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Help Patients Make Wise Choices About Treatment Options - 07/20/2023

Tools are emerging to help physicians overcome the time constraints that can preempt discussions with patients.

Quality Improvement: Practice Awards and Free Webinars - 07/20/2023

TMA, the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association (TOMA), and the TMF Health Quality Institute are collaborating again to provide the Physician Practice Quality Improvement Award program. The award formally recognizes physician practices for their dedication and commitment to providing high-quality patient care and improving outcomes.

Driving the Quality Train: TMA Physicians Lead the Way, From Measures to Standardization - 07/10/2023

In a proactive effort to resolve physician complaints, TMA and its members are deeply involved in quality issues, from participating in the development of new measures to pushing payers for standardized quality programs and supporting physicians who are curious about value-based care.

Texas Physicians Push to Improve Health Care for LGBTQ Patients - 06/28/2023

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning (LGBTQ) patients face unique barriers that put them at greater risk for mental and physical health problems. Often, their health disparities result from a lack of family support, public prejudice, and fear of the health care system. Texas physicians have launched a new workgroup and are adapting their practices to treat this underserved population.

TMF Offers Resources to Navigate CMS Requirements - 05/16/2023

TMF has launched three physician-focused networks designed to save time, improve patient care, and reduce costs associated with meeting these requirements. These programs, focused on immunizations, behavioral health and value-based improvements, are designed to help physicians benefit from—and not be penalized by—these mandates.

Biden Administration to Launch Specialty Payment Model - 07/27/2022

A new, voluntary Medicare payment model option focused on cancer care opens the value-based care door wider for specialists at a time when such models have been limited.

Aetna Launching Patient-Facing Physician Performance Designation - 11/15/2021

Aetna Health Insurance is instituting a physician comparison system for its self-insured members in 2022, in which primary care physicians, obstetrician-gynecologists, and orthopedic hip-and-knee specialists can earn a “designation” based on their performance in two categories.

The Customer Is Always Right? Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Have Fans and Detractors - 01/26/2021

For too long, some doctors say measures of a physician’s quality of care have been about process: the average length of a patient stay, for example, or a patient’s readmission rate. The bottom line is results, and that’s why a shift to patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures is necessary. However, even proponents of PRO measures note that collecting the information from patients for those metrics places burdens on physicians, and some remain skeptical of bonuses and penalties tied to a measure that derives from a subjective factor: what patients think.

Troubling Trend: Texas’ 2018 QPP Data Contains More Bad Signs - 01/05/2021

As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services continues to churn out glowing data annually on its Quality Payment Program (QPP), a full picture of the program’s impact eludes the agency’s reporting. According to the Texas Medical Association’s analysis of state-level data in the 2018 QPP Experience Report, it’s clear that small practices continue to feel most of the program’s punitive pressures.

Collecting Payment for Noncovered Services - 10/15/2020

Can you charge a patient for a service the patient’s health insurance plan doesn’t cover? Answer: It depends.

TMA Calls Governor’s Plan “Prudent and Careful” - 04/27/2020

Statement by Texas Medical Association (TMA) President David C. Fleeger, MD, in response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement that Texas hospitals now need to reserve only 15% of their capacity for COVID-19 patients.

Quality Care Pilot Takes Flight - 09/03/2019

How one children's clinic uses a targeted program to dramatically improve care, lower costs.

Faulty Guidelines - 06/03/2019

Former Texas Medical Association President Josie Williams, MD, was tenacious in advocating that organized medicine pay zealous attention to two topics: data and guidelines. In this, she was both sage and prescient. We have done well in following her recommendations on data, but we continue to fall far short of where we need to be on guidelines.

Tips on How to Report Data on Quality Measures for MACRA - 04/19/2018

Tips from TMA to help you determine which reporting mechanism will best fit your practice for the first Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance period in 2017.

Tell Your Patients What They Want to Know - 04/19/2018

Patients want their doctor to provide health-related information and often feel they are not getting enough information. Choosing Wisely® can help you bridge the gap with guidelines from medical specialty societies.

Getting Patients to Take Their Meds - 04/19/2018

Patients need to take the medicines you prescribe so they can get well or feel better. New payment models reward you when they do. Here are some tips for helping patients stay with their medication regimen.

Commercial Risk Adjustment: One More Reporting Requirement - 07/28/2017

As part of Aetna’s commercial risk management initiative, a medical records vendor will contact you twice this year on behalf of Aetna. Here are some details about this process, required for all payers.

Guide to Preventive Services Covered Under the ACA - 08/31/2016

Can you name all the preventive health services that commercial health plans must cover under the Affordable Care Act (ACA)? Here are some lists, tips, and FAQs, including links to payers’ guides.

Global Surgery: Where to Find Payer Policies - 06/01/2016

When it comes to global surgery — all necessary services a surgeon normally furnishes before, during and after a procedure are included in the payment for the surgery — every payer has its own policies about coding and billing.  Here is a quick guide to payer rules.

Treatments That Work; Free Facts From TMA - 05/12/2016

Newsweekwriter Sharon Begley has written "A Science Fact Check," about why it makes sense to study which treatments work and which don't. This article highlights the Cochrane Collection, one of the world's largest collections of volunteer scientists and physicians.