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Home » In the News » MSSNY enews » Archives » enews011510 | |
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January 15, 2010 Dear Colleagues: I had spent last weekend with Dr. Charles Rothberg (Suffolk County), Dr. George Stasior (Albany County), and Dr. Paul Pipia (Nassau County) at the Annual AMA State Legislative Strategy Conference, and returned to Albany on Monday to meet with officials from the NYS Department of Education and Board of Medicine regarding proposed modifications of medical licensing requirements. Those issues suddenly paled in comparison to the health needs of the survivors of the earthquake.
There will be both immediate and long term needs for humanitarian and medical assistance in Haiti. Your MSSNY leadership is assessing what we can do to assist in the relief efforts. The Pan American Health Organization provides situation reports describing current conditions. The AMA website, www.ama-assn.org, has links to the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad (AMHE). There is also a “How You Can Help” link that identifies over 20 organizations to which you can make contributions to the financial relief of the victims.
The federal government has already activated five Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) for deployment to Haiti. Dr. Louis Auguste (Queens County), president of the New York chapter of the Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad (AMHE), which includes over 500 of our physician colleagues in the New York Metro area, notified MSSNY that AMHE has advised concerned citizens of the following initiatives in response to the disaster:
P.O. Box 7055
Hicksville, NY11801
The AMHE is setting up a group of physicians and nurses who have volunteered to fly to Haiti immediately, pending transportation arrangements with US government officials.
We at MSSNY ask that physicians who have not yet registered or re-verified their information on ServNY to please do so here or call 518-408-5163. Please do this immediately so that when a formal federal request comes to New YorkState for volunteer physicians, you will be eligible. In the event you are needed, this information becomes crucial and enables the DOH to reach you quickly and on the first try. In the case of deployment of New YorkState physician volunteers, activation notice will come via ServNY.
David Hannan, MD, MPA
MSSNY President
Capital Update MSSNY staff joined representatives of the California, Massachusetts and Texas Medical Associations in Washington DC to advocate on behalf of physicians and their patients for improvements to the health system reform legislation that is currently the subject of negotiations between President Obama, the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. The issues focused upon in the meetings between the medical associations and members of Congress included:
Meetings were held with many of those who are closest to the ongoing negotiations between the Obama Administration, the House and the Senate, including Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee member Eliot Engel, and key health care staff to Senator Charles Schumer, and Ways and Means Committee Chair Charles Rangel. Meetings were also held with Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Ways & Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-CA). The medical society representatives also met with representatives of the Obama Administration.
The highest leaderships of both the House and the Senate were meeting behind closed doors this week in an attempt to reconcile the differences between the two health system reform bills. Physicians are urged to use the AMA’s Grassroots Hotline 1-800-833-6354 to reach out to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, as well as their respective Representative, to advocate for needed SGR reform as well to address the issues as listed above. (AUSTER)
The Assembly advanced a series of MSSNY-supported bills to provide comprehensive reform to the many hassles experienced by patients and physicians in their dealings with health insurance companies. Very significantly these bills included legislation (A.4301, Canestrari, Gottfried et al.) which was unanimously approved by the Assembly Health Committee and which fundamentally changes the nature of health plan-physician interactions by granting physicians and other health care providers the legal ability to collectively negotiate critically important patient care and reimbursement contract terms with health plans. The bill now advances to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.
Additionally a number of bills that passed the Assembly last session, but not the Senate, have been advanced for consideration again by the full Assembly, including the following legislation:
All physicians are asked to communicate their support for these bills to their elected member of the Assembly. All Assembly members can be reached by calling (518) 455-4100. (AUSTER, DEARS, CONWAY)
FAMILY HEALTH CARE DECISIONS ACT ADVANCES
A.7729-C (Gottfried)/ S.3164-A (Duane), a bill that would establish procedures authorizing family members or other persons close to patients who lack decision-making capability to decide about treatment, in consultation with health care professionals and in accord with specified safeguards, was reported out of the Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday, January 12 and is now in the Assembly Codes Committee for review before it proceeds to a vote on the Assembly Floor. The companion bill is in the Senate health Committee. Physicians are urged to call members of the Assembly Codes Committee to register your support for this bill by calling (518) 455-4100.
(ELLMAN, CLANCY) PAIN MANAGEMENT CLINICAL EDUCATION BILL
A.5287 (Meng)/ S.4387 (Klein), a bill that would mandate that all health care providers complete course work or training regarding pain management has been reported to the Assembly Floor and is poised for a vote. MSSNY supports mandatory CME for physicians, but has opposed this bill on the basis that physicians should be able to use their own discretion as to what course or courses they take. Physicians are urged to call their Assembly Member to oppose this bill. The main Assembly number is 518-455-4100. (ELLMAN, CLANCY, DEARS)
BILL TO ALLOW NURSE PRACTITIONERS TO SIGN DEATH CERTIFICATES
A.2028-A (John)/ S.2969 (Montgomery), a bill that would include nurse practitioners as health care practitioners who are authorized to sign death certificates, has been reported to the Senate Floor and is poised for a vote at any time. MSSNY continues to oppose this bill. Physicians are urged to call their Senator to voice their opposition to the bill. The Main Senate number is 518-455-2800. (ELLMAN)
OFFICE-BASED SURGERY BILL ADVANCES
A.6858-A (Gottfried)/ S.3845-A (Duane), a bill that would exempt from the office-based surgery statute individuals who are dually licensed as physicians and dentists, under both Articles 131 and 133 of the Education Law, who are practicing dentistry, has advanced to the Senate Finance Committee. MSSNY has opposed this bill on the grounds that a separate bill was introduced to allow oral and maxillofacial surgeons (who are dentists with additional training) to perform cosmetic surgery procedures. If such a bill were enacted and this measure also implemented, the protections that currently exist for any plastic surgeon who performed such surgeries in their office setting would not be in effect for even the dually licensed dentist/physician. Physicians are urged to call their Senator to oppose this bill at 518-455-2800. (ELLMAN)
Assembly Bill 9016, which would allow a patient to use marijuana to treat a serious condition (defined as a severe debilitating or life-threatening condition, or a condition associated with or a complication of the condition or its treatment), passed the Assembly Health Committee and is now in the Assembly Codes Committee. Sponsored by Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, the legislation would allow physicians and other licensed practitioners as defined under the Public Health Law to certify that a patient has a serious condition as defined above to include a life-threatening condition that in the physician’s judgment can and should be treated with the medical use of marijuana.
The bill also contains other safeguards pertaining to the possession and sale of marijuana for the purposes of medical treatment and limits the amount of marijuana and plants a patient may have. There is no requirement that a physician must certify any patient for use of marijuana. The MSSNY House of Delegates adopted the resolution as put forth by the reference committee which states: 1)That the Medical Society of the State of New York adopt as policy that the use of marijuana may be appropriate when prescribed by a licensed physician solely for use in alleviating pain and nausea in patients who have been diagnosed as chronically ill with life threatening disease, when all other treatments have failed; 2)that the physicians who prescribe marijuana for patient use, subject to the conditions set forth above, shall not be held criminally, civilly or professionally liable; 3)that the Medical Society support continued clinical trials on the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The proposed legislation incorporates these provisions. (CLANCY) EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION BILL APPROVED BY HEALTH COMMITTITE
Legislation that would provide for the dispensing of emergency contraception has been approved by the Assembly Health Committee. The bill, A627, sponsored by Assemblymember Amy Paulin, is now in the Ways and Means Committee. The bill would allow a physician to prescribe and/or order a non-patient specific regimen to a registered nurse or a pharmacist for the purposes of dispensing emergency contraception to the patient. The drug will be self administered by the patient. MSSNY has policy that is supportive of making emergency contraception more available to patients. (CLANCY)
BILL TO PROVIDE MEDICAL CARE TO MINORS FOR STD WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT
Legislation that would lower the age requirements to allow physicians and other health care providers to diagnose, treat, or prescribe for a person who is infected with a sexually transmissible disease without parental consent is on the Senate Health agenda for next week. Senate Bill 4779b, sponsored by Senator Liz Krueger, would lower the current provisions from 21 to age 18 years of age without parental consent. The bill also authorize that treatment would include consent for vaccines, including the HPV vaccine. MSSNY endorses the administration of the HPV vaccine as a means of preventing the transmission of the virus and as a means for preventing cervical cancer in women. MSSNY’s Public Health and Education Committees are currently reviewing the bill. (CLANCY)
For more information relating to any of the above articles, please contact the appropriate contributing staff member at the following email addresses: rabrams@mssny.org gconway@mssny.org ldears@mssny.org
pclancy@mssny.org bellman@mssny.org clinton@mssny.org mauster@mssny.org hbennett@mssny.org eNews On December 1, 2009, Judge Lawrence M. McKenna of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York entered an order granting preliminary approval of the $350 million class action settlement with United Healthcare Corporation. The settlement agreement was signed on January 14, 2009. Judge McKenna held numerous hearings before issuing the order granting preliminary approval of the settlement.
Judge McKenna has conditionally certified two classes:
(i) all persons whose health care benefits were insured or administered by United Healthcare (including any of its subsidiaries and affiliates) who, at any time from March 15, 1994 through November 18, 2009, received out-of-network health care benefits that were processed or reimbursed by Defendant using the Ingenix Database;
(ii) all Out-of-Network Health Care Professionals who provided covered Out-of-Network services or supplies to persons whose health benefits were insured or administered by any Defendant at any time from March 15, 1994 through November 18, 2009, and whose claims were processed or reimbursed by Defendant using the Ingenix Database.
Judge McKenna designated Berdon Claims Administrators, LLC as Claims Administrator. The Claims Administrator will be required to mail, via first class mail, copies of the Notice of the Proposed Settlement Agreement and Claim Form by March 18, 2010. In addition, the Claims Administrator will publish the Notice in certain publications (such as USA Today) by April 22, 2010. The AMA, MSSNY and other state medical societies will publish notices in medical society websites and publications.
The Final Settlement Hearing is scheduled to be held on July 1, 2010 in the United States Courthouse, Southern District of New York.
NGS: Required Maintenance Scheduled for Saturday, January 16
Due to required maintenance, the Part B Connecticut and New York online systems may not be available at various times on Saturday, January 16, 2010. The Interactive Voice Response System (IVR) may not be available for some or all of the day for claim status and financial information. Physicians should be able to access beneficiary entitlement information. NGS officials apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Coming Attraction: MSSNY Facebook Is in the Works
MSSNY will soon have a Facebook page for members. Members will be able to stay abreast of upcoming events, make comments and collaborate with other physicians on important subjects. Procedures for becoming a fan of MSSNY's Facebook page will be provided to all members in future mailings. In the interim, if you have questions regarding our Facebook page, contact Steve Sachs at ssachs@mssny.org.
CMS has launched the fifth annual health care provider satisfaction survey of the Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) contractors that process and pay more than $370 billion in Medicare claims each year.
The Medicare Contractor Provider Satisfaction Survey (MCPSS) offers Medicare FFS providers an opportunity to give CMS feedback on their satisfaction, attitudes, perceptions, and opinions about the services provided by their respective contractor. Survey questions focus on seven key business functions of the provider-contractor relationship: Provider Inquiries, Provider Outreach & Education, Claims Processing, Appeals, Provider Enrollment, Medical Review, and Provider Audit & Reimbursement.
CMS is sending the 2010 survey to approximately 30,000 randomly selected providers, including physicians and other health care practitioners, suppliers, and institutional facilities that serve Medicare beneficiaries across the country. Those health care providers selected to participate in this year’s survey will be notified starting in January 2010.
Participation in the 2010 MCPSS is simple and confidential. Selected providers can easily access and complete the survey on the Internet via a secure website. The Internet is a quick and environmentally friendly way for providers to contribute directly to CMS’ understanding of contractor performance. Responses can also be submitted via mail, fax, and over the telephone.
The MCPSS is a result of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, which mandated CMS to develop contract performance requirements, including measuring health care provider satisfaction with Medicare contractors. The MCPSS enables CMS to hear provider concerns, monitor trends, improve contractor oversight, and increase efficiency of the Medicare program. The MCPSS provides contractors with more insight into their provider communities and allows them to make process improvements based on provider feedback.
CMS will analyze the 2010 MCPSS data and release a summary report on the CMS website in the summer of 2010. CMS urges all health care providers selected to participate in the 2010 MCPSS to take a few minutes to complete this important survey.
For more information about the MCPSS, please visit www.cms.hhs.gov/MCPSS.
The 5th Annual MSSNY RFS Research Poster Symposium will be held at the MSSNY House of Delegates on Friday, April 16, from 2 pm to 5 pm at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, New York. Spread the word! Entrants must be active in a residency/fellowship training program and be current MSSNY members. For detailed guidelines, contact sbennett@mssny.org or 516-488-6100 ext 383.
The rules of submission are as follows:
1. Submission Rules a) Deadline for abstract submission: Tuesday, February 16, 2010. b) All must be original works of individuals actively engaged in residency or fellowship training. c) Posters previously entered in a MSSNY symposium cannot be resubmitted. d) You must be a MSSNY member to participate. All dues must be up to date. Entry is free as a MSSNY member benefit. e) Non-members must apply for MSSNY membership. First time residency membership is free. If you are a former MSSNY resident member, you will have to rejoin and pay current dues. Join online at www.mssny.org. f) Authors of entries accepted for the research symposium must be willing to attend the meeting and be present to discuss their submission. g) All abstract submissions must be sent via email to sbennett@mssny.org. Please email or call 516-488-6100 x 383 with questions. h) All submitters will be notified via e-mail regarding acceptance or rejection of their abstracts as soon as possible after February 16. Each submission will receive its own email notice regarding whether it has been accepted or not. 2. Abstract Categories
a) Submissions may be entered in one of four categories: 1) Basic Science 2) Clinical Medicine 3) Health Policy and Medical Education 4) Clinical Vignettes b) “Basic Science” implies the use of scientific method to derive original data in the laboratory. Entrants are expected to highlight pertinent aspects of scientific background, medical context, and techniques used to derive the data. c) “Clinical Medicine” connotes use of scientific method to derive original data in the patient care setting. Abstracts should identify pertinent aspects of pathophysiology, clinical relevance, and techniques used to derive the data. d) "Health Policy and Medical Education" refers broadly to any original systematic, scientific analysis of, or model for, health care education or health care policy. e) "Clinical Vignettes" involve the presentation of one or more patient encounters that illuminate unique observations of a known disease, or that describe a novel disease process. These are expected to include clinical patient information – such as history, physical exam, clinical data – as well as an analysis of how such observations might contribute to existing medical or scientific knowledge. 3. Abstract Criteria (THESE GUIDELINES MUST BE FOLLOWED)
a) All abstract submissions should be submitted as an email attachment in MS WORD, 11 point Arial font. The submissions must begin with: 1. Title 2. Authors’ names 3. Institution affiliations b) Maximum abstract length is 400 words. Title, authors and institution affiliations are not included in word count. Please do not include captions from photos or graphs in abstract text. c) All research abstracts should consist of four paragraphs, with the following headings: 1. Background (the hypothesis of the study must be clearly stated) 2. Methods 3. Results 4. Conclusions 5. A fifth paragraph, headed Clinical Relevance, should be added for basic science articles. d) Graphs, figures and photos should not be included in the submitted abstract, but should be incorporated into the poster for presentation at the meeting. e) Authors are responsible for submitting their abstract in the appropriate category (see 2a above). f) Entries may have been published in abstract form elsewhere, but entries may not be taken from previously published papers. (Authors should also be aware that acceptance at this meeting may preclude an abstract’s candidacy for submission elsewhere.) g) At the end of the abstract, please include the category of the abstract, contact information of the entrant including name, title (resident/fellow, specialty, year, name of institution), address, telephone, and e-mail. h) No previous abstract submission to this symposium will be considered. i) Authors may submit a maximum of two entries at the 2010 symposium. (Please note, each submission will receive its own email notice regarding whether it has been accepted or not.) 4. Poster Presentation
a) Top abstracts from each of the categories will be selected by a Poster Symposium Committee for presentation at the Medical Society of the State of New York House of Delegates in Tarrytown, New York on April 16, 2010, from 2 pm to 5 pm. b) PLEASE NOTE: If there are not enough entries in any one category, you will be asked to reassign your entry to another category. c) Authors will be contacted via e-mail as soon after the February 16 abstract submission deadline as the committee has made its abstract selections. d) Invited posters are to be prepared in advance. e) Posters should be no larger than 6' wide x 4' high. f) Bulletin boards and pins will be provided. g) Posters should include title, authors, institution affiliations, and a detailed description of methods and results. Graphs, tables and photos are welcome on posters. h) Poster text must be in 16 point font or larger. i) No word count is assigned to poster text, but please limit narrative. j) Posters will be displayed on bulletin boards in a gallery area, where entrants will be present to discuss their submissions, on Friday, April 16, 2010, from 2 pm to 5 pm, at the House of Delegates Meeting of the Medical Society of the State of New York in Tarrytown, New York. k) A panel of judges will visit and examine each presentation during this time frame (2 pm – 5 pm). Authors must be available for questions during this time. l) All costs of poster creation are the responsibility of the entrants. 5. Judging and Awards
a) A panel of Poster Competition judges will be selected by MSSNY prior to the meeting. b) Posters will be judged on the following criteria: 1. ORIGINALITY: How original is the concept presented in the poster? Or, how original is the new approach to an old problem? 2. SIGNIFICANCE: How significant are the poster’s conclusions in increasing understanding of a disease process, or in improving the diagnosis or treatment of a disease state? 3. PRESENTATION: How logical are the ideas presented in the poster? How interesting is the manner of presentation? 4. METHODS: If applicable, how suitable is the research design for the stated objectives, and how appropriate are any statistical techniques applied? 5. VISUAL IMPACT: How effective is the poster visually? How valuable is each figure and graph in furthering viewers’ understanding of the research subject? 6. INTERVIEW: How knowledgeable and conversant is the presenting author with the research presented in the poster? c) There will be up to three awards per category: first prize, second prize and honorable mention. If there are not enough entries in any one category, categories will be merged, reducing the total number of awards. At this time, we don’t know if we will be able to provide monetary prizes. Thank you for your understanding. d) Winners will receive a certificate and a free year of MSSNY resident/fellow membership. Advertise with MSSNY by going to our website at mssny.org and clicking “Online Classifieds” or “Medical Job Board.” Hassle Factor Form If you have any complaints regarding insurance carriers, you can go to the Hassle Factor Form found on our website. Not yet a member? MSSNY’s achievements benefit all physicians! Join your colleagues
MSSNY MEMBERS CAN ACCESS MONEY SAVING BENEFITS BY Clicking Here
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