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December 3, 2012
| Vol. 19, No. 25 |
| Renew Your Membership By December 31st | |
Thanks to your past support, MSDC made important gains in Medicare reimbursement, prior authorization reform and other areas in 2012. To the many physicians who have already renewed your support for 2013, thank you for helping to make sure this progress continues. If you have not yet paid your dues, please do so by December 31, 2012. If you can't pay by then or would like to arrange a payment plan, please let us know. For information about your membership or to pay your dues, please contact Rose Smith at 202-466-1800 or smith@msdc.org.
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| Upcoming Events | |
December 12, 2012
12:15 p.m.
Live webinar
Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements pose a greater challenge for providers than the objectives in Stage 1. Join athenahealth experts online as they discuss details of the higher thresholds and compulsory core measures.
For more information and to register, click here. |
2012-13 Board of Directors
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Catherine S. May, MD
Chair of the Board; At-Large
Daniel I. Perlin, MD
President
Laura L. Tosi,, MD
President-Elect
James C. Cobey, MD
Immediate Past President; At-Large
Joseph Gutierrez, MD
Treasurer; AMA Delegation Chair
Reginald Robinson,MD
Secretary; At-Large
Peter E. Lavine, MD
AMA Delegate
Laura L. Tosi, MD
AMA Alternate Delegate
Julian R. Craig, MD
John W. Larsen, MD
Barry Lewis, MD, MBA
At-Large
Joan B. Loveland, MD
Carla Sandy, MD
At-Large
Stuart F. Seides, MD
At-Large
K. Edward Shanbacker
Executive Vice President
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MSDC eNewsline
| Editor
Pia R. Duryea
202-355-9414 (direct)
duryea@msdc.org
MSDC Offices
1250 23rd Street, NW
Suite 270
Washington, DC 20037
202-466-1800 (phone)
202-452-1542 (fax)
www.msdc.org |
| Like MSDC on Facebook! | |
The Medical Society of DC is on Facebook!
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| DC Licenses Expire December 31, 2012 - It's Time to Renew |
 All physician licenses will expire on December 31, 2012. If you have not already done so, complete the renewal process as soon as possible. This will help you avoid any potential delays in your license renewal.
There are some very important changes that affect the licensure renewal process. Most notably, all licensees will be required to undergo a criminal background check (CBC). You must first complete the renewal application online to be eligible for your CBC. To learn about the CBC process, visit http://doh.dc.gov/service/criminal-background-check or call 202- 442-9004.
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| HHS Releases New ACA Rules |
Three New Rules Proposed Recently 
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released three proposed rules related to insurance provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As reported by the DC Hospital Association, the essential health benefits rule spells out the Administration's proposed core set of mandatory covered health benefits, and provides guidance on benefits required by the ACA that are not typically found in current employer benefit plans. In addition, a health insurance market proposed rule would codify an ACA provision prohibiting insurers from discriminating against individuals because of a pre-existing or chronic condition, among other changes. A third rule, released with the Departments of Labor and Treasury, focuses on implementing and expanding employer use of incentives under their wellness programs.
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| Share Your Story With the ONC! |
ONC Annual Meeting Video Challenge: Be in the Movies! 
What are some of the amazing things you're doing to employ health IT to help your patients' quality of life? What are some of the pitfalls you've avoided? What works and what doesn't?
The Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology wants you to share your story. ONC invites you to make a short, 1 - 2 minute video in any of the following four categories:
1. Adoption of Meaningful Use
2. Using Meaningful use to improve quality and efficiency
3. How health IT engaged patients
4. How you, as a provider, have made privacy & security a priority
You may use your smart phone to shoot the video.
The deadline is December 11 at 3:00 pm EST. Winners in each category will be announced at The ONC Annual Meeting on December 12, 2012. To enter, upload your video to: https://healthit.sharefile.com/r/rfa279454e34415aa
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From the AMA: Congress Returns for Busy Lame Duck Session
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 Don't Let Physician and Patient Needs Get Lost in the Shuffle
Members of Congress are now back in Washington, DC, for a lame duck session that will force lawmakers to make some important decisions affecting the future of medicine before a new Congress convenes in 2013.
Namely, solving the so-called "fiscal cliff" problem which threatens a number of drastic tax and spending policy changes, including:
- Across-the-board spending cuts (also known as "sequestration") under the Budget Control Act of 2011 ($109 billion per year) affecting both defense spending and domestic programs including Medicare
- Expiration of the Bush 2001 and 2003 tax cuts (this includes individual rates, capital gains, dividends, child tax credit expansion, marriage penalty reduction, and the estate tax)
- Alternative Minimum Tax patch
- Expiration of the 2 percent payroll tax cut
- Medicare physician reimbursement cuts of 26.5 percent as a result of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula
- Miscellaneous business tax provisions (also referred to as "tax extenders")
- Unemployment benefit extension
- Affordable Care Act tax provisions
It's important that members of Congress work together to resolve these important issues and avoid going over the fiscal cliff at all costs. Many economists speculate that if Congress fails to act, economic growth will drop significantly, unemployment will rise, and the country will slip back into a deep recession.
At the same time, we can't allow the needs of physicians and the patients they care for to get lost in the shuffle.
Tough decisions will have to be made in the coming weeks, but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle must make stopping the SGR and Medicare cuts a top priority. If no action is taken these automatic cuts of nearly 30 percent are scheduled to go into effect in January, hitting physicians and their practices hard.
Comprehensive reform of the Medicare physician payment system is sorely needed. And physicians are stepping forward; ready to lead the way toward a new and innovative model that will stabilize the Medicare program and promote high-quality, high-value care. But first, Congress must act responsibly and stop the scheduled Medicare SGR cuts before it's too late.
As the lame duck session gets underway in the days and weeks to come, the AMA Physicians' Grassroots Network will keep you up to date with the latest legislative developments and opportunities to take action. Check the website frequently at www.ama-assn.org/go/grassroots, make your friends and family aware also, and be sure to stay in touch with the offices of your U.S. Representative and Senators to remind them of the importance of stopping the potentially devastating Medicare-SGR cuts that are on the horizon.
You can always use our grassroots hotline at 1-800-833-6354 to get in touch with your elected officials.
With the 2012 elections now over, the time has come for legislators to put aside partisan bickering, roll up their sleeves, and work to keep America from going over the fiscal cliff. A critical piece of this is putting a stop to the looming Medicare SGR cuts threatening physicians and their patients
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From the Office of David Catania: PhRMA and Physician Reporting
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 AccessRX: Pharmaceutical Marketing and Prescription Patterns
From the Office of David Catania, DC Council At-Large
This month, I chaired a public oversight roundtable focusing on the prescribing of antipsychotics to children and growth in the amount of money spent on gifts to District of Columbia Medicaid psychiatrists by top antipsychotic manufacturers.
In 2008, the District's 9.8 percent rate of antipsychotic prescription among its Medicaid population was nearly twice the national average for Medicaid recipients. In addition, these drugs are increasingly prescribed to children, particularly children in the foster care system. Taken together with the increased value of gifts received by some D.C. Medicaid psychiatrists from top antipsychotic manufacturers, we are looking at an issue that warrants investigation.
The basis for the hearing was the AccessRx Act of 2004. The Act requires manufacturers or labelers of prescription drugs to annually report all marketing costs such as advertising, gift, and aggregate expenses. This information is then assembled into an annual report by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services
This year's report found that the six most commonly prescribed atypical antipsychotics are marketed heavily in the District of Columbia, with the manufacturers of these drugs spending nearly $26 million in 2010.
Further, the report indicates that out of 172 District physicians receiving gifts totaling $1,000 or more from the top antipsychotic manufacturers, 26 (15%) were psychiatrists. The total amount received by these 26 psychiatrists was nearly $500,000, or approximately one quarter of the $1.9 million received by all 172 physicians.
Since the implementation of the AccessRx program, overall pharmaceutical marketing in the District has decreased. According to the GWU report, in 2010, marketing expenditures totaled $85.4 million (most recent year available), which continues the downward spending trend from previous years: in 2007-$158.2 million, in 2008-$136.6 million, and in 2009-$96.1 million.
What do you think of current pharmaceutical marketing regulations? Let us know in this member poll!
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| From CMS: December 2-8 is National Influenza Week | |
Encourage Your Patients to Get Vaccinated 
Join CMS this December in raising awareness about seasonal flu prevention, while addressing the advantages of the seasonal influenza virus vaccine covered by Medicare for all Part B beneficiaries.
Medicare Part B covers one seasonal influenza virus vaccination per influenza season for all beneficiaries. Medicare may cover more than one seasonal influenza virus vaccination per influenza season if a physician determines, and documents in the beneficiary's medical record, that the additional vaccination is reasonable and medically necessary. ... Read more here.
For discounted rates on flu and other vaccines, see Atlantic Health Partners' immunization program. You receive reduced rates as an MSDC member.
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| Med-Chi of DC Christmas Gala: December 21, 2012 | |
Save the date for the Med-Chi Christmas Gala
 The Med-Chi Christmas Gala will take place from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am on Friday, December 21 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel at 1331 Pennsylvania Ave, NW. There will be a live band and DJ.
Individual tickets are $125; tables are $1,250. For more information or to reserve your tickets, please call (202) 347-4170 or (202) 882-5038.
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**********************************
DECEMBER DEALS
especially for MSDC Members
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Cbeyond Excited to Announce its Recent Partnership with MSDC
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....and an introductory offer for MSDC members !
Cbeyond is proud to be MSDC's primary Telecommunications provider and to offer IT and Telecommunications services to all Physicians and Members of The Medical Society of DC through the new partnership.
As a warm welcome, Cbeyond will offer MSDC members a free consultation on your IT infrastructure, as well as a monthly discount for using Cbeyond services before the end of the year.
To read more about what Cbeyond provides for Medical Practices and Healthcare Providers, please click here.
Please contact Christina Mazza at Christina.mazza@cbeyond.net
to schedule your Free Consultation.
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Strengthen Your Practice's Immunization Performance
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Primary Care Physicians are in the best position to improve adolescent and  adult vaccination rates. Immunization for Flu, Pneumococcal, Shingles, and Tdap vaccines continue to fall short of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services objectives.
Fortunately, the Medical Society of DC has a strong partner in providing our members the resources and support to cost-effectively improve immunization rates, and in turn, strengthen your practice. Atlantic Health Partners, the nation's leading vaccine buying group, offers you the lowest vaccine prices and finest customer service to improve the performance of your immunization initiatives. Atlantic even has a program that enables you to provide vaccines like Zostavax (Shingles) and Adacel (Tdap) to Medicare Part D patients.
MSDC members that currently participate with Atlantic are very satisfied with the savings and support. We encourage you to contact Atlantic at 800-741-2044 or info@atlantichealthpartners.com to better determine how they can benefit your practice.
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From MSDC: Up to 75% Off Prescription Drugs Using DC RxCard
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 As a physician in Washington, DC, you and your patients have access to a FREE Prescription Drug Card program. The Medical Society is pleased to offer the DCRx CARD. Your patients can save up to 75% on prescriptions, selected eye-wear, vitamins and other products. The card is accepted in pharmacies in the District, Maryland and Virginia.
The Medical Society of DC has new cards available and any Society member who requests it may receive a supply of 250 cards. Please email Pia Duryea at duryea@msdc.org and ask for cards for your patients.
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| Classified Ads |
Retiring Surgeon Seeking Surgeon to Take Over Practice
Retiring surgeon looking for interested surgeon to take over a practice of approximately 25 years in DC's West End neighborhood. Please contact 202-887-8120.
Retiring Physician Seeking Family Physician to Take Over Practice
Retiring family practice physician looking for interested physician to take over practice of 25 years, DuPont Circle area. Please contact 202-365-2344.
Psychotherapist Opens Office, Available for Speaking Engagements
Lise Van Susteren, MD, specializing in psychotherapy for adults and couples and psychopharmacology, has opened an office at Dupont Circle. She is also available as a speaker on the health impacts, including psychological, of climate change. For details, call 301-787-1780 or email lvs350@verizon.net.
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