Robert "Sam" Tessen, Executive Director

For:       April 4, 2008
From:   Sam Tessen, Executive Director
Email:   sam@txosteo.org

April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.                 -  William Shakespeare

I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life."

IN THIS ISSUE, FOR YOU:
ON THE SCHEDULE AND DISTRICT MEETINGS
NOW IN EFFECT:  DOCTORS PREPARE FOR TAMPER-PROOF Rx PAD DEADLINE (APRIL 1ST)
WORKERS COMP NEWS AVAILABLE FROM DEPT. OF INSURANCE
MEDICAL BOARD SAYS IT'LL TRY TO IMPROVE RELATIONS WITH DOCTORS
DOCTOR:  PRIMARY HEALTHCARE NEEDS FIXING BEFORE UNIVERSAL CARE CAN WORK
BEFORE FIRING BAD PATIENTS, DOCTORS TURN TO LAWYERS 
REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS DIVERGE ON HEALTHCARE 
CALL FOR OSTEOPATHIC RESEARCH ABSTRACTS 
MEDICARE TRUSTEES REPORT SHOWS SERIOUS FINANCIAL STATUS OF MEDICARE PROGRAM  
TRIAL LAWYERS TELL ALL!  WHAT THEY LOOK FOR IN A MALPRACTICE SUIT
DATA DIGEST: NPI deadline -- March 1st   
APRIL IS NATIONAL HUMOR MONTH; LET'S CELEBRATE.

ON THE SCHEDULE AND DISTRICT MEETINGS:
  
District 12          Tuesday, April 8th, 6:30 p.m.
                        SANDERSON'S RESTAURANT & BAR
                        2095 Hwy 69 North
                        Nederland, TX
                        TOMA / ATOMA Presidential Visit

District 6            Tuesday, April 15th, 6:30 p.m.
                        The Palm Restaurant
                        6100 Westheimer
                        Houston, TX 77057

District 13          Thursday, April 17th, 6:30 p.m.
                        Sullivan's Steak House
                        11795 N. Dallas Parkway
                        Dallas, TX

District 8            Thursday, April 24th, 6:30 p.m.
                        Utopia Restaurant
                        Corpus Christi, TX

District 10          Tuesday, May 27th, 6:30 p.m.
                        Lubbock Country Club
                        Lubbock, TX

District 7            Friday, August 8th
                        Reception and Mixer to welcome incoming residents
                        TOMA Building, 1415 Lavaca
                        Austin, TX
 
District 7            Thursday, August 21st

   
April 24, 2008      DO Day on the Hill
                        American Osteopathic Association (AOA)
                        Registration forms can be found at D.O. Online.

April 26, 2008 (Saturday)   TOMA House of Delegates
                                     Sheraton Hotel,
                                     701 E. 11th St. (I-35 & 11th St.), 
                                     Austin, TX

June 19-22, 2008              Joint Annual Convention - TOMA & TX ACOFP
                                     Intercontinental Hotel, Dallas, TX
         
Administrative Professionals Day  April 23, 2008
National Volunteer Week:  April 27-May 3, 2008

NOW IN EFFECT:  DOCTORS PREPARE FOR TAMPER-PROOF Rx PAD DEADLINE (APRIL 1ST)

Physicians will soon be required to write all Medicaid prescriptions on tamper-proof prescription pads, and the first deadline for making the transition is next Tuesday. To be deemed tamper-resistant, pads must meet three categories of requirements, but pads only need to have one feature to prevent copying or counterfeiting by April

1. The final deadline for meeting all three requirements is October 1.

http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/208402/topic/WS_HLM2_PHY/Physicians-face-Medicaids-April-1-deadline-for-tamperproof-Rx-pads.html

From:  HealthLeaders Media PhysicianLeaders, www.healthleadersmedia.com

WORKERS COMP NEWS AVAILABLE FROM DEPT. OF INSURANCE

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), Health and Workers' Compensation Certification and QA Division has published Volume 2, Issue 2 of WCNet News.  To view the current issue, click on the following link:  http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/pubs/hwcn/wcnet0408.pdf.

The purpose of this publication is for the TDI to provide helpful information that will facilitate the understanding of certified workers' compensation networks for all system participants. Through WCNet News, we will provide noteworthy information about certified workers' compensation networks, give tips for applicants, and improve communication between applicants, providers, interested parties and TDI.  We anticipate the information contained in this newsletter will be helpful to all parties and will clarify questions related to certified workers' compensation networks.

The current issue contains articles regarding the following topics:

· Monthly Network Open Conference Calls for Providers and Network Applicants
· WCNet News and HWCN News to be merged
· Proof of Workers' Compensation Coverage Available on the Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) Web site
· What can TDI discuss over the phone regarding Independent Review Organization (IRO) cases?
· Workers' Compensation Network Tools Available on TDI Web site
· Workers' Compensation Network Report Cards
· HWCN Division Wants Your Input on Workers' Compensation Network Rules
· Certification of Informal and Voluntary Workers' Compensation Networks
· Examinations of Certified Workers' Compensation Networks
· Improper Fingerprinting
· HWCN Employer and Provider Workshops in 2008

MEDICAL BOARD SAYS IT'LL TRY TO IMPROVE RELATIONS WITH DOCTORS
Waco Tribune Herald, 3 April 2008

AUSTIN - Legislators questioned Texas Medical Board officials Wednesday about why complaints against doctors take so long to resolve and what can be done to reassure physicians who consider the agency vengeful.  http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/gen/ap/TX_Doctor_Complaints.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=0

DOCTOR:  PRIMARY HEALTHCARE NEEDS FIXING BEFORE UNIVERSAL CARE CAN WORK
 Wall Street Journal (subscription required), March 26, 2008

The demand for family physicians is expected to surge by 2020, when the nation will need 140,000 family physicians, according to statistics from the American Academy of Family Physicians. If all Americans get health coverage as promised by politicians, 47 million uninsured Americans will need health coverage. Now people should be concerned about whether the supply of primary care doctors is up to the task, says Wall Street Journal columnist Benjamin Brewer, MD.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120647936859463451.html
From:  HealthLeaders Media Corner Office, www.healthleadersmedia.com

BEFORE FIRING BAD PATIENTS, DOCTORS TURN TO LAWYERS 
Boston Business Journal, March 27, 2008

A lack of standardized policies and an increasingly litigious culture have combined to make doctors wary of abandonment claims and medical malpractice lawsuits, according to Boston-area healthcare lawyers. As a result, the lawyers say that in recent years they have fielded more inquiries from doctors and healthcare organizations about the best way to terminate a doctor-patient relationship. While statistics on patient "firings" are difficult to track, Boston practitioners say the numbers are trending upward.
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/03/24/story2.html?b=1206331200%5E1608221

From:  HealthLeaders Media PhysicianLeaders, www.healthleadersmedia.com

REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS DIVERGE ON HEALTHCARE 
Reuters/Yahoo News, March 20, 2008

Republicans far more likely than Democrats to call the U.S. healthcare system the world's best, according to a poll released by the Harvard University School of Public Health and Harris Interactive. People taking part in the survey were asked if they thought the United States has the best healthcare system or if other countries had better ones. Among Republicans, 68 percent said the United States is the best, compared to 32 percent of Democrats.

From:  HealthLeaders Media QualityLeaders, www.healthleadersmedia.com

CALL FOR OSTEOPATHIC RESEARCH ABSTRACTS 

The AOA Council on Research has announced its call for abstracts for the 2008 Research Conference and JAOA - The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association abstract issue.  The 2008 Research Conference will be held on 10/26-28/08 during the AOA 113th Annual Convention in Las Vegas.  The formal Poster Session is scheduled for 10/26/08 and includes the Student Poster Competition, co-sponsored by the Student Osteopathic Medical Association and the AOA Council on Research.  Online submission opened today (learn more at DO-Online under "Research and Grants"), and the deadline for submissions is 4/30/08. 

MEDICARE TRUSTEES REPORT SHOWS SERIOUS FINANCIAL STATUS OF MEDICARE PROGRAM  
 
In their annual report, the Medicare Trustees recently announced that both the Medicare Hospital Trust Fund and the Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund expenditures are growing faster than the rest of the economy. 

The Trustees report expenditures were $432 billion in 2007, or 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), and are projected to increase to nearly 11 percent of GDP in 75 years. 

The Trustees report that Medicare's Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund will become insolvent earlier in 2019 than reported last year.   HI expenditure growth is estimated to average 7.4 percent each year over the next 10 years, a higher rate than either Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth.  This year the HI Trust Fund will spend more than its income, and from 2009 through 2017, about $342 billion will need to be transferred from the Federal treasury to cover beneficiaries' hospital insurance costs. 

The report itself is available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ReportsTrustFunds/
This press release in its entirety is available at http://www.hhs.gov/news

From:  CMS, Region 6, in Dallas

TRIAL LAWYERS TELL ALL!  WHAT THEY LOOK FOR IN A MALPRACTICE SUIT

The Law: Trial Lawyers Tell All
You already know why some patients want to sue: because they suspect, fairly or not, that you made a mistake -- and that you don't really care about them. But what do plaintiffs' lawyers look for to determine if a case is worth bankrolling? We got 'em to spill their secrets.

http://www.physicianspractice.com/index/fuseaction/articles.details/articleID/1151.htm

From:   Physicians Practice Preview, Physicians Practice, www.physicianspractice.com.

DATA DIGEST: NPI deadline -- March 1st 

Medicare's requirement to include a National Provider Identifier (NPI) in the primary provider fields went into effect on March 1. Any claims lacking an NPI will now be rejected. You can continue to submit your claims with NPI/legacy pairs in the primary provider fields, and secondary provider fields need only include the legacy number. If you are now using the NPI and your claims are still rejected, then access the physician's NPPES record online at nppes.cms.hhs.gov, and follow these steps:

Verify that the claim's legacy identifier is in the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES); if not, then add it.

Verify that the practice's legal name or the physician's legal name is correct.

Verify that the physician selected the correct entity type when applying for the NPI.

If your claims are still rejected, you'll have to contact your Medicare contractor and supply the following information:
Copy of the physician's NPPES record;

Claim rejection numbers and messages;

Practice's legal business name;

Contractor tracking number (if known);

Approximate date when the 855 enrollment application was submitted;

Provider/supplier tax identification or social security number;

Provider's NPI;

Medicare legacy identifier;

Practice location; and

Contact information for provider/supplier.

For more details, read the announcement on the CMS Web site.
From:  Physicians Practice Pearls by Physicians Practice, www.PhysiciansPractice.com.

APRIL IS NATIONAL HUMOR MONTH; LET'S CELEBRATE.

Decal on the door of a military base: "Freedom's Door Is Open to Everyone." Below it, another decal: "Authorized Personnel Only!"                                   -- Heather Harris

"October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks in. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August, and February."                                          Mark Twain
 
You can't have everything, where would you put it?

The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.

A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

She was only a whisky maker but he loved her still.

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