Wisconsin Medical Journal
109 #3
109 #3
Medigram - June 18, 2009
TOP STORIES
AMA Annual Meeting: Obama discusses health care reform; Society members elected to leadership posts
President Obama attended the 158th Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) Monday, delivering a speech on his vision for health care reform to more than 1,200 physicians at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Chicago.Outlining proposals for reforming the Medicare payment structure, implementing electronic medical records and insuring the nation’s 46 million unemployed, he reached out to the nation’s physicians, asking them to help solve these problems and build a more equitable and robust health system.
Obama’s call for change in the way the nation’s health care system functions drew cheers and even standing ovations from the audience. While his stand on malpractice-award caps proved to be controversial, many AMA members, including AMA President Nancy Nielsen, MD, were pleased that the President seems to be including physicians in the decision-making process.
“What we were very pleased about was that he is open to considering options that would lower the costs of defensive medicine,” said Dr. Nielsen.
Wisconsin Medical Society President Robert Jaeger, MD, also attended the meeting and commented on President Obama’s speech on Chicago television station WGN. (Click here to view a video clip of the broadcast.)
A video of President Obama's speech and the full transcript of his address, as well as reactions from AMA leaders and members, are available here.
Big wins for Society members in AMA elections
In other AMA news, Society member Raj Ambay, MD, DDS, was elected the Resident/Fellow Section’s representative to the AMA’s Board of Trustees. (Click here to read a press release about this election.) Fellow Society member Mahendr Kochar, MD, was re-elected to the AMA’s Council on Medical Education, and Claudia Reardon, MD, was elected Speaker of the AMA’s Resident/Fellow Section’s Governing Council.NEWS BRIEFS
The State of Wisconsin filed its brief with the Court of Appeals on June 12 in Wisconsin Medical Society and David Hoffmann, MD v. Michael Morgan, the Society’s lawsuit to restore the $200 million that the State transferred from the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund. A copy of the State’s brief is on the Society’s Web site, along with other court documents filed in the case. (Click here to view these items.) The Society will file its brief responding to the State’s arguments on July 2.MCW awards $300,000 to groups addressing Wisconsin’s health care worker shortage
The Wisconsin Medical Society and the Select Committee on Health Care Workforce have been chosen to administer a $300,000 grant to address the state’s shortage of health care workers. The Select Committee on Health Care Workforce is part of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD).This three-year Impact Award from the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) will fund health care workforce initiatives by the DWD, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), the Wisconsin Center for Nursing (WCN) and the Department of Population Health at MCW.
For more information on this collaborative effort, read the DWD press release on the Impact Award here.
July 9 CME teleconference to discuss patient-centered medical home
Take part in a July 9 lunch-hour teleconference presented by Society member Erik A. Emaus, DO, CPE, president of the Affinity Medical Group, to learn how this organization is implementing a Patient-Centered Medical Home model of care. The lessons Affinity has learned could help you provide more patient-centered care in your practice.In general, the Patient-Centered Medical Home model of care is based on the principles of:
- each patient having an ongoing relationship with a personal physician
- physician-directed medical practice
- whole-person orientation
- coordinated care across the health system
- quality and safety
- enhanced access to care
- payment reform
The teleconference will take place July 9 from noon to 1:15 p.m. To register, click here.
Strategic Policy Panel to meet June 26
Interested in policy matters affecting physicians? Take part in the Wisconsin Medical Society’s Strategic Policy Panel, which will meet Friday, June 26 at 1 p.m.Society members may access the agenda and draft meeting minutes in the members-only section of the Society Web site by clicking here. Member login is required, so if you do not remember your login information, click here for instructions. If you have questions about this event, please contact Merry Earll.
DHS to host Health Information Exchange regional summits this July
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) will hold five Health Information Exchange (HIE) regional summit meetings during the first three weeks of July.
Each of the summits is a chance for health care stakeholders such as physicians, hospitals, government representatives, purchasers, payers and health care organizations to give input on Wisconsin’s HIE initiative and share their views about health information technology (HIT) barriers and benefits, as well as their opinions on exchanging and collecting health-related information in Wisconsin. It’s also an opportunity to learn more about how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) will affect health care organizations throughout the state.
Click here to view a flyer with details about the summits and registration instructions. Please distribute this flyer to others who might benefit from attending these meetings. If you have questions about these events, please e-mail ehealth@wi.gov.
BadgerCare Plus Core training available on-line and in a city near you
Anticipating the July launch of the BadgerCare Plus Core Plan, a new health care program for adults previously ineligible for the state-sponsored BadgerCare Plus program, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has designed a number of face-to-face and on-line training sessions to get health care professionals acquainted with the program.Next week, face-to-face training will take place in Waukesha (June 23) and Madison (June 24). A training session will also be recorded and posted to the Web for on-demand viewing. Detailed information about these training sessions, including times and locations, is available here.
The training sessions will provide an overview of the Core Plan, including policy changes regarding the following topics:
- Who may enroll in the program
- Which services are covered
- How to verify program enrollment
Beware of scammers posing as Medicare carriers or contractors
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are alerting health care professionals about a scam in which perpetrators pose as a Medicare carrier or Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) and send faxes to physician offices.The faxes instruct physician staff to respond to a questionnaire and provide an account information update within 48 hours in order to prevent a gap in Medicare payments. The fax may have the CMS logo and/or the contractor logo to enhance the appearance of authenticity. Medicare fee-for-service providers, including physicians and non-physician professionals, should be wary of this type of request.
If you receive a request for information in the manner described above, please check with your contractor before submitting any information. Medicare providers should only send information to a Medicare contractor using the address found in the download section of the CMS.gov Web site, available here or here.
2007 PQRI feedback reports headed to archives June 30
Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) feedback reports that have been posted on-line since July 2008 will be archived as of June 30 and will no longer be available to eligible professionals (EPs) who participated in the 2007 PQRI.Archiving is required to create server space for new feedback reports related to the 2008 PQRI and the 2007 PQRI re-run participation. Only those EPs who previously did not qualify by submitting at least one quality data code successfully, but are newly qualified following the back-end system analysis and re-run of 2007 PQRI data, will receive a 2007 PQRI re-run feedback report.
All eligible professionals who successfully submitted at least one quality data code for the 2008 PQRI will receive a feedback report. These reports should be available in October 2009. The 2008 PQRI incentive payment will be distributed by the Carrier and/or A/B MAC in October 2009. The 2007 PQRI re-run incentive payments will be distributed by the Carrier and/or A/BMAC in November.
For additional information about the 2007 PQRI feedback reports, click here and visit the “2007 PQRI Program” section page.
National ASK Day aims to raise awareness about pediatric injuries
The Wisconsin Chapter of the Academy of Pediatrics (WIAAP) is asking pediatricians and other physicians who serve children to participate in National ASK Day this Sunday, June 21.ASK, which stands for “Asking Saves Kids,” reminds parents about the importance of asking if there are guns in the homes where children play. The WIAAP suggests that physicians incorporate the ASK concept into their injury-prevention discussions during complete well-child exams.
More than 41,000 children and teens in Wisconsin live in homes with loaded guns, and nearly 15,000 children live in homes with guns that are loaded and unlocked, according to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System published in Pediatrics in 2005.
For more information on firearm injury prevention and National ASK Day, visit the ASK Day Web site here.
CAPITOL INSIDER
Senate axes joint and several liability provision; Conference committee next
The Wisconsin State Senate Wednesday night followed the State Assembly’s lead and passed a biennial budget bill removing the governor’s proposal to alter current law concerning joint and several liability. The controversial budget item could have increased physicians’ medical liability exposure by forcing a defendant to pay an entire lawsuit judgment even if that defendant was determined to be minimally negligent.Current law allows joint and several liability attachment at 51 percent. In other words, any defendant found at least 51 percent negligent may be held responsible for 100 percent of damages. This 51 percent threshold has been part of state statutes since 1995 and has helped keep Wisconsin’s medical liability climate relatively calm. Gov. Jim Doyle’s 2009-2011 state biennial budget proposal essentially eliminated the 51 percent threshold, while the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance proposed a 20 percent attachment level. The State Assembly eliminated the provision when it acted on the budget last week, and the Senate followed suit Wednesday evening. Read more about the Senate’s action here.
Elimination of the provision has been a priority for the Society in recent weeks. Therefore, Society President Robert Jaeger, MD, made a statement following the Senate’s action, praising legislators’ decision to protect Wisconsin’s liability environment.
Because the two legislative houses approved different versions of the budget, a Conference Committee will be formed from Assembly and Senate leadership. Such a committee could be formed as soon as today, and deliberations could be completed by the weekend. Both houses would then need to approve a Conference Committee agreement, with no amendments allowed.
For more information, contact Mark Grapentine, JD.
Medical Examining Board streamlines cross-border physician licensing
As part of its monthly meeting yesterday in Madison, the state Medical Examining Board acted to streamline the process for Minnesota physicians to qualify for a Wisconsin license.No later than August 1 of this year, the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing (DRL) will consider certain application requirements automatically completed if the Minnesota physician holds a full, unrestricted Minnesota license to practice medicine. A DRL review of Minnesota and Wisconsin physician license applications found similar requirements for certain application elements, such as medical school verification and postgraduate training, prompting the Board to allow an expedited application process for Minnesota physicians.
The Board also heard from DRL staff about the new “e-credential” option for license renewals. Those applying on-line for license renewal may receive their credentials via e-mail. The program, described in detail on the DRL Web site, takes effect July 1.
For more information, contact Mark Grapentine, JD.
F.Y.I. FOR YOUR INSURANCE
Apply on-line for the Wisconsin Medical Society Member Life Insurance Plan
In our continuing effort to provide members with features that fit their needs, we are now offering an on-line application that allows members to request coverage under the Wisconsin Medical Society Member Life Plan. The Plan, designed specifically for the needs of physicians and their families, is an affordable way to help protect your family’s future. Don’t delay—use our new on-line application to request coverage now.Term life insurance is available in amounts from $50,000 to $1 million. The benefit amount you choose can help your family meet everyday expenses if you die and is available at affordable group rates. For example, a 40-year-old man who doesn’t smoke could provide his family with $500,000 in life coverage for $68.33 a month. And a female non-smoker, also age 40, would pay even less—$52.50 a month, also for half a million dollars in life coverage.
Please use our calculator to give you an idea of how your life insurance benefit would help secure your family’s future in the event of your death.
The Wisconsin Medical Society Member Life Plan has some additional important features that include:
- Accidental Death and Dismemberment Coverage (AD&D) included with your term life insurance
- Available coverage for your spouse or domestic partner and eligible dependent children
- Competitive group rates
- A simplified application process, including a new on-line application
Wisconsin Medical Society Life Insurance coverage is issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, 751 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07102. A Booklet-Certificate with complete Plan information, including limitations and exclusions, will be provided. Contract series 83500.
QUALITY CORNER
Recommendations on cardiovascular disease available from AHRQ
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Veterans Health Administration’s National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention have partnered to develop a line of patient brochures and clinician fact sheets for primary care clinicians and their patients based on the cardiovascular disease recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. The Partnership for Health: Heart and Circulation series is designed to help both clinicians and patients talk about cardiovascular preventive services and make informed decisions about which services patients need and when.The patient brochures and clinician fact sheets cover topics such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, stroke and heart attack prevention, and screening for various diseases.
To access these new materials, click here.
FAQ
Question:What should a physician consider before advertising?
Answer:
Before advertising in the local paper or yellow pages, a physician should consider both the ethical and legal constraints that are imposed on the content of advertisements. Federal and state laws (Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act and Wis. Stat. § 100.18), prevent advertising that is false, deceptive or misleading. A clear example of misleading advertising is found in the Medical Examining Board chapter of the Wisconsin Administrative Code. According to Wis. Admin. Code § Med 10.02(2)(w), it is unprofessional conduct to use the term “board certified” or a similar phrase of like meaning in advertising unless the physician is in fact so certified and unless disclosure is made of the complete name of the specialty board that conferred the certificate.
For answers to other Frequently Asked Questions regarding legal issues click here (Login required. Click here for instructions).
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