with industry, and about 80 percent report receiving food or beverages in the workplace from industry sources. According to CMS, pharmaceutical companies alone spent $15.7 billion in 2011 on face-to-face sales and promotional activities.
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Despite Challenges, Majority Of Physician Practice Owners Look To Hold On
|  Although many physicians who own their practices say they are struggling to keep their operations afloat, more than 60 percent say they would not consider selling, according to a survey of more than 5,000 owner-practitioners. Cardiologists were among the most pessimistic about their financial future, with 49 percent saying their financial trend will be "somewhat" or "very" negative in the next year; the report in the American Medical Association's amednews.com did not break out results for orthopaedic surgeons. Of the practice-owning physicians surveyed, 36 percent predicted negative profitability trend during the next year, compared with 22 percent who said returns would be positive and 30 percent who said they would stay the same. Among the cardiologists, 44 percent of those who own their own practices said they have no interest in selling even though there may seem to be a clear financial motivation to do so. The top issues troubling the owner-physicians were declining payments and government-mandated changes (eg, the ACA, ICD-10 conversion, and adoption of electronic health record systems). The survey was conducted by QuantiaMD, an online physician community, and CareCloud, a cloud-based health IT vendor. In a separate survey, MedAxiom, a cardiology-specific community of health care administrators and physician leaders, found that independent cardiologists earn an average of 26 percent less than those in integrated practices.
Read more...
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Government Data Finds 17 Percent Falloff In EHR Meaningful Use
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A blog posting at EMR Straight Talk points out that, based on Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Programs attestation data, 17 percent of providers who earned an $18,000 EHR incentive in 2011 did not earn the $12,000 second incentive in 2012. In addition, a second survey cited by the author finds that 13.6 percent of respondents stated that they do not plan to attest for the Stage 2 rules for meaningful use. The author suggests that the complicated nature of some EHR systems is at least one factor in the falloff.
Read more...
View the meaningful use attestation data...
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ACA Implementation Nears, But Large Tasks Remain
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The Washington Post reports that several things must happen between  now and Oct. 1, 2013, when millions of Americans can begin enrolling in health insurance programs provided through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For one, the infrastructure that allows multiple government agencies to transmit information-determining whether an individual should qualify for tax subsidies-needs to be completed. Furthermore, the federal government has yet to finish building the federal exchange, an online portal that most Americans will likely use to purchase health insurance. In addition, outreach programs that educate the public about their insurance options are critical to the plan's success.
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Read about one states community outreach...
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Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Make Medicare Claims Data Public
| The Des Moines Register reports that two U.S. senators have introduced a bipartisan bill that, if enacted, would make Medicare claims data public. Supporters of such a move argue that taxpayers should have a right to see how tax dollars are spent. Under current law, payments to individual medical providers are generally not made public. In recent years, similar legislation has been introduced and failed to pass.
Read more...
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Medicare Implements, Publicizes Eased Payment Standards For Physical Therapy
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 As reported by Kaiser Health News and the Washington Post, Medicare officials in April stated that "a beneficiary's lack of restoration potential cannot, in itself, serve as the basis for denying [physical therapy] coverage." The report notes that providers may not know about the settlement yet and may still be telling patients, incorrectly, that Medicare will not cover treatment if they do not demonstrate improvement-the standard that had been conveyed by the federal program prior to the lawsuit, which the Center for Medicare Advocacy (CMA) had taken a lead role in bringing. That group has issued self-help packets for patients and notes that the clarified standard for reimbursement applies immediately even as Medicare implements its policy overhaul and education campaign. Read more... Access patient self-help packets ... Read the CMA statement ... |
Survey: Many Physicians Lagging In ICD-10 Transition
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According to survey data released by MGMA-ACMPE, less than 5 percent of physician practices say they have made "significant progress" concerning their overall readiness for the transition to the ICD-10 code system. In addition, 95.8 percent of respondents stated that they are at least "moderately concerned" about a loss of physician productivity when the new system takes effect, and 94.5 percent are at least moderately concerned about the cost of the changeover. The researchers surveyed 1,200 practices covering more than 55,000 physicians.
Read more...
View the study results (PDF)...
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Study: Outpatient Care Of Certain Medicare Patients May Not Lower Costs
| Treating high-cost Medicare patients in doctors' offices instead of  emergency departments (EDs) or hospitals may not lower costs, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston analyzed a 5 percent sample of all Medicare patients treated in the ED or hospital in 2009 and 2010 (n = 1,114,469). Patients in the top 10 percent of spending in 2010 were defined as high-cost, responsible for 73 percent of the $91.7 billion the program spent in 2010. Using standard algorithms to identify potentially preventable ED visits and acute care inpatient hospitalizations, the researchers found that only one-tenth of the money spent on the program's most expensive patients was for care that could have been provided in an outpatient setting. The most common preventable hospital stays were for heart failure, bacterial pneumonia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Read more...Read the abstract... |
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WSJ Articles Examine Controversies In Healthcare System Reform
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Announcing the 2013 NVOS Reno Regional Meeting
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NVOS
Reno Regional
Meeting
September 18, 2013
Eldorado Hotel Casino
345 N Virginia Street
Reno, NV 89501
Keynote Speaker:
Michelle James,MD Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery, Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California & Chief of Pediatric Orthopaedics, Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California
Davis Health Systems
Guest Speaker:
Joe Hardy, MD
Nevada State Senator
"Lessons Learned From the 2013 Legislative Session"
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2013-2014 Board of Directors
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President
Eric Boyden, MD
Immediate Past President
Hugh Bassewitz, MD
Vice-President
Abdi Raissi, MD
Treasurer
Gregg Lundeen, MD
Secretary
Colby Young, MD
Members At Large
Holman Chan, MD
Jack Davis, MD
Chad Hanson, MD
Ronald Hillock, MD
Jedediah Jones, MD
Terrence Orr, MD
James Rappaport, MD
AAOS Board of Councilors
Hugh Bassewitz, MD,
Nevada Representative
Fred Redfern, MD,
Chair
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