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TMA Action Nov. 16, 2009	News and Insights from Texas Medical Association
INSIDE: CMS Moves Ahead With Medicare Fee Cut
CMS Moves Ahead With Medicare Fee Cut CMS Changes PQRI, e-Prescribing Programs DocSite Makes Getting PQRI Bonus Easy Workers' Comp Conversion Factors Raised Texas to Start Cystic Fibrosis Screening AMA Honors Dr. Goodman DSHS Surveys Cervical Cancer Screening	Webinar: Patient-Physician Relationship Feds Revise DMEPOS Rules Austin Summit Addresses HIV Testing TMA Makes Using PubMed Even Easier Do You Twitter? Follow TMA This Month in Texas Medicine
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CMS Moves Ahead With Medicare Fee Cut Unless Congress intervenes (again), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will cut payments to physicians by 21.2 percent on Jan. 1. Read the rest of the story... CMS Changes PQRI, e-Prescribing Programs The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule on the 2010 Medicare physician fee schedule includes revisions to the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) and the E-Prescribing Incentive Program. Read the rest of the story... DocSite Makes Getting PQRI Bonus Easy There is still time to get a 2-percent Medicare bonus for participating in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). Read the rest of the story... Workers' Comp Conversion Factors Raised Thanks to TMA's continuing efforts to improve the workers' compensation system for physicians and patients, the 2010 workers' compensation medical fee guideline conversion factors will increase. Read the rest of the story...
Texas to Start Cystic Fibrosis Screening The Texas Department of State Health Services will include cystic fibrosis as part of the newborn screening panel in December. Read the rest of the story... AMA Honors Dr. Goodman The American Medical Association has recognized the tremendous service that TMA Executive Vice President/Chief Executive Officer Louis J. Goodman, PhD, has provided to the profession of medicine. Read the rest of the story... DSHS Surveys Cervical Cancer Screening How much do physicians know about the need for screening to prevent cervical cancer and the resources available to screen for and detect the cancer? That's what Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) officials want to find out. Read the rest of the story...
Webinar: Patient-Physician Relationship Identifying when a patient-physician relationship exists and recognizing the difficulties in terminating that relationship are the subjects of a free Webinar, Patient-Physician Relationship, available through the TMA Web site. Read the rest of the story... Feds Revise DMEPOS Rules If you help your Medicare patients obtain certain medical equipment and supplies, such as oxygen or power wheelchairs, you need to know about new requirements for Medicare suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS). Read the rest of the story... Austin Summit Addresses HIV Testing Physicians are invited to attend the Test Texas HIV Coalition Summit Dec. 3-4 at the Marriott Airport South Hotel in Austin. Read the rest of the story...
TMA Makes Using PubMed Even Easier The National Library of Medicine has redesigned and improved its index of medical journals, PubMed. While retaining functionality, the interface was simplified to make it easier to use. Read the rest of the story... Do You Twitter? Follow TMA As part of its work to explore new communications technologies, TMA has set up an account on Twitter, a new "micro-blogging" service. Read the rest of the story... This Month in Texas Medicine The November issue of Texas Medicine explains why you and your staff need flu shots, reports on a company some employers are hiring to recoup "overpaid" insurance claims, and warns you what can happen if a trusted employee turns out to be not-so-trustworthy. It also explains why some are skeptical about Blue Cross and Blue Shield's rating of physicians and reports on how TEXPAC is backing two physicians in the same election. Also, you can subscribe to RSS feeds for TMA Practice E-Tips, TMA news releases, Blogged Arteries, and Texas Medicine. Read the rest of the story...
What Can Practice Production Numbers Tell You? Consider these factors if your production isn't consistent. A practice management tip from TMA Practice Consulting This Just In ... Want the latest, hottest news from TMA in a hurry? Then log on to Blogged Arteries. You can hear the latest Podcast TMA and read the most recent news from Action and Texas Medicine. TMA Seminars Practice Management, Ext. 1421 Medicare Update 2010 11/17    Austin 11/18    McAllen 12/1      Amarillo TMA's Learn @ Lunch Audio Seminars Risk Management Series 12/3      Health System Reform About Action Since January 2003, Action, the TMA newsletter, has been distributed electronically only so that we can bring you more timely news and information. To change the e-mail address where you receive Action, go to Member Log-In on the TMA Web site, then click on "Update Your TMA Demographic Information (including newsletter subscriptions and preferences)." To unsubscribe from Action, e-mail TMA's Communication Division at tmainfo@texmed.org. If you have any technical difficulties in reading or receiving this message, please notify our managing editor, Shari Henson. Please send any other comments or suggestions you may have about the newsletter to Larry BeSaw, Action editor. TMA: 401 West 15th Street, Austin TX 78701   Ph: (800) 880-1300, (512) 370-1300  Copyright 1999-2009 Texas Medical Association TMA Web site Privacy Statement    TMA Contacts    How to Find It   RSS Feeds Unsubscribe from Action

Last Published: 11/16/2009 8:56:46 AM