October 2011 Elizabeth McNeil to speak at MMS dinner on Oct. 12Dr. Lee Lipsenthal, integrative medicine leader, dies at 54Practice management workshop in Santa Rosa on Nov. 2Directory verification forms are now dueQuestions needed for Medicare conferenceAppeals court upholds $250,000 MICRA capDeadline for Medicare e-prescribing exemption pushed back to Nov. 1Court says hospitals cannot usurp medical staff peer review authorityMEDICAL FACILITIESRESOURCESAPPLICANTSCLASSIFIEDSABOUT MMSElizabeth McNeil to speak at MMS dinner on Oct. 12 The Marin Medical Society is saddened to report that the speaker originally scheduled for our Oct. 12 membership dinner, Dr. Lee Lipsenthal, died on Sept. 20 (see obituary below). As Dr. Lipsenthal would have wished, MMS has decided to proceed with the Oct. 12 dinner, and Elizabeth McNeil, vice president for federal government relations for the California Medical Association, has kindly agreed to be the speaker. Her talk, “The Federal Landscape: What’s in Store for Physicians,” will focus on pending changes, including what CMA is doing to stop Medicare’s proposed 29% SGR rate cut scheduled for Jan. 1. The dinner will be held at Jason’s Restaurant, 300 Drakes Landing Rd., in Greenbrae. Dinner choices include baked salmon, blackened ribeye steak, brandy chicken or mushroom gnocchi. Tickets are just $45 per person. To RSVP, contact Rachel Pandolfi at 415-924-3891 or rachel@marinmedicalsociety.org. You can also print the attached flyer and fax to 415-924-2749. MMS Oct. 12 dinner flyer Dr. Lee Lipsenthal, integrative medicine leader, dies at 54 Lee Lipsenthal, MD, an internationally recognized expert on integrative medicine and physician wellness, died of esophageal cancer on Sept. 20. He was diagnosed in 2009, and he chronicled his struggles with the disease in the book “Enjoy Every Sandwich,” to be published in November. Lipsenthal was born in 1957 and received his MD from Howard University. During his residency at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, he became interested in cardiac rehabilitation via stress reduction, exercise and nutrition. He later directed cardiovascular services at the Benjamin Franklin Clinic in Philadelphia, where he developed both treatment and wellness programs. He then became co-medical director of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito. In addition to his cardiovascular work, Lipsenthal was deeply involved with physician wellness programs. He served on the American Medical Association’s Physician Wellness Committee and wrote a landmark book, “Finding Balance in a Medical Life,” which became the basis for physician wellness programs nationwide. He was also president of the American Board of Holistic Medicine. Lipsenthal is survived by his wife, Dr. Kathy Chang-Lipsenthal, an internist at Marin Community Clinics, and two children. In his introduction to “Enjoy Every Sandwich,” Lipsenthal’s former colleague Dr. Dean Ornish observes, “Making every act sacred is what enables us to more fully enjoy life, or as Lee writes, ‘to enjoy every sandwich.’ What Lee leaves us with is the profound understanding that we have more choice than we may realize in how we live, and if we live this life well, the next one will take care of itself.” Practice management workshop in Santa Rosa on Nov. 2 The Sonoma and California medical associations are cosponsoring “What Every Physician Needs To Know About Their Practice,” a two-hour workshop for physicians, administrators and office managers. The workshop--which runs from noon to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at the Fountaingrove Inn in Santa Rosa--will be conducted by Frank Navarro, associate director of the CMA Center for Economic Services. Topics include finding and keeping qualified staff, controlling costs, and understanding your revenue stream. The cost is just $45 for MMS members; nonmembers pay $95. To register, print the form attached below and fax to MMS at 415-924-2749. You can also register by phone with a credit card by calling Rachel Pandolfi at 415-924-3891. Registration deadline is Oct. 28. Practice Management Workshop registration form Directory verification forms are now due Verification forms, which doctors can use to update or approve their 2012 Marin County Physician Directory listing, were mailed to all local physicians this summer and are now due back at MMS. If you haven’t returned your form yet, please do so ASAP. If you need a copy of the form, contact Rachel Pandolfi at rachel@marinmedicalsociety.org or 415-924-3891. The 2012 directory, a standard reference guide used at medical offices throughout the county, will feature photographs and detailed listings for all MMS members, including their specialty(s), special medical interest and medical training. Limited information for nonmember physicians will be included as well. If you’re a nonmember and want a more detailed listing, you can apply online for MMS membership at www.marinmedicalsociety.org/join.asp. Questions needed for Medicare conference MMS board member Dr. Anne Cummings will be serving on the Contractors Advisory Committee at the Palmetto GBA Medicare conference from Oct. 18 to 20 and would like to bring questions or issues about Medicare from MMS members. The conference will cover many aspects of Medicare, including compliance programs, practice management and claims payments. Dr. Cummings can be reached at annemcummingsmd@mindspring.com or 415-461-5552.Appeals court upholds $250,000 MICRA cap The 5th Appellate District Court has upheld the constitutionality of California’s landmark Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), which caps noneconomic damage awards at $250,000. The case, Stinnett v. Tam, was just the latest in many legal challenges to MICRA that have been funded by trial lawyer groups from across the country. CMA filed a “friend of the court” brief and also participated in oral argument, telling the court that the broader goal of MICRA--to ensure access to care--is just as relevant today as it was in 1975. CMA noted that as recently as 2005 the Legislature declared that there was a "growing crisis" in physician supply, and that California needs to continue to attract and retain physicians rather than drive them away. CMA was joined in the case by the California Hospital Association, the California Dental Association and the American Medical Association. MICRA’s $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages has proven to be an effective way of limiting meritless lawsuits and keeping health care costs lower, but it has been targeted by trial lawyers because it restricts the amount of money they can collect in attorney’s fees. MICRA includes a sliding pay scale to control attorney contingency fees, ensuring that more money goes to patients, not lawyers.Deadline for Medicare e-prescribing exemption pushed back to Nov. 1 Medicare has extended the hardship exemption deadline for its e-prescribing initiative to Nov. 1. The final rule requires physicians in individual practices to have submitted at least 10 Medicare Part B claims with the electronic measure code eRx G8553 and an eligible encounter code by June 30, 2011. Physicians who failed to do so will see their 2012 Medicare payments reduced by 1%, unless they fall into one of the six new exemption categories: • Physician’s practice is located in a rural area without high-speed Internet access. • Physician’s practice is located in an area without sufficient available pharmacies for electronic prescribing. • Physician is registered to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid electronic health record incentive program and has adopted certified EHR technology. • Physician is unable to electronically prescribe due to local, state or federal law or regulation (e.g., prescribes controlled substances). • Physician infrequently prescribes (e.g., fewer than 10 prescriptions between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2011). • There are insufficient opportunities to report the e-prescribing measure due to program limitations. Individual physicians can apply for an exemption from the 2012 e-prescribing penalty at www.cms.gov/erxincentive. Exemption requests from individual physicians will not be accepted via mail, e-mail or fax. Group practices already participating in the 2011 e-prescribing group practice reporting option must submit an exemption request via mailed letter. Physicians who met the 10-claim minimum by June 30, and who report at least 15 more qualifying electronic prescriptions before the end of 2011, will be eligible for a 1% Medicare bonus next year.Court says hospitals cannot usurp medical staff peer review authority A California court of appeal recently reaffirmed the importance of an independent self-governing medical staff, ruling that a hospital’s lay governing board cannot unlawfully usurp a medical staff’s peer review authority. In the case considered by the court, a physician was terminated from medical staff membership after the hospital’s lay governing board denied his application for reappointment, even though the Medical Staff Executive Committee (MEC) had recommended reappointment. When the physician appealed, the governing board bypassed the MEC (which had delegated its authority to the board) and picked its own peer review panel, which included physicians with economic ties to the hospital. The hospital-appointed panel then refused to renew the physician’s medical staff privileges. The hospital did not deny that it violated the bylaws, but rather, argued that the purported delegation of authority by the MEC was permissible under California law. CMA submitted an amicus brief explaining that medical staffs cannot, except in rare circumstances, delegate this critical responsibility. The court of appeal agreed, holding that a working peer review system “not only requires establishment of a dual structure, but also requires preserving the separateness of those dual components. That structure promotes the goal of shielding physicians from arbitrary and discriminatory disciplinary action by effectively insulating a governing body bent on removing the physician from the hospital medical staff. Allowing the governing board to handpick the [hearing panel] members jeopardizes the integrity of the hearing from the beginning and it undercuts the medical staff’s right and obligation to perform this self-governing function.” The appellate court ruled that the power to appoint the hearing panel is non-delegable and vested only in the MEC. MEDICAL FACILITIES Marin General Hospital began using electronic clinical care stations in late September. The stations allow bedside entry of clinical information and interface with a centralized system that permits physicians to access patient data from their offices. The system also features instant verification for medications, which should reduce medication errors. Somayaji Bulusu, the hospital’s chief information officer, noted that the system, “permits multiple, simultaneous access by different caregivers, making it easier for everyone to see the same documentation without having to chase down a single chart used by many.” Marin Community Clinics has appointed Linda Tavaszi as its chief executive officer. She was previously a senior vice president and executive director of physician services at Marin General Hospital. Her predecessor, John Shen, recently became chief of the long-term care division at the California Dept. of Health Services.RESOURCES CMA is sponsoring several webinars during October. The webinars are free for CMA members; nonmembers pay $99 each. Topics and dates for October include: • “Providing extraordinary customer service,” Oct. 5, 12:15 p.m. • “ICD-10,” Oct. 12, 12:15 and 6:15 p.m. • “HIPAA 5010 transactions,” Oct. 18, 12:15 p.m. • “EOB analysis: successful claims appeal,” Oct. 19, 12:15 p.m. • “Increasing practice profitability,” Oct. 26, 12:15 and 6:15 p.m. To register, visit www.cmanet.org/events. UCSF is sponsoring a Biomedicine Roundtable at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco on Oct. 10. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and includes a free lunch. Speakers will discuss new biologic and biosimilar therapies. To RSVP, contact Jenny Dudikoff at jenny@gcwest.com or 916-329-7403. A free cardiovascular health symposium will be held at the Vintners Inn in Santa Rosa on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 22. The event begins at 1 p.m. with four hours of presentations (and CME credits) on cardiovascular issues, followed by a complimentary dinner from 5:30 to 7 p.m. RSVP by Oct. 14 to Kathy Ficco at kathy.ficco@stjoe.org or 707-547-4652.APPLICANTS Hilarey Bhatt, MD, Internal Medicine*, 1350 S. Eliseo Dr. #220, Greenbrae 94904, 464-0411, Fax 464-0422, BhattH@sutterhealth.org, UC San Francisco 1995 Raymond Bonneau, MD, Orthopaedic Surgery*, 165 Rowland Way #100, Novato 94945, 898-4211, Fax 898-9252, ray@bonneau-ortho.com, UC San Francisco 1974 * board certifiedCLASSIFIEDS Medical director/staff physician wanted Sonoma Valley Community Health Center is seeking a family practice physician for the Medical Director/Staff Physician position. This position provides medical supervision and direction to the Health Center’s clinical services, as well as direct patient care. Must work collaboratively and be willing to support and back-up the mid-level clinicians, and provide call coverage through group call services for peds and family practice. We are looking for an innovator, a change manager and a demonstrated leader. Must have a current CA physician’s license. Call 707-939-6075 to learn more about the position. Website: www.svchc.org. Shred-It On-site guaranteed service. Office console provided. Stay compliant. Free consultation. Contact Marie Anderson at 707-829-8668 or marie.anderson@shredit.com. How to submit a classified ad To submit a classified ad for MMS News Briefs or Marin Medicine, contact Erika Goodwin at erika@scma.org or 707-548-6491. The cost is one dollar per word.ABOUT MMS The Marin Medical Society, a 501(c)(6) nonprofit association, supports local physicians and their efforts to enhance the health of the community. We are affiliated with the California Medical Association and the American Medical Association. © 2011 MMS, PO Box 246, Corte Madera, CA 94976 October 1, 2011 MMS News Briefs October 2011 0 0 Comment Read More »