AMA to award $50k for best ideas to create a healthier nation Do you have an idea that could help shape 21st century medicine? The American Medical Association (AMA) is helping physicians and medical students bring their cutting-edge health care ideas to reality with the launch of the AMA Healthier Nation Innovation Challenge. “New ideas for better care emerge every day from physicians and medical students on the front lines of medicine,” said AMA President Steven J. Stack, M.D. “AMA wants to support these health care innovators and help them succeed in moving their new ideas from the concept phase into day-to-day ... April 22, 2016 General Health Care Innovations, American Medical Association 0 0 Comment Read More »
CDPH hosting provider call on Zika virus The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is convening a conference call for physicians and other health care providers on the Zika virus. The conference call will take place Wednesday, April 20, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. The conference call will look at California's Zika preparedness activities; global, national and California Zika cases; laboratory update; guidance for the prevention of the sexual transmission of Zika; infection control issues; and monitoring mosquito vectors. There will also be a question and answer session, so physicians can find answers to their specific ... April 19, 2016 General Infectious Diseases, Public Health, Zika Virus, Department of Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Are you interested in serving in CMA's House of Delegates? The California Medical Association (CMA) is currently accepting applications and nominations for members to serve as delegates and alternates in the association's House of Delegates (HOD). The HOD convenes annually to debate and act on resolutions and reports dealing with myriad medical practice, public health and CMA governance issues. Delegates are also expected to participate in the association's year round policy making process, through the submission of online testimony. Specifically, CMA is currently seeking applications and nominations for the mode-of-practice forum delegations. (Note: mode-of-practice refers to the type or size ... April 18, 2016 General House of Delegates, CMA nominations 0 0 Comment Read More »
Physician leaders converge on the Capitol for CMA's 42nd annual lobby day Over 400 California Medical Association (CMA) member physicians, medical students and physician supporters gathered in Sacramento on April 13 to bring the voice of medicine to legislators. During CMA's 42nd annual Legislative Advocacy Day, physicians discussed the many threats – and opportunities – facing the practice of medicine in California. The group also headed over to the Capitol in white coats to speak to their legislators about critical legislative issues affecting the practice of medicine in California. Among the issues discussed with legislators were: expanded training opportunities for primary care ... April 18, 2016 CMA, General , Legislative Advocacy, Grassroots Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Anthem software upgrade caused widespread claims payment errors in March Anthem Blue Cross recently announced that a software upgrade the weekend of March 19 resulted in a zero allowance for some provider claims. According to Anthem, approximately 130,000 claims were affected. The error was resolved on Thursday, March 24. The California Medical Association (CMA) was made aware of this problem by calls from members to our reimbursement help line. Anthem advised CMA that all impacted claims will automatically be reprocessed within 90-120 days and physicians do not need to resubmit claims or file appeals. Interest and penalties will automatically be ... April 18, 2016 Managed Care Commercial Insurance, Anthem Blue Cross 0 0 Comment Read More »
April is National Donate Life Month; physicians encouraged to talk to patients about the importance of organ donation In honor of Donate Life Month, the California Medical Association (CMA) and the CMA Foundation are encouraging physicians to talk to their patients about the importance of organ and tissue donation, particularly in underserved ethnic communities. There are almost 124,000 men, women, and children who are currently waiting for an organ transplant in the United States. Each day, an average of 79 people receive organ transplants. However, an average of 22 people die each day waiting for life-saving transplants due to the shortage of donated organs. According to Donate Life America, ... April 18, 2016 General Organ Donation, Public Health, CMA Foundation (CMAF) 0 0 Comment Read More »
Call for nominations: CMA Quality and Cost Technical Advisory Committee The California Medical Association (CMA) is currently seeking physician members to serve on the newly formed Quality and Cost Technical Advisory Committee (QTAC). CMA's committees and councils provide key input to the Board of Trustees to guide the association as it sets new policies. The deadline to submit an application or nomination for the QTAC is Friday, April 29, 2016. The purpose of this committee is to provide input in the development of a cohesive and consistent approach to quality and cost rating programs and value-based payment initiatives. Committee members will ... April 18, 2016 General CMA Nominations, Quality Reporting, CMA Committees 0 0 Comment Read More »
Reminder: Deadline to register for CURES is July 1, 2016 Under California law, all individuals practicing in California who possess both a state regulatory board license authorized to prescribe, dispense, furnish or order controlled substances and a Drug Enforcement Administration Controlled Substance Registration Certificate (DEA Certificate) must register to use the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) by July 1, 2016. The California Medical Association (CMA) has compiled a list of educational materials to familiarize physicians with the registration process and key features of the newly upgraded system, CURES 2.0. These resources are available at www.cmanet.org/cures. Physicians who experience ... April 18, 2016 General Webinars, CURES, Drug Prescribing 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS announces new primary-care payment and health care delivery model The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) this week announced a new payment model aimed at transforming and improving how primary care is delivered and paid for in America. The Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) model will be implemented in up to 20 regions and can accommodate up to 5,000 practices, which would encompass more than 20,000 doctors and clinicians and the 25 million people they serve. The initiative is designed to provide doctors the freedom to care for their patients the way they think will deliver the ... April 18, 2016 Medi-Cal, Medicare Medicare, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
Will your practice be ready to comply with the requirements under new provider directory accuracy law? On July 1, 2016, a new law will take effect that requires plans to ensure that physician directories are accurate and up-to-date. The law (SB 137) includes multiple components aimed at providing patients with more accurate and complete information to identify which providers are in their payors' networks. Plans and insurers will be required to have certain data fields in the directory including, but not limited to, provider name, specialty, board certification (if any), practice address, city, zip, license number, NPI, whether the provider is accepting new patients, the product ... April 14, 2016 General Payor Contracting, Provider Directories, Provider Networks, Network Adequacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
