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Medical Society of New Jersey e-Newsletter
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 | The Physicians Foundation released ICD10Charts.com, a free comprehensive ICD-10 training module for medical practices.
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SoFi
SoFi refinances student loan debt from both federal and private sources into one loan with one monthly payment at lower rates. Physician borrowers save on average $20,800 on their student loans. Adjustable rates start at 2.17% APR, fixed rates at 3.5% APR. Access the discount.
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MSNJ Magazine Subscription Service
Subscription Services, Inc., does their very best to get you the lowest rates. As a member, you are eligible for the very lowest prices on magazine subscriptions as well as personalized hands-on customer service. Click "Shop for Magazines" to place new subscriptions, renewals, as well as gift order subscriptions. You can also inquire about titles you may be interested in. If you ever have a question regarding your order or your account, please call 1-800-603-5602, or use the contact page to communicate with a customer service representative. And if you ever find a lower authorized price, they will match it!
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Ready Set Code! ICD-10 Webinar Workshops
The compliance date for implementation of ICD-10 is October 1, 2015. Will you be ready? MSNJ and the New Jersey Hospital Association will host a series of specialty specific webinar workshops on ICD-10. These hands-on coding workshops will help you master ICD-10-CM and the documentation requirements associated with coding for your specialty-specific practice. Participants will gain an understanding of the code format and structure of ICD-10 and the ability to successfully assign diagnosis codes using ICD-10. Choose one workshop that best describes your practice. Each 2-hour Specialty Workshop will be repeated on two different dates/times for your convenience. All workshops are approved for 2 AAPC CEUs. More information and registration.
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New! Free on-line course on End of Life Care
Meets NJ BME education requirement for two Category 1 Credits in End of Life Care needed for 2015 license renewal.
Members access here.
We also have an alternative online option with a modest fee:
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.
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Webinar: Collection Tips in 10 Minutes
I.C. System has created a series of short webinars to provide tips to help your office. Access the webinars.
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Novitas Solutions will host their 2015 Medicare Symposium in our area on the following dates:
- June 9, 2015 - State College, PA
- July 29, 2015 - Fort Lee, NJ
- August 5, 2015 - Philadelphia, PA
- November 10, 2015 - East Windsor, NJ
More information.
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| The 2015 Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1. Is your business prepared for a possible shutdown on the heels of the infrastructure collapse that usually follows a major storm? Join Agility Recovery and the U.S. Small Business Administration for a free business continuity webinar on Tuesday, June 9, at 2:00pm. Listen to practical tips on how to make your organization more resilient and prepared when a hurricane strikes. Register online.
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| Brach Eichler will host their 7th Annual NJ ASC Review on June 17th and 18th at Borgata, Atlantic City. Register online!
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| MSNJ, in conjunction with the Hudson County Medical Society will host a free CME seminar on "Identifying and Addressing Addiction
in my Private Practice" on Thursday, June 17 at 6:00pm at Waterside Restaurant. More information.
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| IC System will host a free webinar on "Legal Landmines: What You Need to Know About the TCPA" on June 18 at 11:00am. With the vast majority of cell phone users in the marketplace, understanding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and its restrictions on calling consumer cell phones is more important than ever. Join this informative webinar and learn: What the TCPA regulates; What the risks and penalties of noncompliance are; How to protect your office; and If your collection agency is putting you at risk. More information.
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Registration closed.
Walk-in's welcome! View the agenda. |
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The next Board of Trustees meeting will be on Sunday, June 14 at 9:30 am at Greenacres Country Club, 2170 Lawrenceville Road, Trenton. Following the Board Meeting, MSNJ will be hosting the Golden Merit Ceremony celebrating our physicians who have held a medical license for 50 years. Congratulate our Golden Merit physicians in the ad journal.
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News
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MSNJ Supports Bill to Amend the Sunshine Act
MSNJ recently joined virtually all of organized medicine in a letter to Congressman Michael Burgess, MD, to support H.R. 293, a bill he sponsors that would exempt scientific peer reviewed information from reporting under the Sunshine Act. The bill would also clarify that CME which meets the standard for independence is exempt from reporting.
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| CMS Releases Physician Medicare Payment Data
This week CMS announced its release of data on Medicare payments made to physicians for Part B services. The data has been improved over the last release; CMS has removed the costs of drugs that artificially skewed the numbers upward. However, the data may still be misleading without context. MSNJ and the AMA support transparency in fees, but continue to question how meaningful the released data is to consumers. For example, the data does not include fees paid under Medicare Advantage plans. Physicians are urged to review the released data for accuracy and to be able to explain their data compared to others in similar circumstances. Read CMS's data sheet.
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Legislative Update
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Out of Network
MSNJ continues to fight legislation that would drastically change the health insurance market. Read our letter. See press coverage.
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MSNJ Summer Fellow
MSNJ is pleased to welcome Sean Dikdan as our 2015 medical student summer fellow. Sean is a candidate for a dual MD/MPH degree from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and Rutgers School of public health. Having just finished his third year of medical school, Sean is now taking a scholastic year to work on the Masters of Public Health degree. He has a dual concentration in Epidemiology and Urban Health Administration. Sean will be helping with and learning about physician advocacy during his summer with MSNJ.
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In the Courts
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| US Supreme Court Protects Physicians from False Claims Suits Filed after Six Years
Physicians will benefit from the recent United Supreme Court decision in KBR v. US of America Ex Relator Benjamin Carter that upheld the six-year limitation on damage claims under the False Claims Act. Physicians who provide services under Medicare and other federal healthcare programs will not face the possibility of civil lawsuits against them for an unlimited period of time, including qui tam suits brought by individuals on behalf of the government. Thanks to the Litigation Center of the AMA and State Medical Societies for successfully pointing out to the high court in an amicus brief that if the statute of limitations were removed, physicians could be "forced to defend against stale, repetitive and frequently meritless claims." Read more.
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| US Supreme Court Watch
This month the United Supreme Court will issue its opinion in the closely watched case, King v. Burwell. It will determine whether subsides are available on Exchange purchased plans in states, like New Jersey, where the federal government is operating the Exchange.
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| New Jersey Supreme Court Watch
The New Jersey Supreme Court will soon determine whether a medical malpractice carrier must provide some coverage for a podiatrist who made false statements on his application for insurance. In DeMarco v. Stoddard the appellate division required the carrier to provide at least the statutory minimum amount of coverage to protect the injured patient.The state's highest court will soon rule on the carrier's appeal from that decision. Read more.
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Practice Management
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ICD-10 End-to-End Testing
CMS conducted the ICD-10 End-to-End Testing Week April 27 through May 1, 2015. View the results of the testing. A final end-to-end testing week will be held on July 20 through 24, 2015. The opportunity to volunteer for this testing week has closed. Testers who participated in the January and April end-to-end testing weeks are automatically eligible to test again in July.
The AMA, along with 100 physician groups, expressed concern about the ICD-10 transition in a letter to Acting CMS Administrator Andrew Slavit, stating that the first testing week was "well below average," while CMS is calling it a success. Read more.
CMS has developed a tool, "Road to 10," aimed specifically at smaller physician practices with primers for clinical documentation, clinical scenarios, and other specialty-specific resources to help you with implementation.
The Physicians Foundation released ICD10Charts.com, a free comprehensive ICD-10 training module for medical practices.
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New Member Benefit: Supercoder.com
MSNJ is excited to introduce a new member benefit, powered by SuperCoder.com. Use these free tools on the MSNJ website:
- Ask an Expert (submit questions and get answers from AAPC and/or AHIMA certified coders)
- ICD-10 Bridges (crosswalk your ICD-9 codes and become familiar with ICD-10)
- Code Search (obtain results from four sets of code indexes, tables, and SuperCoder's Keyword Code Helper)
- Access other SuperCoder.com tools at MSNJ's discounted rate
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Apply for an EHR Hardship Exception by July 1 to Avoid 2016 Penalty
Eligible Professionals (EPs) who did not successfully participate in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program in 2014 will begin receiving penalties starting January 1, 2016. Medicare EPs can avoid the 2016 penalty by applying for a hardship exception by July 1, 2015. The hardship exception applications and instructions for an individual and for multiple Medicare EPs are available. CMS will use Medicare data to determine your eligibility to be automatically granted a hardship exception. If approved, the exception is valid for the 2016 payment adjustment only. If you intend to claim a hardship exception for a subsequent payment adjustment year, a new application must be submitted for the appropriate year.
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PC-ACE Pro32 ICD-10 Test Assistant Utility
PC-ACE Pro32 users are not required to test ICD-10 codes since the software was already successfully tested by the software creator and Novitas. However, Novitas has developed a test to better understand the codes. Download the PC-ACE Pro32 ICD-10 Test Assistant Utility by inserting the following URL in your web browser:
66.196.251.98/pro32bld/SDI/misc/icd10tst.exe
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Novitas Releases Articles to Help You to "Increase Your Bottom Line"
Novitas Solutions has started to roll out a series of "Increasing Your Bottom Line" articles geared specifically to help Medicare Part B providers submit Medicare Part B claims accurately the first time. The second article, "Increasing Your Bottom Line: How Much Does Rework Cost Your Organization?" is now available.
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ICD-10: Only 118 Days 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. Register for upcoming ICD-10 Webinar Workshops.
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Health Insurance:
QualCare, Inc. - Platinum Level Partner
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Records Destruction:
Cintas Document Management - Bronze Level Partner
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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!
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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2015 © 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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