Surgery News - February 2009 - (Page 8) NEWS FROM THE COLLEGE FEBRUARY 2009 • SURGERY NEWS ACS Urges MedPAC to Modify Payment Plan One-Year Surgical Ethics Fellowship Available Medical Ethics at the University The MacLean Center for Clinicalforofan Chicago is accepting applications ACS-endorsed surgical ethics fellowship. This program will provide training in medical ethics and is intended to prepare surgeons for academic work related to medical ethics. The program will begin with a 6week, full-time intensive introduction in July and August 2010. From September to June, fellows will meet 1 day a week for a structured ethics curriculum including “Topics in Clinical Ethics,” “Conceptual Foundations of Health Law,” “Analytic Philosophy,” and research-in-progress seminars. Fellows will also receive training in ethics consultation, and will be expected to take 2 to 3 months of consult service, plus design and carry out research projects with the aid of faculty mentors. Additional activities for each surgical ethics fellow will be individualized. Funding of up to $50,000 for participation in the year-long fellowship training program is available to a limited number of applicants. An additional option of a part-time surgical ethics fellowship is also available. Applicants should prepare a personal statement plan that explains how the surgical ethics fellowship will be useful in their career; how much projected time the applicant will have to pursue his or her goals during the fellowship year; and how and whether the funding will ensure the necessary projected time to achieve these goals. Applications, which are due by March 15, are available at http:// medicine.uchicago.edu/centers/ccme/ SurgicalSite/Fellowships.html. For further information, contact Peter Angelos, M.D., FACS, at pangelos@surgery.bsd.uchicago.edu or Mark Siegler, M.D., at msiegler@medicine. bsd.uchicago.edu. T he ACS and 67 other physician organizations joined together in sending a letter to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) supporting a 2.4% increase in Medicare payments and opposing MedPAC’s recommendation to adjust pay on the basis of productivity. Under the proposal discussed at MedPAC’s December meeting, physicians would receive only a 1.1% payment increase, because estimated growth in productivity (1.3%) would be subtracted from expected growth in price outputs (2.4%). The January 5 letter noted that current payment rates are only slightly higher than in 2001, yet the Medicare Economic Index, which estimates rising practice costs, has grown by more than 22% since then. The letter also noted that MedPAC supports full inflationary updates with no productivity adjustment for hospitals. During MedPAC’s January 8 meeting, several commissioners—including Karen Borman, M.D., FACS— voiced concern about the inclusion of the productivity adjustment when other providers such as hospitals are not subject to such an adjustment. Unfortunately, this discussion did not result in a higher recommended increase in Medicare payments. Instead, MedPAC removed any mention of price inputs or productivity and unanimously approved a 1.1% increase in Medicare payments in 2010. MedPAC also approved a recommendation to finance increased payments to primary care physicians through cuts in payments for other services, including major surgical procedures. Dr. Borman was one of two commissioners to oppose this. The College will continue to strongly oppose MedPAC’s recommendation to cut surgical payments to finance increased payments for other services, and will advocate for increased Medicare reimbursement rates that recognize the rising costs facing surgical practices. For more information about MedPAC’s discussions of these and other policy issues, go to www.medpac.gov/. Register Now for Leadership And Advocacy Conferences 2009 Conference for Surgeons The College’sYoung Leadershipand Chapter Leaders will take place March 22, followed by the Second Annual Joint Surgical Advocacy Conference ( JSAC), March 22-24. College members may register by contacting the Grand Hyatt Washington at 800233-1235. (Mention the “Joint Surgical Advocacy Conference” to receive the discounted group rate.) The following national specialty societies are sponsoring this year’s JSAC: American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons, American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Osteopathic Surgeons, American College of Surgeons, American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, American Urological Association, Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, and Society for Vascular Surgery. For more information or assistance, call 888-857-7545. Director Named for Division of Advocacy and Health Policy a longtime College emChristian Shalgian,Washployee based in the ty and Access, a Washington, D.C.–based partnership of associations organized to support medical ington, D.C., office, has liability reform. During his been named Director of tenure, the membership exthe Division of Advocacy panded from 25 to 60 and Health Policy. He has members. been Acting Director since Previously, Mr. Shalgian April 2007. was the associate director Mr. Shalgian joined the of government relations College in 1998 as a GovMR. SHALGIAN (1997-1998) at the Ameriernment Affairs Associate. can Osteopathic Association (AOA) in In 2000, he was promoted to Senior Washington, D.C. Prior to holding that Government Affairs Associate, and in position, he was a legislative assistant 2004 he became Manager of Legislafor AOA from 1996 to 1997. tive Affairs. He served as Assistant DiA graduate of Saint Anselm College rector of Legislative Affairs before bein Manchester, N.H., Mr. Shalgian ing named Acting Director. From 2002 to 2007, Mr. Shalgian was holds a bachelor’s degree in political science. He lives in Germantown, Md., also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Health Coalition on Liabili- with his family. Practice Management Tools Include Calendar of Events, Web Casts CMS Announces Sites for Bundled Payment Demonstration Project in January, Medicare & Medicaid Services Early announced the Centers forfor (CMS) site selections the agency’s acute care episode (ACE) demonstration project. ACE, a new hospital-based pilot program, will evaluate the use of a bundled payment for hospital and physician services. CMS’s goal is to determine whether bundled payments will serve as an incentive for health care professionals and hospitals to deliver coordinated, high-quality, efficient care. The demonstration also will test the effect of transparent price and quality information on beneficiary choice for selected inpatient care. Participating institutions are Baptist Health System, San Antonio, Tex.; Oklahoma Heart Hospital LLC, Oklahoma City; Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital, Denver, Colo.; Hillcrest Medical Center, Tulsa, Okla.; and Lovelace Health System, Albuquerque, N.M. For this demonstration, a bundled payment is a single payment for both Part A and Part B Medicare inpatient services. Included are 28 cardiac and 9 orthopedic inpatient surgical services. Visit at www.cms.hhs.gov/ DemoProjectsEvalRpts/MD/list.asp, and click on Medicare Acute Episode (ACE) Demonstration. T he ACS and Economedix have released a 2009 calendar of events with tips for ensuring a successful practice in 2009 and details on a practice management Web cast series. Each Web cast will be conducted by Tom Loughrey, M.B.A., CCS-P, and presented on a Wednesday, beginning at 1 p.m. eastern, noon central, 11 a.m. mountain, and 10 a.m. Pacific times. The 90-minute sessions will include a question-and-answer period. Each Web cast will be recorded for registrants who want to listen to the course a second time or who miss all or part of the program. To download the calendar, go to www.YourMedPractice.com/ WorkPlan-2009.pdf. To register for the Web casts, go to www.YourMedPractice.com/ACS. For additional information, contact Economedix by email at rley@economedix.com or by phone at 877-401-9655. ACS members can get free answers to their questions by going to www.yourmedpractice.com/Ex/12/ PMQs-ACS.htm. Responses to queries will be e-mailed from a practice management adviser at Economedix. http://medicine.uchicago.edu/centers/ccme/SurgicalSite/Fellowships.html http://medicine.uchicago.edu/centers/ccme/SurgicalSite/Fellowships.html http://www.medpac.gov/ http://www.YourMedPractice.com/WorkPlan-2009.pdf http://www.YourMedPractice.com/WorkPlan-2009.pdf http://www.YourMedPractice.com/ACS http://www.YourMedPractice.com/ACS http://www.yourmedpractice.com/Ex/12/PMQs-ACS.htm http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DemoProjectsEvalRpts/MD/list.asp http://www.cms.hhs.gov/DemoProjectsEvalRpts/MD/list.asp http://www.yourmedpractice.com/Ex/12/PMQs-ACS.htm
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Surgery News - February 2009 Surgery News - February 2009 Contents The 20/20 Vision ICD-10 Looms News From the College: MedPAC Flak Oncology: Best for Breast General Surgery: Weighty Problem Surgery News - February 2009 Surgery News - February 2009 - Contents (Page 1) Surgery News - February 2009 - Contents (Page 2) Surgery News - February 2009 - Contents (Page 3) Surgery News - February 2009 - Contents (Page 4) Surgery News - February 2009 - The 20/20 Vision ICD-10 Looms (Page 5) Surgery News - February 2009 - The 20/20 Vision ICD-10 Looms (Page 6) Surgery News - February 2009 - The 20/20 Vision ICD-10 Looms (Page 7) Surgery News - February 2009 - News From the College: MedPAC Flak (Page 8) Surgery News - February 2009 - News From the College: MedPAC Flak (Page 9) Surgery News - February 2009 - News From the College: MedPAC Flak (Page 10) Surgery News - February 2009 - News From the College: MedPAC Flak (Page 11) Surgery News - February 2009 - Oncology: Best for Breast (Page 12) Surgery News - February 2009 - Oncology: Best for Breast (Page 13) Surgery News - February 2009 - Oncology: Best for Breast (Page 14) Surgery News - February 2009 - Oncology: Best for Breast (Page 15) Surgery News - February 2009 - Oncology: Best for Breast (Page 16) Surgery News - February 2009 - Oncology: Best for Breast (Page 17) Surgery News - February 2009 - Oncology: Best for Breast (Page 18) Surgery News - February 2009 - General Surgery: Weighty Problem (Page 19) Surgery News - February 2009 - General Surgery: Weighty Problem (Page 20)
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