In May 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published a final rule, effective July 11, 2014, revising the Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for hospitals. The rule makes significant changes to the hospital governance structure and has significant implications for the relationship between the medical staff and the hospital governing body and for the relationship between the medical staff and its individual members. The AMA has developed resources to guide medical staffs through the process of implementing the new regulations.

Click here to read more on CMS.org and to access the AMA resources.

On Sept. 30, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released the first round of Open Payments data to help consumers understand the financial relationships between the health care industry and physicians and teaching hospitals, as part of an ongoing effort to increase transparency and accountability in health care, according to an agency press release.

This information release is part of the Open Payments program, created by the Affordable Care Act, and lists consulting fees, research grants, travel reimbursements, and other gifts the health care industry - such as medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies - provided to physicians and teaching hospitals during the last five months of 2013. The data contains 4.4 million payments valued at nearly $3.5 billion attributable to 546,000 individual physicians and almost 1,360 teaching hospitals. Future reports will be published annually and will include a full 12 months of payment data, beginning in June 2015. Physicians are encouraged to review their data to make sure they are accurately represented.

Click here to read more on CMS.org.

Ready or not, the pieces of payment and delivery reform are rapidly moving into place in Colorado and elsewhere. And if you're not among the physicians who are prepared for this significant change in health care, you're already behind the curve. Aligned programs like the Value-Based Payment Modifier (VBPM), Meaningful Use (MU) and the Physician-Quality Reporting System (PQRS) will soon shift in their effect -- fundamentally altering how services are delivered and how physicians are compensated for these services.

Click here to read complete coverage on how Medicare incentives are turning into penalties in the September/October issue of Colorado Medicine. It includes a special two-page Medicare payment and delivery reform timeline. This story is the first in a series of articles about Medicare's approach to cost containment and quality improvement.

And click here to find out how you can get help with these programs at no cost from the Telligen Quality Innovation Network - Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO).

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will reopen the submission period for Meaningful Use hardship exemptions through Nov. 30, the agency announced. Previously the application deadline was April 1 for eligible hospitals and July 1 for eligible professionals.

Physicians who have not attained Meaningful Use and have not been granted a hardship exception are subject to the 2015 Medicare payment adjustments beginning Jan. 1, 2015.

This reopened hardship exception application submission period applies to professionals and hospitals that:

• Have been unable to fully implement 2014 edition certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT) due to delays in its availability; and
• Eligible professionals who were unable to attest by Oct. 1, 2014 and eligible hospitals that were unable to attest by July 1, 2014 using the flexibility options provided in the 2014 CEHRT Flexibility Rule.

For more information, click here to go to the Payment Adjustments and Hardship Exemptions page of the federal CMS website.

A new rule from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that took effect Oct. 6 reclassifies hydrocodone combination products as Schedule II controlled substances, establishing restrictions that will require considerable changes to prescribing practices.

The American Medical Association recommends physicians take four steps to ensure patients who need these medications to alleviate pain don't have to go without them. Click here to read more on the AMA's website.

The U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a final rule that authorizes the DEA to establish methods to transfer unused or unwanted pharmaceutical controlled substances to authorized collectors for the purpose of disposal. It also permits long-term-care facilities to do the same on behalf of residents or former residents of their facilities. The rule takes effect Oct. 9. The DEA's goal is to expand the options available to safely and securely dispose of potentially dangerous prescription medications on a routine basis.

Click here to read more on CMS.org.

The Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC) invites you to participate in a new Chronic Pain Management Program. Modeled after the Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) programs in New Mexico and Connecticut, the Chronic Pain Management Program leverages cutting edge telehealth technologies to connect PCMPs to specialists. PCMPs consult directly with specialists regarding client cases and learn best practices for treating clients with a variety of chronic pain conditions. The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing will sponsor approximately 50 PCMPs to serve as telehealth pioneers for Colorado.

HCPF will hold an informational webinar on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Click here to read more on CMS.org.

The Colorado Medical Society and the Behavioral Health and Wellness Program (BHWP) at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus developed a physician wellness toolkit to address eight dimensions of wellness with a focus on reducing stress and burnout.

"DIMENSIONS: Work and Well-Being Toolkit for Physicians" contains education regarding the importance of maintaining overall wellness, step-by-step instructions for developing skills to assess one's overall wellness and identify goals to further promote wellness, a low-burden means of assessing readiness to change related to increasing wellness behaviors, and evidence-based strategies for improving wellness.

Click here to download the toolkit on CMS.org.

A bill passed during the 2014 regular session of the Colorado General Assembly requires physicians and other providers to register for the electronic prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP), though it does not require use of the system. CMS supports greater use of the PDMP as one of many strategies to reduce opioid abuse and misuse.

DEA-registered medical board licensees must register a user account with the PDMP by Nov. 30, 2014, though you may and are certainly encouraged to register anytime between now and the deadline. Click here to go to the Colorado PDMP website to complete your registration.

The Political Action Committees of the Colorado Medical Society and the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians are pleased to sponsor "An evening with Sen. Irene Aguilar, MD" with special guest TR Reid, Reporter for The Washington Post.

Please join members of the host committee at an evening fundraiser to support Sen. Irene Aguilar, MD, for re-election to SD 32, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 5:30 - 7 p.m., at the home of Genie Pritchett, MD, and Dr. Ballard Pritchett.

Click here for more information.