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Medigram - January 22, 2009


NEWS BRIEFS

USP invites public comments on dietary supplement safety review process

The U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), an official public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines and other health care products manufactured or sold in the United States will revisit its safety review process at a meeting February 5-6, 2009. The safety review is conducted by the USP Dietary Supplements Information (DSI) Expert Committee.

To make the revised process widely acceptable and based on broader consensus, the DSI Expert Committee invites comments and suggestions on improving the process from all of its members, including the Wisconsin Medical Society. The committee seeks comments on the following 5 questions:
  1. What are your comments on the current Dietary Supplement Ingredient Safety Review Process? Does USP need a change in the current system of evaluations? (The current process is described at the usp.org link above.)
  2. What information do you think needs to be reviewed for the analysis and monitoring of dietary supplement safety?
  3. Should dietary supplement safety information continue to be part of the USP quality monograph labeling section or should other options for communicating safety information be considered?
  4. What would you propose as alternative means for USP to disseminate the dietary supplement safety information?
  5. Do you have any additional comments or suggestions?
Lowell H. Keppel, MD, CPE, FACPE, FAAFP, serves as the Society’s representative to the USP. Society members who wish to submit comments can click here to review the USP notice, along with additional background and a description of the process. Detailed comments can then be e-mailed to Dr. Keppel by January 29. He will compile and submit the comments to USP. You may also direct comments or questions to Dandapantula N. Sarma, PhD, Senior Scientist, Documentary Standards Division, US Pharmacopeia, 12601 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville, MD 20852-1790. Dr. Sarma should receive comments by January 30 to ensure consideration.


Society seeks member participation for reference committees, councils

The Wisconsin Medical Society is currently seeking members to serve on reference committees at Annual Meeting, April 17-18, 2009. For more information, click here. The Society is also seeking members to serve on a variety of councils, including councils that discuss health care access, ethics and Society policies. To learn more about these opportunities, click here.


Physicians able to appeal their UHC rating

The Society received communication this week from the American Medical Association encouraging physicians to appeal their rating in United Healthcare’s (UHC) Premium® Designation Program (PDP) if they believe it is wrong. Physicians must visit https://ereports.uhc.com/ReportCard and log in using their ID and password, which appears on the letter they received from UHC announcing their rating. Requests for reconsideration must be submitted in writing or electronically and should include the Designation Detail report, with comments, and the signed attestation. Although physicians may appeal their designation status to UHC at any time, successful appeals received after January 27, 2009, may not be reflected in the initial release of new ratings.

Physicians who do not have their copy of that letter, experience difficulty with the Web site or do not understand their data are asked to contact UHC at 866.270.5588. This number should be used only by physicians regarding their rating in the PDP.


Senior Physicians Group nomination deadline extended to Feb. 16

The AMA’s Senior Physicians Group is seeking nominations for two seats on its Governing Council. The Council is comprised of seven physicians over age 65 who are either retired or still practicing medicine and is charged with advising the AMA Board of Trustees and staff on issues that bear directly on senior physicians. Visit www.ama-assn.org/go/spg, for a full listing of current committee members.

The group’s mission is to support projects of interest to the senior physician community, including continued communication with colleagues, advocacy on behalf of senior physician issues and ongoing development of member benefits and activities.

The Governing Council meets twice a year at the Annual and Interim Meetings. The AMA will reimburse travel and meeting expenses for its Governing Council members. The Board of Trustees will review nominations and appoint new Governing Council members at the Board Meeting in April.

Nominations must be received in the AMA office by Monday, February 16. To nominate a candidate, click here for more information, including a nomination form. If you have questions, e-mail Dana Jansen.

NEWSMAKERS

Internist Noel Deep receives 2009 AMA Foundation Leadership Award

Society member Noel Deep, MD, of Antigo, is being recognized nationally for his leadership as one of the “country’s brightest and most energetic physicians.” Doctor Deep will receive the 2009 AMA Foundation Leadership Award, presented in association with Pfizer Inc. The award is aimed at young physicians and medical students who’ve “demonstrated strong non-clinical leadership skills in medicine or community affairs and have an interest in further developing these skills.”

The award includes a trip to the AMA National Advocacy Conference (NAC) in Washington, D.C., March 8-11.

In 2007, Dr. Deep was the first recipient of the Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation’s Young Physician Leadership Award, established in memory of the late Kenneth Viste, Jr., MD, of Oshkosh. Doctor Deep practices at Aspirus General Clinic in Antigo.

QUALITY & EFFICIENCY

2009 Quality Forums to feature risk management education opportunity

The Wisconsin Medical Society is pleased to announce its 2009 Quality Forum meetings. Please mark your calendars for the following dates: February 10, May 19 and September 15.

This year’s Quality Forum meetings will have two components. The traditional Quality Forum agenda, which focuses on providing members with updates on national and state initiatives that impact the quality and efficiency of health care delivery, will be held from 9-11:30 a.m. Following that, a series of educational opportunities on risk management will be offered from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. for interested participants. Lunch will be included.

PIC Wisconsin will present the February 10 Risk Management session titled “Let's Talk…Communicating the Good, The Bad, & the Apology.” The session covers how physicians should discuss unexpected outcomes with patients and their families. When an unexpected event occurs, your approach to the patient and family will often set the stage for a healthy physician-patient relationship or one doomed to culminate in a lawsuit.

To participate in this or any of the Quality Forum meetings, you must be a Quality Forum member. Contact QandE@wismed.org for more information or e-mail Stephanie Taylor. The deadline to register for the February 10 event is Wednesday, February 4.

CAPITOL INSIDER

Medical Examining Board update: January meeting

The first Medical Examining Board meeting of the calendar year—held yesterday in Madison—provided a glimpse of what could be on the MEB agenda for the rest of 2009 beyond the typical case investigations and disciplines. Society member Gene Musser, MD, was reelected as chair, while Society members Sujatha Kailas, MD, and Ian Munro, MD, were reelected vice-chair and secretary, respectively. Following his reelection, Dr. Musser outlined some potential issue areas the Board may tackle as part of its responsibilities in the upcoming year:
  • Assess the potential for increasing the amount of post-graduate training required before the Board grants a medical license. Current state law requires 12 months of such training in a Board-approved facility. As this may negatively affect the state’s medical schools, the Board may consider adding a new class of medical license—such as a training license—if post-graduate training requirements are increased.
  • Explore increasing the required amount of Continuing Medical Education hours required for license renewal; current statutes require 30 hours every two calendar years. The Board may also discuss that some amount of CME hours be in specific issue areas.
  • Work with the Department of Regulation and Licensing (DRL), the state agency that administers the MEB, to treat the MEB as a separate and distinct unit within the DRL, with staff and resources dedicated solely to the MEB. Currently the MEB is one of 64 different boards for which DRL must provide administrative services, and physician license fees are comingled with other license and credential holders’ fees. The Society has also been discussing this potential concept with the Department.
For more information, contact Mark Grapentine, JD.

F.Y.I. FOR YOUR INSURANCE

Now is the time to look at long term care insurance

When planning for retirement, long term care costs are often overlooked. That’s unfortunate because long term care costs can devastate even the most carefully structured retirement plan.

For example, annual nursing home costs in Wisconsin average $66,726, according to the 2008 Financial Cost of Care Survey by Genworth Insurance. A good long term care insurance plan can give you the peace of mind knowing that your nest egg will be preserved for you and your spouse.

On January 1, 2009, Wisconsin became the 20th state to enact the long term care partnership program. This program is a cooperative effort between private insurance and the state that gives Wisconsin residents a financial incentive for buying long term care insurance. When long term care is needed, the insurance policy will pay first. Later, if the individual becomes eligible, Medicaid pays. If the Wisconsin resident purchases a partnership-qualified long term care policy, the person can preserve assets equal to the amount of benefits paid out by the policy. Medicaid is the payor of last resort. More importantly, the individual has more access to facilities as a private pay resident and more choices as to how and where to receive care.

Long term care insurance provides much more than nursing home coverage. It can pay for home health care, assisted living facilities, adult day care and more. Long term care is not covered by other types of insurance. Health insurance and Medicare cover a small amount of “skilled” care. Most of what is considered long term care is not skilled care.

For more information on long-term care coverage, click here to read How to choose the best long term care insurance plan for you by Kathryn A. Mueller, CLU, ChFC, FIC, LUTCF. You may also call the Wisconsin Medical Society Insurance and Financial Services at 866.442.3810 or complete our on-line contact form.

QUALITY CORNER

AMA PQRI Tools Available

The American Medical Association has created claims-based reporting tools that are designed to facilitate data collection for the 2009 PQRI clinical performance reporting program. The tools include a data collection worksheet for each of the 131 individual quality measures and 6 measures groups that can be reported through claims-based submission. The step-by-step worksheets incorporate all of the individual measure-specific information for clinical use and office/billing staff.

Access the tools on-line at www.ama-assn.org/go/toolsMedicarePQRI.

FAQ

Question:
How does a personal “umbrella” provide liability protection?

Answer:
Personal umbrella liability insurance fills in the gap for you in two ways:

  • It increases your liability protection above and beyond the liability limits of homeowners or auto insurance.
  • It covers liability exposures that are not covered in your homeowners or auto insurance, such as libel or slander.
The personal umbrella policy coverage “kicks in” where existing coverage ends, up to the limit of the umbrella policy purchased. It can provide additional liability protection at limits of $1 million to $5 million over and above the limits noted in an existing basic auto or home insurance policy.

For more information, contact Wisconsin Medical Society Insurance & Financial Services at insurance@wiswmed.org or use our on-line contact form.