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Medigram - August 14, 2008


NEWS BRIEFS

Informational meetings about Society’s lawsuit to restore IPFCF fund scheduled in September

Two meetings to update members and others about the Society’s lawsuit to restore the $200 million raided from the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund have been scheduled in Madison and La Crosse Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. respectively.

The agenda for both meetings will include:
  • Introduction
  • Short video presentation
  • Legal update
  • Key messages to assist in talking to patients, community members and local media
  • Finances
  • Call to action
  • Q&A
If you are interested in attending either of these events, please e-mail communications@wismed.org to receive additional information. For more information about the lawsuit, click here.

These meetings are the second and third of five being scheduled across the state this summer and fall. Please make every effort to participate as we work together to restore to the Fund the money that rightfully belongs to injured patients and their families. If you cannot attend the meetings in Madison and La Crosse, watch your e-mail for future dates and locations. Additional events are being scheduled in the Milwaukee and Green Bay areas.


Wisconsin Women’s Health Guide now available in Spanish

The Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation and the Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health formally introduced the 2008 Wisconsin Women’s Health Guide in Spanish in July, and it is now available to the public and Wisconsin health care and social service professionals.

The guide provides general information on a variety of women’s health topics and a list of health services for each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties. Among the 44 categories of services and resources listed, the guide lists contact information for transportation providers, long-term care assistance, child care assistance, job centers, public libraries and community action agencies—all in Spanish. Click here to view an electronic copy of the new guide on-line.

To order copies, please download and submit this order form. (All providers listed in the guide will automatically receive a copy.) If you would like to order a large number of guides for your organization, please contact Sara Finger at 866.399.9294.


HWPP offers proposal writing and informational sessions for upcoming funding cycle

The Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program (HWPP) aims to improve the health of the people of Wisconsin through community-Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) academic partnerships that address public and community health improvement.

The next opportunity to apply for funding from the HWPP is through the fifth Funding Cycle Request for Proposal (RFP). Prior to and in conjunction with the release of this RFP, several informational sessions will be held that focus on effective proposal writing and RFP submission instructions. Information about these sessions is available on the HWPP Web site.

A Proposal Writing Session is scheduled for August 27, 2008 in Pewaukee. Lynn Miner, PhD, founder and CEO of Miner and Associates, Inc., a nationwide firm training successful grantseekers and fundraisers, will teach the practical elements of planning and writing proposals. This workshop is specifically tailored to HWPP requirements, offering key components and examples of effective writing.

Five Pre-Application Sessions will be held throughout Wisconsin during the first week of September, offering applicants the opportunity to further explore the proposal preparation process through assistance completing the various RFP forms, and understanding the award administration processes. Additionally, participants will have sufficient opportunity to discuss their specific RFP-related inquiries with program staff.

Session participation is not required for HWPP proposal submission. Seating for each session is limited, and advance registration is required. To register, or for additional session details, visit the HWPP Web site.

QUALITY & EFFICIENCY

WHIO’s Top 10 Q&A

For the past nine weeks, Medigram has published a series of articles about WHIO, the Wisconsin Health Information Organization. To recap, we’ve put together this "Top 10 Q&A" to provide Society members and other readers with a summary of key need-to-know WHIO info. Click here to read WHIO's Top 10 Q&A.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

E/M Coding in the Hospital—Does your documentation measure up?

Initial hospital visits, subsequent hospital visits, discharges, observation care, and critical care services are samples of the E/M services documented and billed in the hospital setting. Medicare recently clarified the documentation and coverage requirements for many of these services. To get the information you need to ensure that you are accurately reporting these E/M encounters, dial in August 27 for the Wisconsin Medical Society’s lunch and learn teleconference: E/M Coding in the Hospital. For registration information, click here. The teleconference fee is $75 per phone line for members and $150 per phone line for non-members.


Register now for the Coding Symposium!

If you haven’t done so already, register today for the Society’s upcoming 9th Annual Midwest Coding and Practice Management Symposium being held Sept. 21-23 in the Wisconsin Dells. Designed for coding and billing professionals, compliance officers, medical group managers and physicians, the symposium features more than 30 breakout sessions and a great line up of speakers that will cover a variety of coding and practice management topics. There is truly something for everyone. Click here to download registration information.

QUALITY CORNER

New Report: Organizing the U.S. health care delivery system for high performance

A new report from The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System examines fragmentation in our health care delivery system and offers policy recommendations to stimulate greater organization—established mechanisms for working across providers and care settings. According to the report, the solutions are complex and will require new financial incentives, changes to the regulatory, professional, and educational environments, and support for new infrastructure. To read the report, click here.

FAQ

Question:
When documenting an annual exam or preventive medicine visit, is it necessary to document a comprehensive review of systems?

Answer:
The August 1997 CPT Assistant states, “The comprehensive history obtained as part of the preventive medicine E/M service is not problem-oriented, and does not involve a chief complaint or present illness. It does, however, include a comprehensive system review and comprehensive or interval past, family, and social history, as well as a comprehensive assessment/history of pertinent risk factors.

“The comprehensive examination performed as part of the preventive medicine evaluation and management service is multisystem, but the extent of which is based on the age of the patient and identified risk factors.”

If you have questions about this or other coding matters, click here to review the Society’s FAQ archives, or e-mail efaq@wismed.org.