Weekly Headlines from March 16, 2016
Academy News
| AAPM&R Co-Leading Development of Spine Patient Registry with AANS | | For the first time, 2 primary medical specialties are joining forces to create a clinical data registry. Together, your Academy and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) are creating a Spine Patient Registry, which will support the collection and submission of quality data specific to spine patients and track these patients’ outcomes over time. View the full press release here.
This breaking news announcement also made the list of top stories on Becker’s Spine Review. Check out the feature here. | |
| Brain Injury Awareness Day is Today, March 16 | Focus on advancing and evolving your clinical skills in brain injury this month. Your Academy provides education and the latest information on brain injury through educational activities in the mē® Catalog, articles on PM&R Knowledge NOW®, and PM&R Journal Clinical Collections. Plus, Dr. Bennet Omalu (inspiration for the movie, Concussion) will be discussing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degenerative disease of the brain, at the 2016 Annual Assembly, October 20-23 in New Orleans.
Visit our Brain Injury Awareness Month web page to learn more!
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| Match Week is Friday! | Match Day is Friday, March 18. Your Academy would like to wish our senior medical student members all the best this Match Day. We hope each of you is accepted into your resident program of choice! Planning on practicing physical medicine and rehabilitation? Take a look at our dedicated resources for residents, including networking tools, newsletters, educational activities, and career advice.
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| Fellowship Database is Moving to the AAPM&R Job Board | | Coming Soon! To streamline our career development offerings, we’re moving the Fellowship Database to the Job Board. The database is a searchable listing of PM&R fellowship opportunities within the U.S., which represents the broad clinical diversity of the PM&R specialty. Stay tuned to jobboard.aapmr.org for new fellowship opportunities. | |
| Tell Us How We’re Doing! | | AAPM&R values your membership and wants to continue to understand what is important to you as a physiatrist. The core purpose of your Academy is to “advance our members’ ability to serve patients.” To accomplish this, the Academy must offer information and resources that align to your needs.
Take a few minutes to complete the 2016 Membership Satisfaction Survey and tell us how we’re doing! | |
Member Volunteerism
| We Want Your Award Nominations! | Nominate your colleagues who deserve recognition for distinguished contributions to the Academy and the specialty. Explore the criteria for the various AAPM&R awards, and visit the diverse and distinguished list of Academy members who have been honored in the past.
Submit your nomination today! Nominations are due by 11:59 am (CT) on March 31, 2016. Award recipients will be honored at the AAPM&R 2016 Annual Assembly.
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Education
| Education Section of www.aapmr.org | Visit www.aapmr.org and explore the Education page to stay relevant with cutting-edge clinical and practice management continuing education resources, services, and programs as well as important topics such as emerging trends, regenerative medicine, and practice preparedness. You’ll find everything you need to know about Maintenance of Certification® (MOC®), the mē® Catalog, PM&R Knowledge NOW®, the Annual Assembly, and upcoming events.
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| The mē® Catalog is Your #1 CME Resource | | Look to the mē® Catalog for resources to help you earn CME: | |
| Interfaith Gathering Room at AAPM&R’s 2016 Annual Assembly | | When selecting dates for our Annual Assembly, we do our best to respect religious holidays. To assist our members attending the Assembly, your Academy offers an Interfaith Gathering Room that may be used for religious practices. If you’d like to request a gathering room, please contact meetings@aapmr.org prior to the event.
In 2016, the Assembly falls during the Jewish Holiday Sukkot. For our members who wish to attend the Annual Assembly and observe the holiday, visit our Annual Assembly web page for more information.
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Health Policy/Advocacy
| Two Days Left to Avoid Up to a 4% Penalty | | The Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) is a CMS quality reporting program that uses negative payment adjustments to promote reporting of quality information by individual eligible professionals (EPs) and group practices. One solution for your PQRS reporting needs is the PQRSwizard®, the Academy-Sponsored PQRS Registry Reporting Vendor. This sponsorship means AAPM&R members receive discounted access to the PQRSwizard®. The deadline for reporting your 2015 data using the PQRSwizard® is March 18, 2016. Learn more about PQRS and avoid up to a 4% penalty by using the PQRSwizard®.
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| Complimentary Webinar with CMS Leadership: Overview of Physician Quality Reporting—March 23 | | Host Sophia Autrey, current lead for quality measures in the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) at CMS, will provide an overview of physician quality reporting and answer questions during this 60-minute, members-only webinar on March 23 at 11 am (CT). Sign up here.
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| CMS Releases “Assessing ICD-10 Progress” Toolkit | | The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Next Steps Toolkit to help providers track and improve ICD-10 progress. This new toolkit includes information and resources on how to: - Assess ICD-10 progress using key performance indicators to identify potential productivity or cash flow issues.
- Address opportunities for improvement.
- Maintain progress and keep up-to-date on ICD-10.
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| CMS Provider Minute Video: Proper Use of Modifier 51 | | This video includes helpful pointers to avoid receiving improper payments when modifiers are applied incorrectly. This is the third in a series of Medicare compliance videos.
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Physiatry News
| Now Available—Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the U.S. Executive Summary | | The United States Bone and Joint Initiative (USBJI), in partnership with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), recently released the executive summary of the Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the United States: Prevalence, Societal, and Economic Costs (BMUS).
Your Academy is a founding member of USBJI, as well as a BMUS Steering Committee member, and directly contributed to the funding and content of the BMUS. Because of your support, through AAPM&R membership, we’re able to get involved in these efforts and advocate for the PM&R specialty.
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| New Grant Opportunity: Craig H. Neilsen Foundation | | The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation is dedicated to research and programs that improve the quality of life for people living with spinal cord injury. The Neilsen Foundation is seeking proposals for this year’s psychosocial research grants cycle. Award amounts in this competitive grants process range from $150,000 to $400,000.
Learn more about the different funding categories, eligibility criteria, and deadlines by visiting www.chnfoundation.org. Interested applicants must submit a required letter of intent by Friday, March 25, 2016.
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AAPM&R Members in the News
- Matthew Bartels, MD, chairman of the department of PM&R at Montefiore Health System, and Stephen Erosa, DO, PGY-3 at Montefiore, co-authored the article, “The Key to Living Better and Longer,” which was published in the U.S. News & World Report Health section. Read more here.
- Amy Houtrow, MD, PhD, MPH, associate professor of PM&R and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh, and Tracy Knippel, MD, PGY-3 resident at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, recently published their research that focuses on the way in which pediatric rehabilitation services are delivered has changed in the last decade. Learn more.
- Joel Press, MD, AAPM&R past president, has been named the new chairman, department of physiatry and physiatrist-in-chief of the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), effective September 2016. Dr. Press currently works at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), where he has served as medical director of its spine and sports rehabilitation center since 1994. Congratulations, Dr. Press! Learn more.
Do you have a newsworthy story to share with your peers? Send us an email at pressinquiries@aapmr.org. | |