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Medical Society of New Jersey e-Newsletter
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Repeal the SGR Formula in 2014: Take Action NOW!
At the beginning of the year, Congress came close to passing bipartisan legislation that would have fixed the SGR crisis. Ultimately, they passed another patch. Encourage lawmakers to continue working in a bipartisan manner and remind them to repeal the SGR formula and design a new Medicare physician payment system. Send an e-mail to your lawmakers or call the AMA's grassroots hotline at (800) 833-6354.
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 | MSNJ's 8th Annual Golf Outing A Success
On October 15, MSNJ hosted the Annual Golf Outing to benefit the MSNJ Foundation, the Institute of Medicine & Public Health of New Jersey, Inc. (IOMPHNJ).
Thank you to all who supported this great fundraising event!
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Member Benefits
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Exclusive New Medical Professional Liability Insurance Program for Physician Groups
MSNJ is pleased to announce that one of its platinum sponsors, Arthur J. Gallagher, has negotiated a program that will give qualifying physician groups that are insured on a claims-made policy, extended reporting ("tail") coverage AT NO ADDITIONAL COST.
At last, a program now exists that allows physicians to switch to an occurrence-type policy and eliminate the worry associated with expensive tail coverage - AT NO ADDITIONAL COST.
This exciting and exclusive offer is available only to qualifying groups with at least 3 physician members. More information.
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Are you Communicating in Your Patients Preferred Way?
POS® Messaging is much more than your traditional automated communication system. With POS Messaging your practice can send automated patient messages via email, phone, text and mail to increase practice revenue, simplify internal processes and improve patient care.
Try it for FREE!
For a limited time, try POS Messaging for FREE!
If you are not happy with the service, you can walk away at any time. Contact POS today for a freedemo and trial. *$99 set-up fee applies. Reference promo 95PROMOMESSAGE2.
Click here to watch a short demo video.
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| Prescription Blanks
MSNJ and New Jersey Dental Association (NJDA) proudly announce a joint effort to offer discounts to all of our members on prescription blanks. Visit our website for participating vendors and pricing.
Click here for a complete list of approved vendors.
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MSNJ, HRET and HFMA will host a seminar "Show Me the Money: Capturing the Benefits and Avoiding the Risks of Healthcare Reform" on October 30, 2014 at New Jersey Hospital Association. View the brochure and register online.
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MSNJ has made arrangements with an on-line resource (Education in Palliative and End-of-life Care) to satisfy the 2 credit end-of-life training requirement via long distance learning - and at a 15% discount to members. MSNJ members, please click here to obtain the promo code.
The following modules are thought to meet the requirements. Each module is designated for 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ (cost to MSNJ members about $25.50 per credit)
- Gaps and Elements of Care
- Legal Issues
- Whole Patient Assessment
- Physician Assisted Suicide
- Last Hours of Living
- Withholding/Withdrawing Treatment
- Medical Futility
Choose two that meet your needs! See related News story.
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| The Federation of State Medical Boards is providing free CME activities on Opioids. Read more and register online.
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Register for a Free CME event!
Oncology Cancer Care Symposium
Jersey Shore University Medical Center
October 21, 2014 8am to 12pm
See brochure for details.
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Join MSNJ, in conjunction with the Burlington County Medical Society and the Monmouth-Ocean County Medical Society for A Free Advocacy & Financial Planning Seminar for Physicians.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 from 6:00pm - 9:00pm at Sheraton Eatontown, Eatontown, NJ
This event is FREE to physician members and non-members. Dinner and cocktails will be served. More information and registration.
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The Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy's "Roy A. Bowers 64th Annual Pharmaceutical Conference" is being held on October 30, 2014 at The Imperia in Somerset, NJ. More information.
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Novitas Solutions will host a free 2014 Medicare symposium on October 20, 2014 in Atlantic City, NJ and November 6 in Langhorne, PA. Topics include E&M Services, Two-Midnight Rule, claim form overviews, and Medicare basics.
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| The New Jersey Obstetrical & Gynecological Society will host their Semi-Annual Meeting on Friday, November 7, 2014 from 7:45am to 3:30pm at Forsgate Country Club. View the brochure.
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The Delaware Stroke Initiative and the Delaware Medical Society will host "The John Scholz Stroke Education Conference" on Saturday, November 8, 2014 from 7:00am to 1:45pm at the Ammon Medical Education Center on the campus of Christiana Care Health Services in Newark, Delaware.
Learn:
- The continuum of care for stroke rehabilitation patients;
- The effects of stroke on vision;
- New treatment options for stroke prevention and brain hemorrhage;
- Stroke risk factors, including hypertension and atrial fibrillation;
- The psychological impact of stroke on caregivers;
- The radiographic evaluation of stroke;
- The risk factors, symptoms and management of pediatric stroke;
- How orthotics are used for movement and stability in stroke recovery; and
- The common principles of primary prevention of stroke.
Register.
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NY and NJ 2014 Symposium on Opioids and End of Life Care
November 9, 2014 from 8:00am to 4:00pm at Hyatt Regency on the Hudson, Jersey City, NJ
More information and registration. View the agenda.
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POS® will host a Financial Communication Focus Group on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm at Due Mari in New Brunswick, NJ.
Learn and share ideas with healthcare leaders about the challenges of patient-owed balances. Register online.
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| Seabrook House is offering a complimentary CME event with Monmouth-Ocean Medical Society on "Identifying and Addressing Addiction in my Private Practice" on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at TR Hotel in Toms River, NJ. Click here for more information and registration.
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| New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome presents their First Annual Childhood Mental Health Symposium: Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Tics, OCD and Trichotillomania on November 20, 2014 from 10:00am to 4:00pm at Rutgers. Register online.
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NJ Chapter, American College of Surgeons 63rd Annual Clinical Symposium
Saturday, December 6, 2014 from 7:30am to 5:30pm at the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel & Conference Center
Clinical Sessions include:
Bariatric Surgery; Cardio-Thoracic Surgery; Colon & Rectal Surgery; Neurosurgery; Trauma Surgery; Plastic Surgery; Otolaryngology; Urologic Surgery; Vascular Surgery; Trauma Surgery; Global Surgery.
Special Sessions include:
End of Life Care - POLST; 2014 ACS Update; Sheen Award Lecture; Resident Jeopardy/Resident Manuscript Awards
More information and registration.
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| The CDC will host a 2-day course on Epidemiology & Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases on March 17 and March 18, 2015 from 8:00am to 5:00pm at the Busch Campus Multi-Purpose Center, Rutgers, The State University in Piscataway. More information.
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Policy and Strategy Panel Meeting
"New Physician Programs"
Thursday, October 23, 2014 at 5:30pm
Hear presentations on two new exciting physician programs:
- MSNJ Shared Savings Program
- MSNJ/Horizon Prior Authorization Streamlining Initiative
This is a free event. Registration is required.
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Quality Recognition Awards
The MSNJ Biennial Quality Recognition Award recognizes the outstanding physician members who demonstrate a commitment to quality, continuous improvement, leadership, and patient satisfaction.
The physician member needs to achieve 10 points every two years by meeting certain criteria. Awards will be distributed in January of each year.
Download the award application today!
Please return to MSNJ via email at membership@msnj.org.
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Ebola Resources:
MSNJ Corporate Partner, Princeton Insurance has created advice to help prepare for and manage any potential Ebola threats. Read the advice below.
Other resources:
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CDC Announces New Faster Lab Test for Enterovirus D-68
On October 14 the CDC announced that it has developed and begun to use a new, faster lab test for detecting enterovirus D-68. The test is "real time" reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) and will identify all strains of EV-D68. About half of the specimens submitted to CDC between August 1 and October 10 were positive for EV-D68. While CDC believes that the EV-D68 infections are beginning to decline, the new test's ability to quickly confirm the virus may cause an uptick in the number of confirmed cases. Read more.
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Legislative Update
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Children's Health
The Assembly Women and Children Committee released A-3435, sponsored by Assemblyman Garcia, which permits minors to give consent for behavioral health care. The bill is called the "Boys & Girls Clubs Keystone Law." The NJ Psychiatric Association has engaged with the sponsor to express concerns. MSNJ is monitoring the bill.
The Committee also released A-3453, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Prieto, which would establish traumatic brain injury screening and education programs in the Department of Children and Families (DCF). MSNJ is monitoring the bill.
Drug Abuse Legislation
The Senate Health Committee released 9 of the 21 bills introduced to reduce drug addiction. MSNJ, along with specialty societies, expressed concerns regarding a few of the bills, including S.2366, which requires physicians to advise patients of the addictive nature of certain medication, and S.2370, which requires physicians to advise patients of medication drop off programs. MSNJ will continue to engage on this issue. See www.msnj.org/drugabuse for more information.
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News
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US Supreme Court Hears Argument on Authority of Medical Licensure Boards
On October 14 the United States Supreme Court heard argument on North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC, a case that will determine whether the Federal Trade Commission may second-guess the decision of a state medical licensure board.
At issue is a decision by the state dental examiners that teeth whitening is within the dentists' scope of practice (which includes the removal of stains, accretions, and deposits on teeth), and the board's issuance of "cease and desist" orders to non-dentists performing tooth whitening in malls and spas.
The Federal Trade Commission has taken the position that the dental board's action was not protected activity from antitrust scrutiny under the "state action" doctrine. The federal court of appeals agreed finding that: the majority of the board was practicing dentists; the board should be considered an organization of private individuals; and the state dental board could not restrain trade through its cease and desist orders.
While the FTC did not determine whether tooth whitening is the practice of dentistry, this case has significant ramifications for medical boards and their authority to enforce scope of practice determinations. It also demonstrates that the FTC will take a hard look at whether board activity is anti-competitive. MSNJ and the AMA believe that medical boards have the authority to regulate their professions. The AMA Litigation Center filed briefs in support of the dental board. View AMA's mock hearing.
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Forbes Op-Ed: SGR is a Farce
A recent Forbes op-ed argues that Medicare is not as solvent as projected because the federal government assumes that the Medicare physician rate cuts will take place at some point when, in reality, they will not. Grace-Marie Turner, President of the Galen Institute, states that Medicare is unsustainable and real reform is necessary. Calling the SGR a farce, the author implores Congress to get rid of the SGR and move on to real Medicare reform.
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HHS & NJ for Health Care Coalition Hold Press Conference on Statehouse Steps-Countdown to Second ACA Insurance Marketplace Enrollment
On October 15 partners of the New Jersey Health Care Coalition's ACA Work Group and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services held a press conference on the steps of the New Jersey Statehouse to countdown a month before the opening of the health insurance marketplace. The press conference highlighted enrollment assistance and resources in an effort to enroll more than half a million New Jerseyans who remain uninsured. Region II Director, Jackie Cornell-Bechelli, noted:
- Over 400,000 individuals in NJ enrolled last year
- 161,000 obtained insurance through the marketplace
- over 50% were female
- 32% were under the age of 35 (leading the speaker to suggest those who said young people would not sign up were wrong)
- 84% of those who purchased plans last year received some sort of financial assistance
Most speakers discussed last year's successes and the need to continue to educate people about the importance of enrolling and about healthcare in general. All said that community involvement--from hospitals and FQHCs to faith based and civic organizations-- is the key to getting the word out to as many people as possible. Many of the speakers also expressed the importance of ensuring those who enrolled last year stay enrolled. Read more.
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| OIG to CMS: Strengthen Oversight of State Managed Medicaid Programs
In September, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report, "State Standards for Access to Care in Medicaid Managed Care," in which it found that state standards for access to care in managed Medicaid varied widely. In addition, it found that most states did not identify violations of their own access standards over the five year period ending in 2013. There were no observations or findings on access or standard violations in New Jersey. OIG recommended that CMS strengthen its oversight of state standards and ensure that they develop standards for key providers; ensure that states conduct direct tests of access standards; and improve state efforts to identify and address violations of access standards. CMS has concurred with the recommendations. Standards of note: the number of enrollees per primary care provider ranges from a low of 100 to 2,500; it is 2,000 in New Jersey. Maximum wait times for primary care vary from 10 to 42 days. The maximum wait time in New Jersey is 28 days. View New Jersey's Managed Medicaid Contract which contains the state's standards.
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Omission Leads to License Application Denial
According to the New Jersey Law Journal, the NJ Appellate Division recently affirmed the denial of a massage license by the State Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy, ruling that a license can be denied due to application errors, even if those errors were unintentional. Under the Uniform Enforcement Act, professional licensing boards (such as those that cover nurses, doctors, and dentists among other professions) are allowed to refuse licensure to an applicant who has "engaged in the use or employment of dishonesty, fraud, deception, misrepresentation, false promise or false pretense."
In the Matter of the Application of Y.L., the applicant failed to mention she had previously been arrested. Even though she advised the Board that her lack of understanding English (coupled with having a friend filling out the application for her) had led to the error, the court affirmed the Board's decision, holding that misrepresentation can include unintentional negligent acts.
Read more.
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Practice Management
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Are you ready for ICD-10?
The AMA has created a
3M™ ICD-10 Education Program: Physician Practice Package to assist in transitioning from ICD-9 to ICD-10. This interactive web-based training is specific to different job functions and matches trainees to the appropriate educational track. The training covers 19 specialties and includes:
- Physician documentation videos, with samples of documentation improvement and tips
- ICD-10 modules split between diagnostic and procedural coding that include printable references, case studies, practice questions and self-assessment tests by job function
- Two awareness courses-one for administrative staff, and a more advanced course for ancillary staff
ICD-10 National Provider Call
CMS will host a National Provider Call on "Transitioning to ICD-10" on Wednesday, November 5 at 1:30pm. CMS will discuss ICD-10 implementation issues, opportunities for testing and provide resources. Register online.
ICD-10: One-Year Away
October 1, 2015 is the deadline to transition to the ICD-10 code set. MSNJ encourages all physicians to begin preparing for implementation by working with software vendors and testing their systems. Read the AMA Wire article and view more resources on MSNJ's website.
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2015 Health Insurance Marketplace Open Enrollment
The 2015 open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace will begin November 15, 2014 and go through February 15, 2015. Coverage for the 2014 Marketplace plans ends on December 31, 2014. Coverage for the 2015 Marketplace plans can begin on January 1, 2015. Visit the HealthCare.gov website for more information.
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Medicare Open Enrollment Beginning Next Week
The annual enrollment period for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans will begin on October 15, 2014 and end on December 7, 2014. Medicare beneficiaries have until December 7 to analyze their options and make plan choices. During open enrollment, Medicare beneficiaries who do not have a Part D plan can enroll in one, and those who do have Part D coverage can change plans. Beneficiaries can also return to traditional Medicare from a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan, enroll in an MA plan, or change MA plans. Enrollment requests made during open enrollment will have an effective date of January 1, 2015. The 2015 plan information will be available on the Medicare Plan Finder. More information.
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Novitasphere Enrollment
Novitasphere provides access to eligibility, claim information and remittance advice. Click here for step by step instructions on how to enroll.
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Definition of "Spouse" - Medicare Secondary Payer-Working Aged Policy
Effective January 1, 2015, the definition of a spouse for purposes of the working aged provisions means "a person who is entitled to Medicare as a spouse based upon the Social Security Administration's rules or a person whose marriage is valid in the jurisdiction in which it was performed including one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or a U.S. territory or a foreign country, so long as that marriage would also be recognized by a U.S. jurisdiction." Read more.
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| The Medicare Premiums and Deductibles for 2015 are now available. Click here to view.
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| View October's Coding Tip of the Month for information on the use of H codes for diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H59).
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Corporate Partners
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Princeton Insurance - Gold Level Partner
Read MedPro's advice to help prepare for potential Ebola threats.
 Contact: Lois Hogya
Corporate Address: 746 Alexander Road, Princeton, NJ 08540-6305
Phone: 800.334.0588
E-mail: lois.hogya@princetoninsurance.com
Website
Princeton Insurance exists to protect the New Jersey healthcare community and partner with them in their efforts to provide outstanding patient care. Measured either by numbers of policyholders or total premiums, Princeton is the leading healthcare malpractice insurer in New Jersey, with the longest continuous market presence of any company offering coverage in the Garden State.
Rated A++ (Superior) by independent rating agency A.M. Best, Princeton Insurance is part of the Medical Protective/Berkshire Hathaway corporate family. Medical Protective has been protecting healthcare providers since 1899 and is the nation's highest-rated healthcare malpractice carrier, according to both S&P and A.M. Best. MedPro provides unmatched strength, winning defense, and innovative solutions to physicians, dentists and other healthcare providers in all fifty states.
Princeton's local knowledge and expertise, joined together with MedPro's nationwide presence and Berkshire's unmatched financial strength, result in an even stronger partnership with our policyholders to meet the challenges they face and provide the protection they deserve.
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Member Resource Guide
Check out the current MSNJ Member Resource Guide! Inside, you will find a complete listing of partners by service/product category, along with contact information. Also, be sure to check out the individual Corporate Partner pages on our website as some offer additional discounts to members!
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It is important to note that MSNJ does not endorse any vendor, service, or product. However, we encourage members to please consider our Corporate Partners first as the financial support received from these organizations is vital to our association. It is our hope that their investment in MSNJ will help keep your membership dues and programming affordable.
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Medical Society of New Jersey
2 Princess Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
(o) 609-896-1766 e-mail:
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About the Medical Society of New Jersey:
Founded in 1766, the Medical Society of New Jersey (MSNJ) is the oldest professional society in the United States. MSNJ promotes the betterment of the public health and the science and the art of medicine, to enlighten public opinion in regard to the problems of medicine, and to safeguard the rights of the practitioners of medicine. The organization and its members are dedicated to a healthy New Jersey, working to ensure the sanctity of the physician-patient relationship. In representing all medical disciplines, MSNJ advocates for the rights of patients and physicians alike, for the delivery of the highest quality medical care. For more information visit our website or send us an e-mail.
"Your Partner in Practice... Your Voice in Trenton"
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2014 © Medical Society of New Jersey. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the Medical Society of New Jersey.
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