Weekly Headlines from March 30, 2016
Academy News
| More Than 100 Conditions and Treatments are Now Available on www.aapmr.org | | Your Academy recently published a new web page featuring more than 100 conditions that physiatrists evaluate and treat. Patients can view these pages to learn more, plus each condition is linked to the full, in-depth article on PM&R Knowledge NOW®, specifically for physicians. In addition, each condition also has a direct link to the patient-friendly Find a PM&R Physician portal. View them today—all are grouped by clinical area. | |
| Fellowship Database is Now Part of the AAPM&R Job Board | | NEW! To streamline our career development offerings, we’ve moved 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. Visit jobboard.aapmr.org for new fellowship opportunities. | |
| “What is PM&R?”—Residents and Medical Students Video Competition | | As the job of a PM&R physician is to treat a wide variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles, and tendons, lack of understanding about the specialty and its physicians continue to exist.
Your Academy invites medical students and residents to raise awareness for and cultivate an understanding of the PM&R specialty by creating a 2-3 minute video presentation answering the question, “What is PM&R?” Show your #PMRpride and be featured at #AAPMR2016! The submission deadline is July 31, 2016. We can’t wait to see your creativity! Learn more here.
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Member Volunteerism
| Last Chance to Submit Your Award Nominations—Closes Tomorrow! | 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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| Member Council Nominations are Now Open! | Do you have leadership skills or experience, or know of a colleague who does? Submit a nomination ballot for our Member Councils! We’re seeking nominations for several leadership positions within all 5 of the Member Councils. All nomination ballots must be completed and submitted by May 8 and are only accepted electronically. Learn more.
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Education
| Sports Medicine Supplement and SAE-P Now Available! | Your Academy is excited to announce that our new sports medicine supplement and self-assessment examination for practitioners (SAE-P), Advanced Sports Medicine Concepts and Controversies, which accompanies the March PM&R Journal, are now available. This new SAE-P offers up to 8 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and helps fulfill your American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) Maintenance of Certification® (MOC®) Part II requirement. Visit the mē® Catalog to learn more.
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| Coding & Reimbursement Workshops: April 29-30 in Chicago | | Get the PM&R-specific coding help you need at one of AAPM&R’s 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, April 29—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, April 30—the Strategic Coding & Reimbursement 2016 course will spend significant time on all aspects of E/M coding and reimbursement.
Learn more and register here.
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Health Policy/Advocacy
| Quality & Practice Section of www.aapmr.org | | Navigating the continuous changes to guidelines, reporting measures, and other practice requirements can be overwhelming. That’s why your Academy is committed to providing resources to lead you through the transitions occurring in the business of health care. Visit www.aapmr.org and explore the Quality & Practice page to find these resources, such as Quality Reporting Programs, Clinical Practice Guidelines, Patient Safety Notices, and education about evidence-based medicine and diversifying your practice revenue.
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| Washington Health Technology Clinical Committee’s Decision to Preserve Coverage for Spinal Injections—A Win for Back Pain Patients | | The Multi-Society Pain Workgroup (MPW), representing more than 100,000 physicians and 15 medical societies, including your Academy, applauds the Washington State Health Care Authority’s Health Technology Clinical Committee (HTCC) for preserving access to spinal injection therapies for millions of people who suffer from back pain. Learn more.
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| New Patient Safety Notice—Opioid Pain Medicines: New Safety Warnings Added to Prescription Opioid Medications | | Your Academy receives notices from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) MedWatch program, and other sources when there is a patient safety announcement that could affect PM&R practices. A new patient safety notice is available on opioid pain medicines. You can also view previous patient safety notices here.
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| New 2016 PQRS Information on www.aapmr.org | | Our Physician Quality Reporting System web page has been updated with details for 2016 reporting! Visit the PQRS page to learn more about this quality reporting program, and how to report without penalty. Plus, check out the archived PQRS webinar from March 23—Sophia Autrey, current lead for quality measures in PQRS at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), provides an overview of physician quality reporting. View the recording here.
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| CMS SNF Consolidated Billing Web-Based Training Course | | The Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Consolidated Billing Web-Based Training (WBT) course is available through the Learning Management and Product Ordering System, and also offers continuing education credits. Learn about: - Payment information for SNF services, including services provided by entities other than SNFs.
- Bundled prospective payments.
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| Around the Web—Health Policy Happenings | | | |
AAPM&R Members in the News
- On March 14, 2016, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a roundtable discussion on concussion research and treatment. Panelists included experts from the medical, military, athletic, and research communities. One particular expert, David Cifu, MD, AAPM&R past president, PM&R department chair at Virginia Commonwealth University, and AAPM&R Concussion Work Group participant, also attended this roundtable discussion to represent the physiatric approach to care post-concussion. View the full recording of the discussion here.
- Cynthia Garcia, MD, physiatrist at Harlingen Medical Center, recently spoke at a “Doc Talk Lecture,” answering questions on shoulder pain and how to treat these types of injuries. Learn more.
- Julie Gronek, MD, physiatrist at Jones Center for Pain Management, served on a panel of brain injury experts for a Brain Injury Awareness Month Q&A session at Traverse City’s State Theater and Rainbow Rehabilitation Center. Learn more.
Do you have a newsworthy story to share with your peers? Send us an email at pressinquiries@aapmr.org. | |