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.

MSNJ would like to thank all of the sponsors who supported last week's golf outing:

Driving Range/Putting Green Sponsor:

Nancy Mueller, MD

Beverage Cart Sponsors:

Alan Lippman, MD

MD On-line

New Jersey Carpenters Funds

Hole Sponsors

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Kern Augustine Conroy & Schoppmann, P.C.

IWP

STI Computer Services, Inc.

Alere

Medline

Advantage Specialty

Bederson, LLP

Joseph Costabile, MD

Virtua Med Staff

Tournament Prize Sponsors:

Bruce Monaghan, MD

MBI Gluckshaw

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.

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!

Click here to watch a short demo video.

Jos. A Bank is offering exclusive coupons for Corporate Card Members for November 3 only! View the coupons!  

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. 

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.

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. 

MSNJ Guest Speaker on Drug Shortages at OSMAP

MSNJ Guest speaker Erin Fox, PharmD of the University of Utah, a nationally recognized expert on medications shortages, will be presenting at the OSMAP (Organization of State Medical Association Presidents) meeting on November 7 in Dallas. More information.

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. 

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

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.

The New Jersey Department of Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), NJ Chapter invite you to attend the Vaccines for Children (VFC) & Vaccine Preventable Disease Conference: "Celebrating 20 Years of Saving Lives through Immunizations" on November 13, 2014. Topics include: 

• Alternative schedules & safety
• University meningococcal update
• New Jersey Immunization Information System (NJIIS) update
• Vaccine storage & handling
• VFC update
• Hepatitis B birth dose update

AmeriHealth Caritas Partnership's Dental Medical Conference is only weeks away!  This conference brings together the entire medical community promoting a holistic, integrated approach to caring for patients.  On November 13-15th at the Hilton City Avenue in Philadelphia, PA participants will receive up to 10 CME/CE credits through our academic partners: Rutgers University, Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine and Temple University's Kornberg School of Dentistry. Scholastic, Academic and Professional Health Care Leaders will deliver innovative presentations on topics such as:

• integrated case management and care models,
• reimbursement and payment models and
• interprofessional education, training and communications

Registration is FREE for students and $99 for professionals. More information.

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. 

4 New Cases of Enterovirus Confirmed in New Jersey

Ebola Resources:

• CDC Releases Tightened Guidelines for Healthcare Workers Treating Ebola Patients
• Governor Christie has announced a preparedness plan.  See the plan details here.
• MSNJ member, Dr. Porwancher Comments on the Differences Between Ebola and the Flu
• Airline Passenger Taken to Newark Hospital Has Not Tested Positive for Ebola
• Ron Klain to be appointed as Obama's point man on the Ebola crisis. Read more.
• Modern Healthcare hosted a live stream session on Ebola preparedness on Tuesday, October 21 organized by the Greater NY Hospital Association, the Service Employees International Union and the Partnership for Quality Care. View the archive.

Additional resources:

• Open Letter to All U.S. Health Care Professionals
• CDC Fact Sheet 
• CDC Press Release 
• Sign Up for Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) Updates and Reminders
• AMA's How to Screen for Ebola 
• AMA's Ebola Coverage  
• AMA's Ebola Resource Center
• Kaiser News Survey on Ebola 
• MedPro's Advice to Help Prepare for Potential Ebola Threats  

Resolutions due November 12

The next meeting of the Revolving Reference Committee is December 1, 2014. All resolutions need to be vetted by your County Medical Society prior to submission to MSNJ. Resolutions are due from the County Medical Societies by November 12. Click here for instructions on writing a resolution.

Drug Addiction Prevention

MSNJ and its member, Dr. Peter Staats, participated in the first meeting of the Pain Management Council of the Division of Consumer Affairs, under the NJ Attorney General.  The council heard from physician experts and worked in break off groups to target areas like diversion and addiction recognition and safe opioid prescribing.

See press coverage here.

MSNJ member, Dr. Bruce Bonanno, testified this week during a hearing held by the Assembly Health Committee  on barriers to addiction treatment.

The Assembly Health Committee also reviewed two bills that are part of the drug abuse bill package.  The Committee released A3715, which directs the State poison control and drug information program to establish a clearinghouse of drug overdose information, a report on trends, and provide education on safe storage and disposal of medications. MSNJ as well as NJHA and NJ ACEP  sought amendments to make the physician and hospital reporting on overdoses more realistic and meaningful. 

The Assembly Health Committee also released  A3720, which extends "Overdose Prevention Act" immunity provisions to certain professionals and professional entities and requires needle exchange programs to obtain standing orders for opioid antidote dispensation.

Dr. Jeffrey Brenner Elected to IOM

Congratulations to Jeffrey Brenner, MD, founder and executive director of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers, on being elected to the Institute of Medicine, one of the highest honors in health and medicine. Read more.

Hackensack University Medical Center & Meridian Health Merger

ICD-10: Less Than 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. View resources on MSNJ's website.  

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.   

Blueprint Released by AMA on Future of EHR Incentive Program

The AMA has released, in a letter sent to CMS and the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on October 14, a blueprint for the future of the EHR Incentive Program that includes recommendations for Stage 3 and a call for fundamental changes in Stages 1 and 2 of Meaningful Use. AMA requested that CMS replace its all-or-nothing approach to meeting the program criteria with one in which physicians would have to meet 75% of the criteria to obtain incentive payments and 50% of the requirements to avoid penalties for not showing meaningful use. Read more.

CMS Efforts to Help Marketplace Enrollees Stay Covered

CMS is making it easy for current Health Insurance Marketplace enrollees to renew their coverage for 2015. They are encouraging consumers to come back at the start of Open Enrollment on November 15, update their 2015 application, and compare their options to make sure they enroll in the plan that best suits their health care needs and budget. This week, consumers will begin to receive notices from the Marketplace in the mail and in their HealthCare.gov accounts, explaining how they can renew their coverage during Open Enrollment. To simplify the re-enrollment process, when consumers return to HealthCare.gov starting on November 15 and initiate their 2015 application, 90 percent of their online application will already be filled out or pre-populated. Read more.

Industry Must Submit Corrected Open Payments Data by October 31 

Applicable manufacturers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) must make corrections to any 2013 Open Payments disputed records by October 31, 2014. Publication will take place on or before December 31, 2014.

Open Payments Resources:

• Open Payments Search Tool 
• Quick Reference Guide: Applicable Manufacturer and GPO Record Review and Dispute Instructions 
• Dispute and Corrections Information
•  Open Payments resources page 

"Incident to" and the Initial Visit E/M Service Medicare Guidelines

Novitas Solutions' (NJ's Medicare contractor) Medical Review Department has observed a continued trend of the utilization of non-physician practitioners to perform initial office visits as "incident to" services. Documentation reviewed by the Medical Review Department indicates that a non-physician practitioner performs the initial visit and the supervising physician documents a note in the medical record, "I have reviewed the Physician Assistant's note, examined the patient and agree with..." This is incorrect use under the "incident to" guidelines. Read more to understand the definition and the criteria that must be met to properly bill "incident to" services.

CERT Insufficient Documentation Guidance 

The CERT A/B MAC Outreach & Education Task Force created an educational guide that explains the Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) program and provides information on how to provide accurate and supportive medical record documentation. Read the guide.

DeCotiis, FitzPatrick & Cole, LLP - Gold Level Partner  

Healthcare Law Section

Our Healthcare group has successfully represented healthcare entities and professionals in a complex industry, business and regulatory environment. The DeCotiis healthcare attorneys have represented physicians in New Jersey before the following State and federal agencies and private entities:

• The New Jersey Attorney General's Office
• The New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners
• The Medical Practitioner Review Panel
• The Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor
• New Jersey State Medicaid investigation
• The United States Attorneys Office
• The Office of Inspector General
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, including the Office of the Medicaid Inspector General
• Hospitals, nursing homes
• Extended care facilities
• Ambulatory surgery centers
• Insurance companies

QualCare, Inc. - Platinum Level Partner  

Contact: Jenny Martinez
Address: 30 Knightsbridge Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854
Phone: 888.670.8135, option 6
E-mail:  mewasales@qualcareinc.com
Website 

QualCare, Inc., administers the MSNJ Affiliated Physicians and Employers - MEWA Health Plan, a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) which provides members with access to healthcare coverage options that might otherwise be too costly. Through this program, physicians may buy self-insured health plans at the equivalent of large-group rates.

QualCare, Inc. is New Jersey's largest, provider-sponsored Managed Care Organization that offers self-funded PPO, HMO network, point of service (POS) network, and open access health plans; third party administration (TPA) services, provider network access, wellness programs, care management services, and a workers' compensation product. QualCare also provides ACO consultative services and infrastructure.

Headquartered in Piscataway, New Jersey, QualCare services over 800,000 members and is owned by 16 non-profit hospitals and physician-hospital organizations, with a clientele that spans health systems, unions, local governments, school boards, and other commercial employers. QualCare's network covers over 100 acute, specialty and rehabilitation hospitals, as well as over 31,000 physicians and other ancillary providers across NJ, PA & NY.

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!

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.