AAPM&R Connection E-Newsletter

The AAPM&R Annual Assembly brings together nearly 3,000 attendees for the best in clinical and practice education, hands-on training, networking, and fun! Bringing the entire specialty together encourages innovative thinking and impactful discussions as health care and medicine are impacted by regulatory change.

Last month’s Assembly in New Orleans was a testament to the value of a physiatry-focused, jam-packed week! Click on the video below to hear how the Assembly helped attendees, their practices, and the specialty move forward.

Make #AAPMR2017 in Denver, Colorado part of your 2017 plans, and tell everyone where you will be the second week in October! Stay tuned to www.aapmr.org/assembly—we’ll be posting event details as they become available.

The 2016 Annual Assembly in New Orleans offered attendees valuable networking opportunities with their peers, and one group, La Sociedad Mexicana de Medicina Física y Rehabilitación (Mexican Society of PM&R), took advantage and celebrated their 50^th anniversary! Did your group get together onsite? Send us your photos!

NEW this year! Submissions for both proposals and abstracts are due December 1, 2016 for the 2017 Annual Assembly in Denver, October 12-15. Learn more about the submission process here. Late submissions will not be considered, so please start today!

AAPM&R is currently searching for 5 volunteer representatives who are enthusiastic about state policy issues and advocacy. The Academy is working to implement a new state advocacy strategy to create a formal system to monitor and respond to advocacy issues that arise at an individual state level and have potential implications at the national level. Read more about this new volunteer opportunity.

At AAPM&R’s 2016 Annual Business Meeting held during the Annual Assembly, Steve R. Geiringer, MD, began his 1-year term as president; Peter C. Esselman, MD, began his 1-year term as vice president; Charlotte H. Smith, MD, began her 2-year term as a member-at-large; and Scott R. Laker, MD, began his 2-year term as chair of the Quality, Practice, Policy, and Research Committee. Congratulations to your new Board of Governors! 

Front row (l to r): Scott R. Laker, MD; Peter C. Esselman, MD; Steve Geiringer, MD; Jonathan Finnoff, DO; Michelle S. Gittler, MD​; D.J. Kennedy, MD

Back row (l to r): Michael Saffir, MD; Charlotte H. Smith, MD; G. Sunny Sharma, MD; Stuart M. Weinstein, MD; Thomas E. Stautzenbach, MA, MBA, CAE; Gregory M. Worsowicz, MD, MBA; Deborah A. Venesy, MD; Steven R. Flanagan, MD; Robert J. Rinaldi, MD

The Visioning PM&R Bold initiative is in full swing and for every physiatrist that participates, we move one step closer to defining the future of PM&R for our patients, for our specialty, and for YOUR future! There are many ways to get involved and Be PM&R Bold:

• Take the Survey: Share your perspective about the future of physiatry in this survey.
• Community Gatherings in Dallas and Seattle: Will you be near Dallas on November 3 or near Seattle on November 10? Join us for a community gathering!
• PhyzForum: Talk PM&R Bold with your peers on the rehabilitated PhyzForum, the Academy’s online member community.
  
  

PhyzForum is your community to discuss and engage with your peers. Upload your profile picture, update your contact information, and add colleagues and friends to your contact list. PhyzForum is your destination to receive insights and ideas from your fellow physiatrists—log in and post a discussion to get started!

Don’t miss the new stroke rehabilitation SAE-P on mē^®. Highlights include:

• Comparing and contrasting botulinum toxin dosing amongst patients with stroke, multiple sclerosis, and cerebral palsy.
• Describing the physiologic and functional benefits of cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle-resistance training in individuals after stroke.
• Identifying the risk factors associated with falls after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation following a stroke.
• And much more.
  

P.S. Your AAPM&R membership now includes 1 complimentary SAE-P each year, as long as you maintain your membership. Claim your free resource today if you haven’t already done so!

Interested in learning more about setting your practice up for success, but not quite sure what resources to utilize? Take advantage of the following tools from your Academy:

• How to Diversify Your Practice
• Payer Contracts: Assessment, Negotiations, and Deal Breakers
• Focusing on the Health of Your Practice Bundle, which includes:
  • Running a Cash Practice
  • VBP, MIPS, APMs, and ACOs—Where Do Physiatrists Fit?
  • The New Health Care
    
    

AAPM&R commented and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) listened. In the final rule, released on October 14, 2016, CMS outlined a new low volume threshold exemption for the Quality Payment Program.

If your practice meets either of the criteria in the final rule, you will be exempt from participating in the new Quality Payment Program. This was one of many wins that your Academy advocated for. Continue to check our website for the most up-to-date information.

In 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will apply a negative payment adjustment to individual eligible professionals (EPs), Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC) practice sites, and group practices participating in the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) group practice reporting option (GPRO), including Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) that did not satisfactorily report PQRS in 2015.

EPs, CPC practice sites, PQRS group practices, and ACOs that believe they have been incorrectly assessed the 2017 PQRS negative payment adjustment may submit an informal review by November 30, 2016 requesting CMS investigate payment adjustment determination. Read more.

The 2015 Annual Quality and Resource Use Reports (QRURs) were released on September 26, 2016. The 2015 Annual QRURs show how physician groups and physician solo practitioners performed in 2015 on the quality and cost measures used to calculate the 2017 Value Modifier as well as their 2017 Value Modifier payment adjustment. Access and review your 2015 Annual QRUR now to determine whether you are subject to the 2017 Value Modifier payment adjustment. Read more.

On October 14, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule outlining the requirements of the new Quality Payment Program for physicians that was created by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). On November 21 and December 6, the AMA will host educational webinar sessions to help physicians prepare and understand what the final rule means for their practice. Read more.

• Pablo Celnik, MD, director of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins, discusses results from a recent study in the article, "Researchers use video game-like test to study learning and recovery in stroke patients." Read more.

• Joseph Herrera, DO, chairman of the department of rehabilitation medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and associate professor of rehabilitation medicine, published his article, "How to manage pain without taking powerful drugs," in NY Daily News. Read more.

• Ronald T. Stephens, MD, reached a milestone achieved by no other physiatrist: he is the first PM&R physician to be promoted to the rank of brigadier general (BG) in any service within the Department of Defense. Congratulations, Dr. Stephens! Read more.
  

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