Academy News
September is Pain Awareness Month Pain Awareness Month
was first acknowledged in 2001 to increase awareness about the effects of pain, educate citizens about the advanced treatment options available to help alleviate pain, and provide resources for individuals and families who are struggling with pain management.
One of the main goals of Pain Awareness Month is to raise awareness and open the lines of communication between health care professionals and individuals so that pain management issues can be better understood and addressed. Learn more about pain management by utilizing your Academy’s advocacy and educational resources.
Take a look below at your Academy’s efforts on addressing America’s opioid crisis. We also have a special pain and spine theme at the 2015 Annual Assembly, an SAE-P focused on pain management, articles on PM&R Knowledge NOW®, and more!
*The MOC|3 Online Review Courses and the MOC|3 Online Mock Exam are not endorsed by ABPMR nor was ABPMR involved in the creation of these study tools.
**Maintenance of Certification®(MOC®) was developed by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) to improve patient care by ensuring continuous lifelong learning and professional development throughout a physician’s medical career. For board-certified physiatrists, the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) sets MOC requirements that are customized to the specialty and ensure compliance with ABMS Standards. Recognizing that physicians participating in that process want a variety of options to meet these requirements, your Academy has developed a series of resources that satisfy the different components of MOC. All Academy tools available to help you meet MOC requirements can be found on mē®.
AAPM&R's Annual Assembly is Only 1 Month Away!
There’s only 4 weeks remaining before we meet in Boston, October 1-4. Don’t miss the learning, networking, and fun we have planned for you! Register today and join us in one of the most historic cities in the U.S.
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Spots are Still Available for Select Preconference Courses and Assembly Workshops
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Looking for a New Career Opportunity?
Attend this year’s AAPM&R Job Fair on September 30 in Boston and jump-start your career. What better way to make a first impression than face to face? The 2015 Job Fair will have more than 100 employers looking for candidates just like you.
Maximize your time on-site b ychecking out which companies will be there. Get started on your career search today by posting your resume to the Physiatrists’ Job Board.
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Experience the Live Regenerative Medicine Course from Your Home or Office
Participate in the live course on regenerative medicine without leaving your hometown. This year’s preconference course—Regenerative Medicine: Current Concepts and Brave New Paradigms in the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Conditions—is available to those not attending the 2015 Assembly or those who may be traveling later to the meeting.
The course will be presented live on September 30 at 7:30 am (ET) .Register today!
Get Ready for CMS’s DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program
The Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program Round 1 2017 is coming soon. If you are a supplier interested in bidding, prepare now – don’t wait.
Learn more about how to prepare on the latest news and announcements web page. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the CBIC customer service center at (877) 577-5331 between 9 am-7 pm (ET), Monday-Friday. Hours are extended to 9 pm (ET) during the last 2 weeks of the registration and bidding windows.
NIBIB Consortium Report
The National Institute on Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering/NIH (NIBIB), in collaboration with the Consortium for Addressing Paralysis through Spinal Stimulation Technologies, has issued a report that describes a framework for studying the effectiveness and safety of epidural spinal stimulation to control bladder, bowel, and sexual functions in persons with spinal cord injuries.
Dr. Roderic I. Pettigrew, director of NIBIB, invites readers to send comments on the content of the report to info@nibib.nih.gov. If you have any questions, please email michael.marge@nih.govor call (703) 403-8229.
Coding and Reimbursement Virtual Workshop on September 17
Do you have a particularly hard-to-code PM&R case? Are you unclear on how to document and bill evaluation and management (E/M) services? Get information you can trust from your Academy’s coding experts.
Attend our 30-minute Fast & Furious Coding Virtual Workshop, available for 0.5AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Experts will be available to answer your coding and reimbursement questions and can provide advice on E/M Coding and Documentation, E/M modifiers, diagnostic testing, and injections and other therapeutic procedures.
Date:September 17
Time:12 pm–12:30 pm (ET)
Cost:$20
Learn more and register today!
CMS Launches ICD-10 Clinical Concepts Series
CMS has launched the ICD-10 Clinical Concepts Series for Specialties to help physicians and other providers get up to speed. Each guide in the series compiles key information from the Road to 10 online toolin a PDF format that can be readily shared, emailed, posted to websites, and printed. The guides include common ICD-10 codes, clinical documentation tips, clinical scenarios, and links to interactive case studies, in-depth webinars, and other Road to 10 features. The most closely related guide to PM&R is Orthopedics. Your Academy continues to work on developing PM&R-specific resources.
IRC Survey: Complete to Win!
AAPM&R is dedicated to building collaborative, long-term relationships with companies in order to address emerging issues of shared concern in a mutually beneficial, compliant way. To achieve this goal, your Academy has an active AAPM&R Industry Relations Council (IRC). The revenue received from this program supports the mission of AAPM&R.
The Academy is conducting a survey on behalf of some of our IRC members.Participants who complete the survey will be entered to win 1 of 10 $25 mē®certificates that can be used for education of your choice!
Click here to begin the survey.
Data gathered from this survey will be used by IRC companies to better serve the PM&R community and the patients you serve.Please note that individual responses will remain confidential; only aggregated data will be released to IRC participants. We ask that you take a moment and complete the survey, which will take about 10 minutes to complete. Thank you for your time!
Confirm PQRS Information in Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS)
Prior to reporting PQRS for 2015, please ensure all information is correctly reflected within your PECOS account. Information such as National Provider Identifier (NPI), Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), organization name, and address may be used by CMS for upcoming communications.
You can review and make a change to your Medicare enrollment information here. Note: You may need to copy and paste the URL into your web browser if clicking on it generates an error message.
Please visit the External User Services (EUS) Customer Portal for PECOS account issues and system errors. All other system questions should be directed to a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) or CMS.
2014 PQRS Quality Measures May be Publicly Reported
For the first time, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will publicly display a subset of individual 2014 PQRS measures through star ratings on physicians’ individual profile pages in late 2015. CMS will only report information through star ratings on physicians and group practices that were successful with 2014 PQRS. Physicians and group practices will have the opportunity to review the information before it goes live and flag problematic information. The preview period will last 30 days and is expected to start October 5. In order to review a preview report, a physician will have to access the report through the PQRS Portal and have an EIDM account.
CMS will host 3 one-hour webinars where physicians and stakeholders will have the opportunity to ask questions about public reporting on Physician Compare and the 2014 quality measure preview period. All sessions will present the same information and will be offered at:
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1 pm (ET) September 22
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4 pm (ET) September 23
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11 am (ET) September 24
Register today for a session.
AAPM&R Submits Comments on Proposed Lower Limb Prostheses LCD
Your Academy has submitted a comment letter to the Medicare DME contractors concerning the draft LCD on lower limb prostheses. As written, the proposed LCD could do irreparable harm to beneficiaries in need of lower limb prostheses. The full comment letter can be viewed on the Academy website.
AboutAAPM&R Connection
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