Update on the IMQ Hospital Accreditation Survey Program Since the 1970s, the California Medical Association’s Institute for Medical Quality (IMQ) has participated in hospital licensure and accreditation surveys in partnership with The Joint Commission (TJC) and the California Department of Public Health under the Consolidated Accreditation and Licensure Survey Program. Although the program is no longer consolidated, hospitals that are surveyed by TJC can choose to have an IMQ physician surveyor replace one TJC surveyor on the team. Since October 2014, approximately 50 percent of the hospitals scheduled for a survey in California have opted to have an ... July 24, 2015 General Hospital Medical Staff, IMQ, Institute for Medical Quality, Hospital Accreditation 0 0 Comment Read More »
Deadline to verify CHPI quality data accuracy is July 31 In late May, approximately 18,000 physicians in California received a notice and their individual quality measurement scores for a new quality rating program through the California Healthcare Performance Initiative System (CHPI). The program rates physicians using claims data from Medicare fee-for-service, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California and United Healthcare. Physicians will be assigned a star rating of one to four stars for each measure, based on where they fall as a percentile within a “peer group," plus a composite score. The individual quality measurement scores were based on ... July 24, 2015 General Quality of Care, Quality Reporting 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: July 22, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ An international impact Gov. Jerry Brown is at the Vatican this week, where he will join Pope Francis and leaders around the globe for a climate change conference. The gathering weaves together threads throughout the former Jesuit seminarian governor’s life that have all shaped him in profound ways. Before Brown was an elected official, he was a student at a Jesuit seminary at Sacred Heart Novitiate in Los Gatos. He ultimately ... July 24, 2015 General Anthony York, Governor's Office 0 0 Comment Read More »
Sugar-sweetened drinks responsible for 25,000 U.S. deaths each year Research published in the American Heart Association’s journal, Circulation, concluded that sugary beverages cause the deaths of 25,000 Americans each year through their contributions to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Globally, sugary drinks contribute to 180,000 deaths each year, with the highest death rate in Mexico. The U.S. ranked second. The study’s authors examined beverage consumption through national dietary surveys gathered by 51 countries from 1980 to 2010. After estimating how sugar-sweetened beverages contribute toward obesity, and how obesity contributes toward various diseases, the researchers were able to conclude ... July 24, 2015 General Diabetes, NEPO, Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations, Public Health, CMA Foundation 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA updates ICD-10 transition guide With less than three months until the transition to ICD-10, will your practice be ready on October 1, 2015? To help physicians prepare for the transition, the California Medical Association (CMA) has updated its “ICD-10 Transition Guide,” which includes an ICD-10 transition preparation checklist. New information includes: new table indicating code categories that are expanded as well as those that are reduced under ICD-10; information on how payors will handle prior authorizations around the transition date; listing and links to CMA’s live ICD-10 training courses; information on the Centers for ... July 24, 2015 Managed Care ICD-10 0 0 Comment Read More »
Dementia communication conference coming to northern and southern California in July The California Partnership to Improve Dementia care is presenting a one-day conference, “I Already Told You...Don't You Remember,” a guide to excellence in dementia communications and behavior prevention without antipsychotic medication, in both northern and southern California in July. The conference will be offered in Sacramento on July 29 and in Lake San Marcos on July 30. The program will demonstrate dementia communication skills known to prevent or reduce the intensity of challenging behaviors, offer tips for coaching these skills in your own organization and share experiences from communities that ... July 20, 2015 General Quality of Care, Seniors and Persons with Disabilities, Aging 0 0 Comment Read More »
Updated payor profiles now available The California Medical Association’s (CMA) Center for Economic Services has published updated profiles on each of the major payors in California including Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield of California, CIGNA, Health Net, United Healthcare, Medicare/Noridian and Medi-Cal. Each profile includes key information on health plan market penetration, a description of the plan’s dispute resolution process and the name and contact numbers for medical directors, provider relations and other key contacts. Don’t waste your time searching the internet for this information – members can download CMA’s Payor Profiles free ... July 20, 2015 Managed Care Payor Profiles 0 0 Comment Read More »
Special session on Medi-Cal financing underway in the Capitol In June, Gov. Jerry Brown convened a special legislative session on "health care financing." Specifically, legislators will be working to come up with new funding for developmental disability services, in-home supportive services and the Medi-Cal program, which is facing a shortfall of at least $1.1 billion through the loss of the managed care organization (MCO) tax. Since 2005, the state has taxed MCOs and used the money to cover the costs of provider reimbursement. However, last summer federal officials informed California that its MCO tax structure was not compliant with ... July 20, 2015 Medi-Cal Medi-Cal Cuts, State Legislative Advocacy, Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »
Package of six bills would raise smoking age, regulate e-cigarettes and fight youth smoking, among other proposals Sacramento, CA — The Save Lives California coalition praised Senate and Assembly Democrats for announcing a bold package of bills to fight the No. 1 cause of preventable death in California: tobacco use. The bills will be taken up during the second extraordinary session, called by Governor Jerry Brown to address healthcare. In a display of strong cooperation and determination, the two houses have each introduced the same six bills aimed at preventing death from tobacco-related diseases and reducing costs of smoking on California’s health system by reducing smoking and ... July 20, 2015 General Save Lives California, State Legislative Advocacy, Tobacco, Tobacco Tax, Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA member Dr. Joaquin Arambula kicks off election campaign for state Assembly Joaquin Arambula, M.D., a California Medical Association (CMA) member and emergency room physician from Fresno, kicked off his campaign to represent the 31st district in the state Assembly this Thursday. Born and raised in the San Joaquin Valley, Dr. Arambula is a product of Fresno public schools and the son of former Assemblyman Juan Arambula. Dr. Arambula practices medicine at Adventist Medical Center-Selma, where he has served in a senior position with California Emergency Physicians for the past eight years. The medical center’s emergency department has won two California Emergency Physician ... July 20, 2015 General Physician Leadership, CALPAC 0 0 Comment Read More »
