Now, more than ever, it is vital that physicians unite, step up and get involved. Otherwise someone else is going to make decisions for you. Don't let that happen!    

 

RENEW your MCMS Membership TODAY!! 

 

Pay over the phone by calling 602-252-2015.  

Mail your statement and check to: Maricopa County Medical Society, 326 E. Coronado Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85004.   

 

MCMS members, has your address changed? Have you graduated medical school; new board certification, etc...?  

 

You now have a quick and easy way to let us know by using our new Update Member Profile form online.

 

It is important to keep your profile up-to-date so that we may provide the most accurate information for patient referrals, as well as business communications.  

 

Not sure what information we have for you? Try our Physician Search tool.

 

Please note: The physician search tool includes only those members accepting referrals. For MCMS members not accepting referrals, please refer to your profile in the  Member Directory. 

 

Or, if you prefer, you may always contact us and we would be glad to assist you.    

ASU Global Medical Brigades is a group of pre-health undergraduate students with a passion for health and international development. Every medical brigade consists of dedicated student volunteers, medical professionals, pharmacists, and auxiliary staff, providing primary healthcare to rural Honduran communities. The group functions as a mobile medical unit, setting up small clinics to diagnose and treat patients at zero cost to them.

 

Currently, they are recruiting healthcare professionals to join our brigades in the summer of 2013. The trip dates are May 12-19,2013 and May 26 - June 1, 2013.  

 

Medical professionals receive the enormous opportunity to serve the most underprivileged communities but also to empower the next generation of aspiring physicians, striving to make healthcare globally accessible. If you want to inspire and empower others on their next 2013 brigade, please contact the GMB club president, Jennifer Campbell, at asu.gmb@globalbrigades.org.

ICD-10 codes will replace ICD-9 codes for all healthcare services provided on or after October 1, 2014. To make sure you are ready to use the new code set, you will want to review how and where you currently use ICD-9 codes. Wherever you see ICD-9 today, you will need to transition to ICD-10.

 

Developing Your ICD-9 List

Ask your clinical and administrative staff to develop a list of places where they encounter ICD-9 codes in their work. This exercise will acquaint your practice with how the switch to ICD-10 will affect your daily work.

 

Reviewing Your List

Once you have a master list of where your office uses ICD-9 codes, you can assess how and where you will need to make changes to be ready for the transition to ICD-10.

 

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The Obama administration moved forward to implement provisions in the healthcare law that would make it illegal for insurance companies to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. The provisions of the Affordable Care Act also would make it easier for consumers to compare health plans and employers to promote and encourage employee wellness.

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The average growth in per capita cost of healthcare services slowed over the past year by nearly 0.7%, but the overall pace of that growth continues to easily outstrip inflation in the larger economy, according to Standard & Poor's Healthcare Economic Indices.

For the 12-month period ending in September, S&P reports that the average per capita cost of healthcare services covered by commercial insurance and Medicare programs rose by 5.06% - a slight deceleration from the 5.7% annual growth rate recorded in August.

 

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Under Medicare's tangled payment system, hospitals get higher reimbursements than individual doctors for cardiology treatment, as they do for other specialty services, in some cases as much as 3 times more. At the same time, the added bargaining power gained by controlling more of the heart care in a geographic market has given large hospital systems added leverage in negotiating reimbursements from insurers. In WI, the number of heart doctors in private practice has declined to 11% from 62% of cardiologists in 2007, according to the American College of Cardiology (ACC). The trend is similar nationwide. The number of heart doctors working for US hospitals has more than tripled, while the number in private practice has fallen 23% over 5 years, the ACC said.

 

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There's a new push to make testing for the AIDS virus as common as cholesterol checks.

Americans ages 15 to 64 should get an HIV test at least once - not just people considered at high risk for the virus, an independent panel that sets screening guidelines proposed Monday.

The draft guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are the latest recommendations that aim to make HIV screening simply a routine part of a check-up, something a doctor can order with as little fuss as a cholesterol test or a mammogram. Since 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also has pushed for widespread, routine HIV screening.

 

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