CMS to conduct ICD-10 testing in March On October 1, 2014, the ICD-9 code sets used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures will be replaced by ICD-10 code sets. To help physicians prepare for this transition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a limited national testing week for current direct submitters (providers and clearinghouses) from March 3 - 7, 2014. This testing week will give trading partners access to the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and Common Electronic Data Interchange (CEDI) for testing with real-time help desk support. While participants will not be able ... January 27, 2014 General CMS, ICD-10, Insurance/Reimbursement 0 0 Comment Read More »
Legislative Leadership Conference coming April 22 Mark your 2014 calendars now for the 40th annual California Medical Association (CMA) Legislative Leadership Conference. The conference will take place at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento, just three blocks from the State Capitol and across the street from CMA headquarters. This is a unique event for California physicians and is free of charge to all CMA members. Plan to join more than 400 physicians, medical students and CMA Alliance members who will be coming to Sacramento to lobby their legislative leaders as champions for medicine and their patients. Prior ... January 27, 2014 General Legislative Leadership Day, State Legislation, Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Stepping up to leadership conference in San Diego Looking to escape the cold this winter? Don’t miss earlybird pricing for the Stepping Up to Leadership conference in sunny San Diego—these special rates expire January 31! The Stepping Up to Leadership program offered by the Institute for Medical Quality and the PACE Program at UC San Diego trains medical staff leaders in issues of communication, problem-solving, and improving outcomes for patients and staff. Stepping Up to Leadership offers unique hands-on and interactive learning opportunities, excellent faculty, and course work on effective staff leadership, credentialing and privileging, assessing the ... January 15, 2014 General Events, Leadership 0 0 Comment Read More »
Medical board will collect CURES fees beginning April 1 The Medical Board of California announced it will soon begin collecting an additional $6 per year on physician license applications and renewals to fund the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES). The fees, authorized by SB 809, provide funding for ongoing maintenance and staffing of CURES. Physicians can expect to see an additional $12 ($6 per year) added to their licensing fees beginning April 1, 2014. CURES is an online database that allows authorized users, including physicians, pharmacists, law enforcement and regulatory boards, to access information about a ... January 14, 2014 General CURES, Medical Board of California, Quality of Care 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA fights to protect patient privacy in CURES prescription database The California Medical Association (CMA) has filed an amicus brief with the California Court of Appeal in Alwin Lewis, M.D. v. Superior Court of the State of California, asking the court to give meaningful privacy protection to patient data collected in the Controlled Substance and Utilization Review and Evaluation Systems (CURES) database. In this case, a Medical Board of California investigator testified that the board routinely obtains confidential prescribing records from CURES for all patients of physicians subject to medical board investigations, even where the complaint is unrelated to the ... January 14, 2014 General CURES, Legal Advocacy, Privacy, Advocacy, Amicus Briefs 0 0 Comment Read More »
DMV will only accept new DL 51 for commercial driver exams effective Jan. 1 Effective January 1, 2014, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will only accept the DL 51 form with a 1/2014 revision date as a valid medical examination report for commercial driver license holders. Exams performed before January 1 can still be submitted on the older forms (revision date of 1/2012 or newer). Also new this year, physicians who give DMV medical examinations will, beginning May 21, need to complete a federal accredited training and pass a certification test to continue to perform physical qualification examinations for truck and bus ... January 14, 2014 General Medical Examiner, Department of Motor Vehicles 0 0 Comment Read More »
SBCMS sponsors Group Long-Term Disability program You work to protect your patients… We work to protect you. As a physician, you probably know better than anyone else how quickly a disability can strike and not only delay your dreams, but also leave you unable to provide for your family. Whether it is a heart attack, stroke, car accident or fall off a ladder, any of these things can affect your ability to perform your medical specialty. That’s why the San Bernardino County Medical Society sponsors a Group Long-Term Disability program underwritten by New York Life Insurance Company: ... January 6, 2014 General Insurance, Long-Term Disability Insurance, Benefits 0 0 Comment Read More »
Act now to protect yourself under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act By taking four easy steps now, you can make sure you're prepared when it's time to review your 2013 financial data before it's published online later this year. Under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, drug and medical device manufacturers started tracking their financial interactions with licensed physicians – including consulting fees, travel reimbursements, research grants and other gifts – beginning Aug. 1, 2013. Any payments, ownership interests and other “transfers of value” will be reported to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for publication in an online database ... January 6, 2014 General Physician Payment Sunshine Act, Legal Issues 0 0 Comment Read More »
Local Physicians Receive Annual Unforgettable Pediatric Doctor Award Each day, pediatric physicians - pediatricians, ER specialists, surgeons, and neonatologists - make a huge difference in the lives of children and their Inland Southern California families. On December 31st, The Unforgettables Foundation honored local caregivers with the annual Unforgettable Pediatric Doctor Award during the 14th Annual Lights for Little Lives Memorial Walk and Candle Lighting Ceremony in Loma Linda. This year's winners were nominated by their respective colleagues for this award. Loma Linda University Children's Hospital: John W. Mace, M.D. is board certified in Pediatric Endocrinology ... January 3, 2014 General Awards, Unforgettable Pediatric Doctor Award 0 0 Comment Read More »
Updates to Covered California, the state's health benefit exchange CMA has updated our exchange toolkit, “CMA’s Got You Covered: A physician’s guide to Covered California, the state’s health benefit exchange.” There are significant updates since we last made updates in September that reflect key developments within the exchange including: • Updates on the grace period • Which plans have exited the exchange • How plans are building their networks • Information on how physicians can check their participation status on the Covered California website • Phone numbers of all of the plans in the event physicians have questions about their participation status December 10, 2013 General Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Exchange, Covered California, Insurance/Reimbursement 0 0 Comment Read More »
