AAPM&R Connection E-Newsletter

More than 2,000 physiatrists will be attending #AAPMR2016 and we want to see you there! Today is your last chance to save an extra $100 off registration. We have so much in store this year:

• Can’t-miss plenary sessions from the country’s most talked-about newsmakers.
• Four days of unlimited networking opportunities.
• Hands-on workshops and preconference courses that will take your skillset to new levels.
• New, innovative learning activities that will boost your knowledge and set you up for success.
  

Don’t miss the excitement in New Orleans—check out the full details and join us!

We’re excited to bring back live streaming for some of our precourses. Participate in 2 preconference courses on Wednesday, October 19—Building and Maintaining Medicolegal Work in Your Physiatric Practice and Regenerative Medicine: Current Concepts and Brave New Paradigms in the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Conditions—without leaving your hometown! As a virtual participant, you will see and hear the lecture live, receive all course materials, participate in Q&A portions of the agenda, and receive a recording of the precourse. Learn more and register now.

Great news! To help with your room accommodations for the 2016 Annual Assembly, we've added another hotel:

Residence Inn New Orleans Downtown
345 St. Joseph Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
Single/Double Occupancy—$209/night
Triple Occupancy—$229/night
Quadruple Occupancy—$249/night

Don't delay—book your room by September 15 for the best rates.

Have you heard? Your Academy is championing a new initiative—Visioning PM&R Bold—to help define the future of PM&R. The purpose of Visioning PM&R Bold is to develop a unified vision for the specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Learn more about Visioning PM&R Bold and how you can get involved in this exciting initiative.

Plus, Think PM&R Bold and take 5-10 minutes to share your thoughts on what the physiatric practice models will look like in the future of medicine.

Exciting news, the new PhyzForum is now live! Get started today—simply log in, accept the updated Code of Conduct, and start participating in discussions. Our “All Member Community” is open to all Academy members, and you are welcome to join other communities of interest to you. PhyzForum is your destination for connecting with peers, collaborating, exchanging best practices, and more. Start engaging today!

AAPM&R has the resources you need to prepare for the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation’s (ABPMR) subspecialty exams. If you are planning to take ABPMR’s Pain Medicine Subspecialty Exam on September 17, 2016, check out the Academy’s collection of pain medicine resources on mē^® to help you prepare, including:

• Current Concepts in Physiatric Pain Management SAE-P
• Pain Management Online Review Course
• Slide lectures, case studies, and PM&R Journal articles
  

AAPM&R has released a new practice preparedness resource on mē^®, Payer Contracts: Assessment, Negotiations and Deal Breakers. Consisting of 3 modules, the activity teaches you how to get a payer’s attention in negotiating more favorable rates with notice, comparisons, and facts. You will also get a high-level overview of the ‘deal breakers’ in payer contract language. Plus, earn up to 3 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™! Learn more.

You may recall reading about the Jimmo v Sebelius case in 2013, which settled once and for all that the determining issue regarding Medicare coverage is whether the skilled services of a health care professional are needed, not whether the Medicare beneficiary will “improve.” Previously, medically-necessary nursing and therapy services, provided by or under the supervision of skilled personnel, were coverable by Medicare if the services were needed to maintain the individual’s condition, or prevent or slow the individual’s decline.

AAPM&R worked with the Center for Medicare Advocacy to win the settlement in the Jimmo v Sebelius lawsuit and end the practice of requiring that patients are likely to improve before Medicare will pay for therapy or skilled nursing services. The Center for Medicare Advocacy went to court in the spring of 2016 to urge the judge to require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide more education, as required by the settlement. As of August 18, 2016, the judge has ordered that CMS comply with the settlement agreement that was approved in 2013, and that they must provide more education. The hope is that this will open more doors to Medicare and necessary care for people with long-term and debilitating conditions. View the full press release here.

CMS is soliciting for public comment on a collection of standardized assessment-based data items developed under the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 (IMPACT Act).

UPDATE: Previously, this call for public comment was open from August 12-August 26, 2016. Due to the short time frame for comments, your Academy signed on to a post-acute care (PAC) coalition letter, asking that CMS extend the deadline. Great news! Our letter was a success and CMS has agreed to extend the comment period deadline to September 12, 2016. Learn more.

The 2015 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) feedback reports will be available in September 2016 for individual eligible professionals (EPs) and PQRS group practices. The PQRS feedback reports will provide the final determination on whether or not participants met the PQRS criteria for avoiding the 2017 PQRS negative payment adjustment. Detailed information about the quality data submitted by the provider will also be included. Learn more.

Need PM&R-specific coding assistance? Attend our Coding & Reimbursement Workshops, hosted in conjunction with KarenZupko & Associates, Inc. (KZA). You can attend one or both—and be sure to invite your coders too!

• Friday, November 11—attend ICD-10 Coding and Clinical Documentation Excellence, a course that builds on your existing ICD-10 knowledge and helps you take it to the next level.
• Saturday, November 12—the Strategic Coding & Reimbursement 2016 course will spend significant time on all aspects of E/M coding and reimbursement.
  

Learn more and register.

• Paul Cooke, MD and Alexander Simotas, MD, are featured in this video, "First Physiatry Team in Ghana." Check it out!

• UPDATE—Jonathan Myers, MD, medical director of rehabilitation at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center, and his rehabilitation team reached the peak of Mount Borah on August 17 for a fundraising effort for new medical equipment. Dr. Myers is a spinal cord injury survivor and uses his personal experience to better relate to his patients. Congratulations, Dr. Myers! Read more.

• Edward Nash, MD, physiatrist at the KSF Orthopaedic Center, is featured in a new article where he discusses physiatry’s approach to pain management. Read more.
  

Do you have a newsworthy story to share with your peers? Send us an email at: pressinquiries@aapmr.org.