Lancaster Physician Summer 2017 - 28

L A N C A S T E R M E D I C A L S O C I E T Y.O R G

Perspectives

Care Beyon d Tre atm e n t

H. Peter DeGreen II, MD Emeritus,
Lena Dumasia, MD,
and H. Peter (Tracy) DeGreen III, DO

A cancer diagnosis is a life
changing event. Winning
the battle requires
highly-personalized care
delivered by experts who
treat all types of cancer
with a compassionate,
collaborative approach.
We believe in caring for
the whole patient. Our
integrated care is patientcentered and takes all your
needs into consideration.

What is MACRA?

"We have successful experience with significant quality-based
payer programs and are expecting to perform well this year and
in the future," said Veach.
Processes, workflows, reporting, provider and patient
education, IT support, and electronic health record (EHR)
optimizations all are in place to enhance performance on
all aspects of MIPS, including quality, clinical improvement
activities, advancing care information, and cost (which does
not take effect this year), she explained.
CMS estimated that about 712,000 clinicians nationwide,
including physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners,
clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurses, anesthetists,
and medical groups that include any of these physicians, will
be affected by the program.

At Lancaster Cancer Center, we're with you every step of the way.
Proud to be the longest-running independent, community-based
oncology/hematology practice in Lancaster County.
To schedule a consultation or second opinion, call

717-291-1313.

Not included are clinicians who operate under certain
payment systems, clinicians who are in their first billing year
for Medicare, and clinicians or groups with fewer than 100
Medicare patients or with $30,000 or less in Medicare charges.

Greenfield Corporate Center * 1858 Charter Lane, Suite 202

While clinicians are coming to terms with the changes that
will occur under MACRA, there is little consensus about how
the act will affect patients.

(717) 291-1313 * www.lancastercancercenter.com

MACRA promotes preventative care, rewarding providers
for certain practices (such as having more frequent, non-office
contact with patients) and making sure patients get regular
checkups. Still, Bogari noted, the onus is on the clinician to
somehow get patients to agree to take responsibility for their care.
"An increase in dialogue with a patient regarding preventative care is a positive thing, but it assumes that the patient will
assume responsibility for part of that care," he said. "There are
many types of patients."
Veach agreed that there is little information available regarding patient impacts but predicted that many patients will
scarcely notice the transition to MACRA-specified practices.
However, she said, it is hoped that the act will, over
time, result in an overall improvement in health among all
Medicare patients.

LANCASTER

PHYSICIAN

http://www.lancastercancercenter.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Lancaster Physician Summer 2017