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TOA
President's
Update: Emergency Care - On Call Services
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By Timothy L. Beck, MD
President, Texas Orthopaedic Association
The leadership of the Texas Orthopaedic
Association (TOA) is strongly opposed to mandated ER call coverage. It
is our understanding that a policy statement mandating ER call
coverage is being considered as an addition to the AAOS Standards of
Professionalism and will once again be debated by the AAOS Board of
Directors. |
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In the September 2006 AAOS Bulletin, James
H. Beaty, MD, chair of the AAOS Trauma/On-Call Project Team, said...
"AAOS members should remember several key points regarding the crisis in
providing emergency care and on-call services:
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As orthopaedic surgeons, we should take
the "high road" and lead the effort in our own communities to improve
the quality of care for injured patients as we attempt to improve the
situation for orthopaedic surgeons taking call. Orthopaedic surgeons
are the best qualified physicians to provide care of patients with
musculoskeletal injuries.
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No single financial, political or
practice solution will work for all communities. The complex
differences among orthopaedic groups of varying sizes and practice
styles as well as among communities (small or large, rural or
metropolitan) necessitate individual solutions.
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Each orthopaedist must be part of the
solution in his or her own community. This requires initiating
communication with other physicians, with hospitals and with payers to
improve the quality of care for patients and the practice of
orthopaedics.
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Medical liability reform is essential to
a long-term solution to the emergency care crisis. Without reform, the
current medical liability system is a deterrent to orthopaedic
participation in on-call and emergency services.
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Physicians alone cannot bear the
responsibility for a solution to this national crisis; hospitals,
payers, local and national government officials, and the public must
all become involved."
TOA sincerely hopes
that the AAOS Board of Directors will refer to the work that Dr. Beaty
and the Trauma/On-Call Project Team accomplished in 2006. We feel that
this policy statement is more than adequate and should remain as the
AAOS's position regarding ER Emergency Call.
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Medicare's Practical Guide to
the E-Prescribing Incentive Program Is Now Online!
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The guide explains the
e-prescribing incentive program, how eligible professionals can
participate, and how to choose a qualified e-prescribing system. To
read or print the guide, please click
here.
By adopting
e-prescribing through Medicare's program, eligible professionals can
save time, enhance office and pharmacy productivity,
and improve patient
safety and quality of care while earning incentives
from Medicare.
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For additional
information about e-prescribing, you can also visit:
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CMS Website Link:
Select "E-prescribing
Incentive Program";
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CMS Website Link:
(for information on
Part D e-prescribing standards that will be effective April 1,
2009); and
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CMS Website Link:
to download "A
Clinician's Guide to Electronic Prescribing."
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This Week In Texas: Mignon
McGarry Memos
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By Mignon McGarry
TOA Legislative Advocate
TOA Online Version: All Memos
November 19, 2008, Wednesday
If you are keeping a
list of Speaker candidates, add the name of Rep. Burt Solomons
(R-Carrollton). That brings the current list of declared
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candidates to ten.
Governor Rick Perry announced that the special runoff election for
Senate District 17, the seat formerly held by Sen. Kyle Janek
(R-Houston) will be held December 16, 2008. Early voting will be
held from December 8th through the 12th. In
the runoff election, Republican Joan Huffman faces Democrat Chris
Bell. In the November 4th election, Bell received 38
percent of the vote to Huffman's 26 percent. The winner will serve
the remainder of Janek's term, which expires in January 2011.
Gov.
Rick Perry has appointed David Baucom of Sulphur Springs to the Texas
Medical Board for a term to expire April 13, 2009. Baucom is
president of Baucom Insurance Services Inc. He replaces Melinda
Fredricks of Conroe who has been appointed to the Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Commission for a term to expire Nov. 15, 2013.
The Legislative
Budget Board (LBB), charged with setting the ceiling for spending in
the 2010-2011 budget, adopted the lowest rate of growth (9.14 percent)
since the spending cap was enacted by a constitutional amendment in
1978. The 9.14 percent growth rate means that the Legislature can
spend no more than $79.7 billion in state revenue that is not
dedicated by the constitution, up from $73 billion appropriated in the
2008-2009 budget. The board, which includes Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst,
House Speaker Tom Craddick and the heads of key committees from both
chambers, chose from five forecasts of how much personal income will
grow during the 2010-2011 biennium. The forecasts, provided by four
private economic forecasting services and the Texas Comptroller,
ranged from 7.7 percent to 14.8 percent. The comptroller offered the
chosen 9.14 percent growth rate.
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Continuing Education Credits
Available
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On October 6–7, 2008,
CMS and 34 partner organizations hosted the National E-Prescribing
Conference to promote and explain the potential of e-prescribing to
improve health care in the United States. Sessions included the
e-prescribing incentive payment program; strategies and tools for
integrating e-prescribing with current health care delivery
practices; and privacy, security, and risk management implications.
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The Massachusetts
Medical Society and the American Pharmacists Association will
provide continuing education for selected presentations from the
conference through an online education portal. Available credits are
a maximum of 22.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, and Continuing
Education for pharmacists (up to 13.25 hours of continuing education
credit (1.325 CEUs)). To view or listen to the presentations, and
complete an online test on each segment, please click
here.
Additional information is
available on the National E-Prescribing Conference site which can be
visited by clicking
here.
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Workers' Compensation Division Adjusts Medical Fee Conversion
Factors for 2009
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The Texas Division of
Workers' Compensation announced Thursday the annual changes to
conversion factors for workers' compensation medical
fee guidelines for professional services, charges and payments using
the
Medicare Economic Index.
The Texas Labor Code provides that fee guidelines adopted by the
division for non-network services are based on the most current
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reimbursement methodologies, models,
and values or weights used by the Federal Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services.
"In order to provide predictability and reflect changes in medical
service delivery costs to system participants, (the division)
established a conversion factor and an annual update..." the bulletin
states.
"The annual update is based on the Medicare Economic Index (MEI), which
reflects price changes for goods and services used to deliver physician
services.
"The MEI, reported as a 1.6% increase for 2009, is a weighted average of
price changes for goods and services used to deliver physician
services."
For services provided in calendar year 2009, the new medical fee
guideline conversion factors are $53.68 and $67.38.
The conversion factor of $53.68 applies to service categories of
evaluation and management, general medicine, physical medicine and
rehabilitation, radiology, pathology, anesthesia, and surgery when
performed in an office setting.
The conversion factor of $67.38 applies to surgery performed in a
facility setting.
Michael Reed with TMA will post an updated MFG calculator on the TMA
website before January 1, 2009.
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Thank
You, Mike Reed ...
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"Congratulations to Mike Reed
and the team that got the DWC to install a regular update to
the workers comp rates in Texas. We will receive a 1.6%
increase for 2009, and you can read more by clicking
here.
While that might not
seem much, compared to every other payment schedule it is a
really big deal. Most importantly it is annually mandated
and will help ensure
that future Texas workers will have access to
care
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when injured at work.
Thanks again Mike" ~ David Teuscher, MD
"Mike is a STAR at TMA and is always working for the docs who
have to deal with the TDI Division of Workers Compensation.
Thank you, Mike" ~ Bruce Malone
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