PQRS administrative claims-based reporting deadline is October 15 Physicians who do not successfully participate in the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) this year will be subject to PQRS payment penalties starting in 2015. PQRS is a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) quality reporting program that uses a combination of incentive payments and payment adjustments to promote reporting of quality information by eligible professionals. Physicians who do not report on at least one individual measure in 2013 or elect to participate in the administrative claims reporting option will receive a 1.5 percent payment penalty in 2015. The penalty ... September 20, 2013 General Medicare, Physicians Quality Reporting System, PQRS, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Insurance/Reimbursement 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS launches new online ICD-10 implementation guide The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently launched an online ICD-10 implementation guide to help practices of all sizes successfully make the switch to the new ICD-10 coding system, which is used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures. Physicians and payors must begin using the new code sets by October 1, 2014. ICD-10 (The International Classification of Disease tenth revision) is a system of coding created in 1992 as the successor to the previous ICD-9 system. ICD-10 will include new procedures and diagnoses, which the U.S. Department ... September 20, 2013 General CMS, ICD-10, Practice Management 0 0 Comment Read More »
MICRA Update: Victory in the Capitol but the fight goes on California’s legislative session officially wrapped up last week, and because of aggressive advocacy by the California Medical Association (CMA) and action taken by thousands of California physicians, a bill to scuttle the state’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) was never introduced. Despite weeks of pandering to members of the Legislature, California’s trial lawyers, along with their front group Consumer Watchdog, were unable to find enough legislators to vote for their greedy and misguided effort at lifting MICRA’s historic protections for their own financial gain. A majority of the Legislature ... September 20, 2013 General Advocacy, Malpractice Insurance, MICRA, Professional Liability 0 0 Comment Read More »
Press - Package of bills to increase number of physicians in rural, underserved areas signed by Governor Brown Sacramento – Two bills that would put more physicians in rural and underserved parts of California were signed by Governor Jerry Brown. SB 21 and AB 1288 were both sponsored by the California Medical Association (CMA). The 2013-14 state budget included a $15 million annual appropriation to fully fund the University of California Riverside School of Medicine (UCR SOM). The Inland Empire, including Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, is experiencing the lowest supply of physicians per capital than any other region of the state. Allocating a continuous funding source for ... September 11, 2013 General Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Legislature passes CURES bill The California Assembly has unanimously passed a bill (SB 809) that will provide $9 million annually to upgrade and maintain the Controlled Substances and Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES). CURES is an online database that allows authorized users, including physicians, pharmacists, law enforcement and regulatory boards, to access information about a patient’s controlled substance prescription history. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk. The California Medical Association (CMA) changed its position on the bill from neutral to support after negotiating significant amendments to the bill that will make ... September 11, 2013 General Advocacy, CURES, Drug Prescribing, Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Governor signs CMA-sponsored bill to expedite physician licensure for practice in underserved areas Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill (AB 1288) sponsored by the California Medical Association (CMA) that requires priority review status be given to the license applications of physicians who can demonstrate that they intend to practice in a medically-underserved area or serve a medically-underserved population. With California facing an uneven disbursement of physicians, increasing the physician pipeline to those areas to ensure delivery of safe, quality medical care will be crucial to the health of those communities. “We need more physicians in rural and underserved areas of California,” said Paul ... September 11, 2013 General Licensure, Medical Board of California, Underserved Communities, Professional Development and Licensure 0 0 Comment Read More »
Trial attorneys re-file anti-MICRA ballot initiative On August 30, the trial attorneys re-filed their proposed anti-MICRA ballot initiative with the Attorney General’s Office, a political maneuver that will buy them more time as they attempt to navigate around the organized opposition to the proposal. The revised initiative was filed only hours before the start of the long Labor Day weekend, an obvious attempt at keeping their proposal off the public’s radar as best they could. Despite the revisions, the central focus of this proposed initiative remains to be to more than quadruple California's current $250,000 cap ... September 10, 2013 General Medical Malpractice, MICRA, Professional Liability 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA opposes bill that lowers standard of proof for physician discipline California legislators are currently considering a bill, SB 670 (Steinberg), that would increase the likelihood that limitations will be erroneously placed on a physician’s ability to practice. SB 670 allows the Medical Board of California to use a significantly lower standard of proof – "probable cause" instead of the more reliable "clear and convincing evidence" – to determine if a physician's prescribing of controlled substance is a danger to patients and the public. This reduces the level of evidence needed to justify placing a serious limitation on the physician’s ... September 10, 2013 General Drug Prescribing, Medical Board of California, Advocacy, Professional Development and Licensure 0 0 Comment Read More »
Medicare transition to Noridian is just a week away! We are just one week away from the September 16 cutover date from Palmetto to the new Medicare Part B fee-for-service contractor, Noridian. Although efforts have been made to minimize the burden to practices and to ensure that physicians continue to receive their Medicare payments in a timely fashion after the transition, there are a number of things physicians should be aware of, including: Last day to submit to Palmetto: September 11, 2013 is the last day providers may submit electronic claims to Palmetto (2:00 p.m. cutoff time), and the ... September 10, 2013 Medicare Medicare, Medicare Transition, Noridian, Palmetto, Insurance/Reimbursement 0 0 Comment Read More »
Why Attend IMQ's "Stepping Up to Leadership" Program The Institute for Medical Quality and the PACE Program at UC San Diego are proud to announce an unparalleled opportunity for medical staff leaders. The Stepping Up to Leadership program trains medical staff leaders in issues of communication, problem-solving, and improving outcomes for patients and staff—and it’s more accessible than ever. The Stepping Up to Leadership conference will take place on November 7-9, 2013; March 6-8, 2014; and May 8-10, 2014. So why should your medical staff attend the Stepping Up to Leadership conference? Stepping Up to Leadership helps physicians ... September 5, 2013 General Institute for Medical Quality (IMQ), PACE, Stepping Up to Leadership 0 0 Comment Read More »
