E-Newsletter

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"News You Can Use" <> June 16, 2015



CONTENTS

ABOVE THE FOLD

Executive Director Comment: Thank you to all the 751 respondents of our 2015 SDCMS Tangible Member Benefits Survey. The winner of the random drawing for the Apple Watch is Dr. Vijay Babu — congratulations!

You Have Until Midnight on June 19 to Complete Your Top Docs 2015 Ballot: SDCMS members were emailed balloting instructions and their usernames/passwords. Nonmembers may vote but must click here with identifying information to obtain username / password and links.

Can’t Figure Out That Leadership Thing? Four spots still open for SDCMS’s Leader’s Toolkit seminar on July 11–12. Email me at Gehring@SDCMS.org for details.

Medicare-eligible Physicians Must Apply for a 2016 Hardship Exception by July 1 to Avoid a 2016 Medicare Payment Adjustment: Payment adjustments for eligible professionals that did not successfully participate in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program in 2014 will begin on January 1, 2016. To file a hardship exception, you must:

  • show proof of a circumstance beyond your control; and
  • explicitly outline how the circumstance significantly impaired your ability to meet meaningful use.

For more information, visit the EHR Incentive Programs website.

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YOUR MEMBER SERVICES QUIZ

Question: How will we know if we’ve failed to meet the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) reporting requirements for the previous year? Are there any reports we can access to review the data submitted? Click Here for the Answer

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FEDERAL

Supreme Court Rules Against Delayed Lawsuits, Damages: Click Here

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STATE

Medi-Cal to Delay Payments for Two Weeks in June so that those claims are paid out of the 2015-2016 fiscal year budget. Click Here for Details

U-T San Diego: Medi-Cal Boom Brings Capacity Questions: Click Here

Vaccination Bill Clears Assembly Health Committee, Moves to the Assembly Floor for Consideration: Click Here for Details

Thousands Rally at State Capitol to Support Fully Funding Medi-Cal: Click here for more information about Medi-Cal Matters. Click Here for Details

Senate Passes Bills to Regulate E-cigarettes, Raise Smoking Age: Both bills now move to the state Assembly. Click Here for Details

Anthem May (Again) Be Recouping Beyond 365-day Statutory Timeframe: Physicians should contact CMA’s Center for Economic Services if they receive a recoupment request where Anthem is attempting to recoup beyond 365 days from the date paid at (916) 551-2061 orjwilliams2@cmanet.org. To help physicians understand their rights and options when it comes to health plan refund requests, CMA has published a “Special Investigations Unit Audit Guide” (free to SDCMS-CMA members). Click Here for Details

Two CMA Physicians — Dev GnanaDev, MD, of Redlands and Sharon Levine, MD, of Palo Alto — Reappointed to the Medical Board of California

New Paid Family Leave Benefits Form Required July 1: Click Here for Details

Special Application Cycle Open for Steven M. Thompson Physician Corps Loan Repayment Award: The Health Professions Education Foundation (HPEF) will be taking applications through June 26, with primary care physicians specializing in family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics eligible to apply. Click Here for More Information and to Apply

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BENEFITS / PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

What Has CMA Done for You Lately?

  • Click Here to Read "What Has CMA Done for Anesthesiologists"
  • Click Here to Read "What Has CMA Done for Hospitalists"
  • Click Here to Read "What Has CMA Done for Ophthalmologists"
  • Click Here to Read "What Has CMA Done for Primary Care Physicians"
  • Click Here to Read "What Has CMA Done for Radiologists"

Second ICD-10 Boot Camp Added in San Diego on August 27–28: SDCMS is partnering with the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) to present a two-day workshop on August 27 and 28 at SDCMS’s offices — our June bootcamp has sold out! It will be $399 for SDCMS members and staff (a $200 discount!). October 1 is closer than you think!!! Click Here for Details and to Register

Executive Director Commentary: ICD-10, if you don’t prepare for it, could have a major disruption on your cash flow in October. Please, please take the time to prepare now. Here is how your Medical Society is helping members to avoid “October OMG” moments …

Is Your Office Working on ICD-10 Compliance?

  • Click here for a number of SDCMS members-only resources. Email Membership@SDCMS.org for login assistance. 
  • Click here information about SDCMS’s August 27–28 ICD-10-CM Code Set Boot Camp (8:00am–5:00pm each day) — $399 for SDCMS members and staff (a $200 discount!).
  • Click here for a number of CMA members-only resources, including its ICD-10 Transition Guide for Physicians.

October 1 is closer than you think!!!

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LOCAL

It’s Free & It’s Fun! All Physicians: Mingle, Socialize, and Network With Your Fellow Docs on Friday, July 10, 5:30–8:00pm Near Sharp Grossmont Hospital: RSVPs required as space is limited — click here to RSVP. We hope to see you there!

Work-Life Balance Workshop on Saturday, October 17: Take an honest look at your life, reacquaint yourself with what you find most meaningful, and then make the changes that will bring your life into greater balance! Join your colleagues and Helane Fronek, MD, certified physician development coach, on Saturday, October 17, from 9:00am to noon to begin to see your life, and your choices in it, in a new light! Workshop limited to 12 physicians. Email Dr. Fronek at hsfronek@aol.com for details or to reserve your spot today!

Can You Help Spread the Message of Health by Making a Brief Presentation in Your Community? The SDCMS Foundation is partnering with the County of San Diego to educate children, adults, seniors, and employees on how to improve their lives and take charge of their health by launching a Live Well Physicians’ Speakers Bureau. Contact Barbara.Mandel@SDCMS.org to say YES, you will volunteer just one or two times a year, quarterly, or however your schedule allows.

Physician Volunteer Opportunity: Established in 2011, Flying Samaritans of SDSU provides free healthcare to the underserved community of Ejido Matamoros, Mexico (15 minutes away from the border) through monthly medical and dental clinics (every second Saturday of the month), seeing 60-80 patients/medical clinic and 10/ dental clinic. Click here for details or email FlyingSamaritansSDSU@gmail.com.

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“Measure your health by your sympathy with morning and spring. If there is no response in you to the awakening of nature — if the prospect of an early morning walk does not banish sleep, if the warble of the first bluebird does not thrill you — know that the morning and spring of your life are past. Thus may you feel your pulse.” — Henry David Thoreau, American Author, Poet, Philosopher, Abolitionist, Naturalist, Tax Resister, Development Critic, Surveyor, and Historian (1817–1862)



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