Spring 2011 Issue
International Medical Graduate Doctor is an e-newsletter of the Texas Medical Association International Medical Graduate Section.
May 3 Is Your Day at the Capitol
Tuesday, May 3, is IMG Day at First Tuesdays at the Capitol. This grassroots lobby day gives IMG Section members a chance to meet our elected leaders and discuss our concerns about the practice of medicine in Texas.
Your voice in Austin is critically important because the projected state budget shortfall is forcing lawmakers and other elected officials to consider drastic funding cuts that could have a devastating impact on you and your patients. Besides additional cuts in payments for treating Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program patients, trial lawyers are trying to erode the historic tort reforms physicians fought so hard for in 2003, hospitals are attempting once again to crack the state’s ban on the corporate practice of medicine, and advanced practice nurses and other nonphysician practitioners are battling for the right to practice independently.
Please contact IMGs of all ethnicities in your area and ask them to join us in Austin May 3 for First Tuesdays.
You can sign up for May 3 First Tuesdays today. If you need additional information, call IMG Section Chair Kiran Shah, MD, at (281) 332-6623.
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IMG Section to Meet at TexMed 2011
The IMG Section will hold a symposium in Houston during TexMed 2011 for physicians who are having trouble obtaining a license or a residency position because they are an international medical graduate. A panel of physician educators will discuss the problem on Saturday, May 14, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm.
Caring for Patients in a Time of Change is the theme for TexMed 2011, to be held May 13-14 at the George R. Brown Convention Center and Hyatt Regency Houston. It offers more than 100 hours of clinical and business continuing medical education; an exhibit hall with some 100 exhibits; and a chance to learn how to enhance patient care, stay abreast of clinical updates, discuss key issues with experts in the field, and help set TMA policy on issues that are important to you and your patients. Attendance at TexMed is free for TMA members.
Register for the conference and make your housing reservations online at www.texmed.org/texmed2011. Or contact TMA Knowledge Center at (800) 880-7955 or knowledge[at]texmed[dot]org.
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ECFMG Survey: What's the Best (and Worst) Specialty for You?
Take part in a free pilot survey from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) that seeks to match your professional and personal preferences to the most optimal career choice for you.
If proven effective, the survey may be used to help IMGs applying to residency programs determine which specialties are the best fit. For more information and to participate, send an e-mail including name and medical specialty to acculturation@ecfmg.org.
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Stay Clear of Medicare Fraud Charges
Cracking down on fraud, waste, and abuse in government health care programs has taken a front seat in the U.S. government's drive to control health care costs. To wit: The Medicare Fraud Strike Force, a joint effort of the U.S. Health and Human Services and Justice departments indicted 111 people for $225 million in Medicare fraud, including seven from Texas, in February. While none of the seven are physicians, doctors are on federal auditors' radar.
Here are the six top things they are looking for as indications of possible fraud:
- High number of claims for one procedure;
- Consistent billing at the same level or code;
- An unusually large volume of claims;
- Routine procedures outside of your specialty;
- Questionable referral patterns, including accepting something of value in return for referrals; and
- Routine waiver of patient copays without determining financial need.
You can avoid being at risk for refunds, fines, or penalties in government health care programs by more fully understanding how to steer clear of inappropriate practices, and what's at stake if you don't. TMA can help. TMA's on-demand webinar, Fraud and Abuse, looks at the definitions of fraud and abuse, how to steer clear of kickbacks, how auditors root out the problem, and fines and penalties.
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International Medical Graduate Doctor is produced by the TMA International Medical Graduate Section to update you on issues related to international medical graduate physicians and TMA activities.
The IMG section is continuously trying to improve communication with all members.
The IMG Governing Council members are:
- Chair: Kiran Shah, MD, obstetrics & gynecology, Texas City
- Vice chair: Natarajan Bala, MD, gastroenterology, Houston
- Secretary: M. Antonieta Gonzalez, MD, MBA; pediatrician, San Antonio
- Delegate: Robina N. Poonawala, MD, family medicine, Austin
- Alternate delegate: Arnold Ravdel, MD, orthopedic surgery, Houston
- Member-at-large: Arti Gupta, MD, nephrology, Dallas
- Member-at-large: Udipi P. Rao, MD, gastroenterology, Odessa
To contact the IMG Section staff, e-mail marisol.navarro[at]texmed[dot]org, or call her at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1558, or (512) 370-1558.
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