AAPM&R Connection E-Newsletter

Yes, you can! As we continue meeting with hundreds of physiatrists across the country, we want to be sure we hear from you. Help us think PM&R Bold and complete this survey to share your thoughts on what the physiatric practice models will look like in the future of medicine.

In addition, we encourage you to join us for a virtual town hall where you can share your ideas, hear others’ challenges, and discuss actionable solutions. Your thoughts and ideas will help in creating a vision for physiatry. Register for an upcoming session:

• October 11—Veterans Affairs Physiatrists
• October 12—Physiatrists in Multi-Specialty Practices
  
  

NEW in 2016! Building and Maintaining Medicolegal Work in Your Physiatric Practice is our 1-day preconference course, held on October 19 in New Orleans. Led by Course Director Martin Lanoff, MD, you’ll learn how to diversify your career and supplement your income, perform life care planning, prepare an effective medicolegal file review, and more.

Watch the video below for a preview of what you can expect:

More than 30 hands-on workshops are offered at #AAPMR2016 that cover a variety of topics. View the full list here and register for any that interest you.

You asked and we answered! This year’s Assembly features a new mobile app, where you can explore the agenda, build your own schedule, send messages and meeting requests to attendees, and more. Download it today to get started.

We are looking to innovate the Annual Assembly, and want your help to do it. For the first time this year, submissions for both sessions and research will be due December 1. Late submissions will not be considered, so mark your calendar.

Our call for session proposals will be updated this year to encourage new and different submissions. Start thinking now about the sessions you would like to see at the Assembly next year. Look for the call and be prepared to submit no later than December 1, 2016.

AAPM&R offers a variety of resources to help you understand and meet the different components of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation’s (ABPMR) Maintenance of Certification^® (MOC^®) requirements. ABPMR’s MOC exam on October 11, 2016 is just 6 days away. Visit mē^® to access your Academy’s helpful resources, including:

• MOC|3 Online Mock Examination—enhanced in 2015!
• MOC|3 Online Review Courses
• MOC|2 SAE-Ps—don’t forget, you receive 1 complimentary SAE-P each year with your membership. Take advantage of this member benefit, if you haven’t already!
  

New spasticity modules will be launching soon on me.aapmr.org. Topics will include:

• Upper Limb Spasticity
• Lower Limb Spasticity
• Dystonia
  

The online modules will be sold separately and in a discounted bundle, and learners will be able to earn 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for each hour of lecture time. Stay tuned for more details!

AAPM&R and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) are working together to create the Spine Quality Outcomes Database, which will support the collection and submission of quality data specific to spine patients and track these patients’ outcomes over time. Your Academy is currently recruiting for pilot sites—sign up now and learn more here.

The Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) is a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)-mandated quality reporting program that gives eligible professionals (EPs) incentives and negative payment adjustments to promote reporting of quality information.

PQRSwizard^® is an online reporting tool, offered in partnership with CECity, which allows for individual EPs to report their PQRS data. The tool is now open for 2016 reporting. Physicians must successfully participate in PQRS in 2016 to avoid up to an 8-10% penalty in 2018. 2016 data is due February 28, 2017. Learn more.

Did you know that some 2015 PQRS performance scores will be publicly reported on Physician Compare later this year? Learn more about how your scores may be publicly reported on Physician Compare during a CMS-hosted webinar—view the available times and register.

In an Opinion and Order entered August 18, 2016, a judge ordered the Federal government, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), to comply with a settlement agreement they had reached in the case of Jimmo vs. Sibelius in 2013. CMS had agreed to both update their policy manuals and to provide education that there was no “improvement standard” when determining the medical necessity of maintenance claims for people that require skilled care.

Although the manuals have been updated, the Education Campaign has been less than robust, according to the Center for Medicare Advocacy, and many people are still having coverage denied for skilled services because they are not expected to make further progress. Learn more.

On September 27, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) posted a final rule in the Federal Register regarding reporting requirements for practitioners who request an increase in the number of patients (up to 275) for whom they may prescribe medication for treatment of opioid use disorders. Learn more.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has developed 2 booklets that may be of interest to AAPM&R members. Learn more.

On September 29, 2016 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule to make major changes to improve the care and safety of the nearly 1.5 million residents in the more than 15,000 long-term care facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Learn more.

• Neilly Buckalew, MD and Tim Ferrell, MD, physiatrists and medical directors at the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Northwest in Post Falls, ID, discuss the PM&R specialty and their work as physiatrists in the article, “Making a person whole again. Physiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in nonsurgical-based approaches to medical conditions and disability.” Read more.
  

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