Family Medicine & Internal Medicine Job Opportunity in Barstow, CA Barstow Healthcare Management MSO is seeking a Family Medicine or Internal Medicine physician for a full-time employment opportunity within a start-up practice. The clinic's, Barstow Health Partners, website is http://barstowhealthpartners.com/. This opportunity offers a competitive and comprehensive recruitment package that is hard to walk away from. Internal Medicine Listing: http://www.practicelink.com/jobs/377976/physician/internal-medicine/california/barstow-healthcare-management-mso/ Family Practice Listing: http://www.practicelink.com/jobs/377858/physician/family-medicine/california/barstow-healthcare-management-mso/ For more information regarding either position, please contact Rhonda Lynch at (760) 957-3224. August 27, 2014 General Barstow Health Partners, Employment , Barstow Healthcare Management 0 0 Comment Read More »
Anthem and Blue Shield to partner in the creation of California's largest health information exchange Two of California's largest health insurers – Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California are investing a total of $80 million to develop a not-for-profit health information exchange database called Cal INDEX, which is expected to go live in November. It is expected to house the medical records of 9 million patients, about a quarter of California’s population. The initial $80 million stake will get the exchange through the first three years, the insurers said. After that, they expect funding will come from participating health plans and providers who ... August 25, 2014 General Blue Shield, Health Information technology, HIT, Anthem Blue Cross 0 0 Comment Read More »
Huge chunk of data excluded from Open Payments website because of inaccuracies According to several news sources, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has rejected about one-third of the "Open Payment" records submitted by manufacturers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) because of "intermingled data." When the data goes public next month, those records will not be included. CMS says it will not publish the withheld data until June 2015, when it expects that manufacturers will have had time to correct the inaccuracies. Physician Payments Sunshine Act is a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Drug and medical ... August 21, 2014 Medi-Cal, Medicare CMS, Physician Payment Sunshine Act, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
State audit finds DHCS may have paid $93.7 million for fraudulent Medi-Cal drug treatment A California State Auditor’s report issued today found the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) failed to properly administer the Medi-Cal Drug Treatment Program and may have paid at least $93.7 million for fraudulent drug treatment. The program provides substance abuse services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries when physicians determine they are medically necessary. The focus of the report was on outpatient drug-free services. The audit was requested by Assemblyman Ted Lieu after stories appeared in the media revealing that substance abuse clinics were fraudulently billing for patients who did not use ... August 21, 2014 Medi-Cal DHCS, Drug Abuse, Medi-Cal, Insurance/Reimbursement 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS must provide better oversight to prevent duplicate audits says GAO study A newly released study by the federal General Accounting Office (GAO) found that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) needs to provide better oversight and guidance for provider payment auditors to prevent duplicative post-payment claims review audits. Several types of Medicare contractors conduct postpayment claims reviews to help reduce improper payments: Medicare Administrative Contractors, which process and pay claims; Zone Program Integrity Contractors, which investigate potential fraud; Recovery Auditor Contractors, tasked with identifying on a postpayment basis improper payments not previously reviewed by other contractors; and the Comprehensive ... August 21, 2014 General CMS, Insurance/Reimbursement, Medicare, Audits 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA urges United to make meaningful changes to Premium Designation program Citing physician confusion and complaints as well as additional concerns with the rollout of the United Healthcare (UHC) Premium Designation program, the California Medical Association (CMA) has, again, urged the insurer to make meaningful and necessary changes to the program prior to the next assessment this fall. "In its current form, the program will not only confuse patients but will also fail to provide them with meaningful information that could actually assist them in making important health care decisions,” wrote CMA President Richard Thorp, M.D., in an August 13, 2014, ... August 21, 2014 Managed Care Managed Care, United Healthcare, Insurance/Reimbursement 0 0 Comment Read More »
Cyclosporiasis and Ebola Virus - Dept. of Public Health The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) urges medical providers to specifically request Cyclospora testing. Cryptosporidiosis is an intestinal illness caused by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis. In the United States, foodborne outbreaks of cyclosporiasis have been linked to various types of imported fresh produce. Click here for more information and recommendations to medical providers.. The risk of the spread of Ebola virus disease (Ebola) in California is low. While the risk is low, state and local public health officials in California are monitoring the situation closely and taking steps ... August 13, 2014 General Ebola Virus, Public Health, Cyclospora 0 0 Comment Read More »
CME certification now available online Users of the CME certification service offered by the California Medical Association's (CMA) Institute for Medical Quality (IMQ) are now able to check the status of CME credits, keep track of their progress and print their transcripts at their convenience from IMQ's online CME certification user portal. Physicians are required to complete 50 CME hours during every two-year licensure period, with reporting deadlines based on the physician's personal license renewal date (the last day of the month of the physician's birthday). IMQ's CME Certification Program documents and verifies physicians' CME activities. ... August 13, 2014 General Continuing Medical Education, IMQ, Institute for Medical Quality, CME 0 0 Comment Read More »
Noridian incorrectly denies 300,000 claims for E&M services Last fall, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) experienced some editing issues with new patient E&M codes that resulted in incorrect claim denials. These problems started in October 2013, and was thought to have been corrected in late January 2014. The California Medical Association recently learned, however, that some claims continued to be paid incorrectly through July 15, 2014. Noridian, California's Medicare contractor, in January began making mass adjustments and correcting claims subjected to overpayment recovery. Unfortunately, while implementing the corrections, Noridian inadvertently subjected established patient E&M codes ... August 13, 2014 Medicare Medicare, Noridian, Billing/Coding 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS temporarily takes Sunshine Act system offline The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announced yesterday that the verification system for financial interactions tracked under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act system has been taken offline temporarily because of physician complaints of inaccuracies. Under the Sunshine Act, drug and medical device manufacturers are required to report their financial interactions with licensed physicians – including consulting fees, travel reimbursements, research grants and other gifts. Any payments, ownership interests and other “transfers of value” will be reported to CMS for publication in an online database. CMS had opened the system for ... August 8, 2014 Medi-Cal, Medicare CMS, Physician Payment Sunshine Act, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
