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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:
- July 29, 2015 - Fort Lee, NJ
- August 5, 2015 - Philadelphia, PA
- November 10, 2015 - East Windsor, NJ
More information.
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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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Progressive Healthcare Conferences Webinar: Increase Patient Safety: Reduce Patient Suicide & Ensure Compliance
Thursday, June 25, 2015 from 1:00pm to 2:00pm
Discover how to prevent suicide and keep your patients safe, ensure compliance with standards and effectively train your staff to identify patients at risk.
Register online.
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| Read Personal Wealth Strategies' information on Disability Income Insurance.
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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.
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News
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Out of Network Legislation
MSNJ continues to oppose legislation that would negatively impact physician payments and create burdens on practices. Due to our input, the bill no longer creates ranges or caps for OON charges and now requires network adequacy audits. MSNJ still opposes the baseball arbitration model in the bill. Read our letter. View press coverage of our testimony. Read more.
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| AMA Adopts MSNJ Resolution Urging Safe Use, Storage & Disposal of Medications
The AMA adopted a resolution advocated by MSNJ that will require the pharmaceutical industry to engage in public awareness campaigns regarding the safe use of medication, including dosage, storage and security, disposal and avoidance of diversion.
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Organized Medicine Seeks Two Year Grace Period for ICD-10 Penalties
The AMA passed policy during the 2015 annual meeting this month that would require CMS to waive penalties for errors, mistakes and system malfunctions for two years following the implementation of ICD-10. The policy seeks a true transition period during which physician payments would not be withheld based on coding mistakes. Read more.
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AMA to Study Ways to Improve Veterans' Access to Care
Resolutions brought forward by the MSNJ delegation to the AMA helped shape policy making on issues facing our veterans. The AMA adopted policy calling for a study of the VA health system to address access to care issues. Read more.
Read about the Top Ten Stories from the AMA Annual Meeting.
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Medical Directorships-Physicians Beware-OIG Fraud Alert
This week the Office of Inspector General issued a special fraud alert-"Physician Compensation Arrangements May Result in Significant Liability" warning against questionable medical directorship and office staff arrangements. It found many of these arrangements to be illegal under the federal anti-kickback law and subject to Civil Monetary Penalties. Read Brach Eichler's Health Law Alert and the OIG Fraud Alert.
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Medicare Shared Savings Program Final Rule
CMS released a final rule updating the Medicare Shared Savings Program that will both enhance the focus on primary care services and provide additional flexibility in the program. This final rule improves the program by:
- Creating a new Track 3;
- Streamlining the data sharing between CMS and ACOs;
- Establishing a waiver of the 3-day stay Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) rule for beneficiaries that are prospectively assigned to ACOs under Track 3; and
- Refining the policies for resetting ACO benchmarks to help ensure that the program continues to provide strong incentives for ACOs to improve patient care and generate cost savings.
Read more.
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New AMA Modules: STEPS Forward
The AMA developed STEPS Forward, a collection of free interactive educational modules that help physicians address common practice challenges while earning CME credit. Access the modules.
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Legislative Update
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Biologics
The Senate Health Committee released S.1705, which permits pharmacist to substitute biosimilar biological product under certain circumstances. As previously reported, MSNJ is neutral on this bill, which requires patient and physician notification of biologic medication substitution, in a manner similar to the way notice is provided when generic substation is made for brand drugs.
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Mental Health Services
The Senate Health Committee has passed S.2503, the "Boys & Girls Clubs Keystone Law," which permits minors to give consent for behavioral health care. As previously reported, NJPA has engaged with sponsors to improve this bill. MSNJ stands with NJPA in its negotiations on the bill.
The Assembly Human Services Committee has passed A.4416, which establishes the Behavioral Mental Health Advisory Board in Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services in the Department of Human Services. MSNJ does not yet have a position on this bill, but we would have an appointment to the Board. Read press coverage.
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ICD-10
The American Medical Association continues to have significant concerns with the readiness of many providers, payers, and other participants in the billing chain to implement ICD-10 on October 1, 2015. Accordingly, they encourage you to contact your member of Congress and your Senators and ask them to work to provide a grace period during implementation so that potential disruptions do not impact the delivery of care. Send a message now!
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MSNJ In The News
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Practice Management
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A message from Novitas Solutions
Your opinion is important to us. Please help us by participating in the 2015 MAC Satisfaction Indicator (MSI) survey, beginning June 15, 2015. On that date, we invite you to complete a quick ten (10) minute survey to share your experience with the services we provide. Responses to the survey are kept confidential. Additional information about this great opportunity is available on our website.
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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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ICD-10: Only 110 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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Legal Services:
Giordano Halleran & Ciesla - Silver Level Partner
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Liability Insurance:
Princeton Insurance - Gold 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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