APRIL IS NATIONAL HUMOR MONTH; LET'S CELEBRATE.

My wife's a water sign.  I'm an earth sign.  Together we make mud.           -  Rodney Dangerfield

The duck walked into a drugstore.  He picks up a stick of lip balm and starts to leave the store.  The clerk shouts, "Hey, you haven't paid yet!"  The duck replies, "Just put it on my bill"

You may be a redneck - If you think websites are where lots of spiders hang out.
                                 If you think TV Guide qualifies as a reference manual.

People want the front of the bus, the back of the church, and the center of attention.

Definitions:  Half of a large intestine: 1 semicolon

IN THIS ISSUE, FOR YOU
ON THE SCHEDULE AND DISTRICT MEETINGS
NEW MEDICARE-COVERED EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES PROGRAM IN CERTAIN DESIGNATED AREAS (INCLUDES DALLAS/FORT WORTH AREA)
NEWLY ELECTED OFFICERS OF TOMA-SO  
WHY YOU SHOULD E-MAIL YOUR PATIENTS 
VISIT THE OSTEOPATHIC RESEARCH CENTER'S NEW WEBSITE
CONSUMERS CAN SET UP MEDICATION REMINDERS THROUGH PHONE
AOA HEALTH POLICY NOTES
TEXAS LAWMAKERS OPPOSE LIMITING PAYMENTS TO DOCTOR-OWNED HOSPITALS
CHOOSING AN E.M.R.
CONSUMERS UNCLEAR ON BEST WAYS TO TOSS UNWANTED MEDICINES
ATOMA MEMBERSHIP:  Add ME to the Texas Osteopathic Family!
APRIL IS NATIONAL HUMOR MONTH; LET'S CELEBRATE

ON THE SCHEDULE AND DISTRICT MEETINGS:
  
District 8       Thursday, April 24th, 6:30 p.m.
                   Viet Nam Restaurant   (Please note this CHANGE)
                   Corpus Christi, TX

District 8       Thursday, May 22nd, 6:30 p.m.
                   Utopia World Cuisine
                   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 26, 2008 (Saturday)    TOMA House of Delegates
                                      Sheraton Hotel,
                                      701 E. 11th St. (I-35 & 11th St.), 
                                      Austin, TX

May 17th   Graduation, UNTHSC, Fort Worth, TX

June 19-22, 2008  Joint Annual Convention - TOMA & TX ACOFP
                                                             Intercontinental Hotel, Dallas, TX
                                                             REGISTER TODAY.

National Volunteer Week:                           April 27-May 3, 2008
National Nurses Week                                May 6 - 12, 2008
National Hospital Week                               May 11 - 17, 2008
Mother's Day                                            May 11, 2008

NEW MEDICARE-COVERED EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES PROGRAM IN CERTAIN DESIGNATED AREAS (INCLUDES DALLAS/FORT WORTH AREA)
 
If you order, refer or supply certain medical equipment and supplies, such as oxygen or power wheelchairs, you should know about a new Medicare program that may change the suppliers your patients will need to use.

The new program will begin July 1, 2008 in 10 geographic areas around the country, including Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC; Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN; Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH; Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX; Kansas City, MO-KS; Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL; Orlando-Kissimmee, FL; Pittsburgh, PA; Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA; San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo, PR.  The program will expand to 70 additional areas in 2009 and to additional areas thereafter. 

If your patient lives in or travels to one of these 10 designated areas and you order, refer or supply any medical equipment or supplies that fall within the 10 product categories listed below, the patient must now get the equipment or supplies from a Medicare-contracted supplier. 

The 10 product categories that are included in the program are:

     Oxygen supplies and equipment;*
     Standard power wheelchairs, scooters and related accessories;
     Complex rehabilitative power wheelchairs and related accessories;*
     Mail-order diabetic supplies;
     Enteral nutrients, equipment, and supplies;*
     Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices and Respiratory Assist Devices (RADs) and related supplies;
     Hospital beds and related accessories;*
     Negative pressure wound therapy pumps and related supplies and accessories;
     Walkers and related accessories; and
     Support surfaces, including group 2 mattresses and overlays (in Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL only).*

(* Indicates product category is NOT included in San Juan-Caguas-Guaynabo, PR)

To ensure that his or her medical products and services will be covered by Medicare, we encourage you to help your patient find out which suppliers are Medicare contract suppliers.  After the suppliers are announced in May, you can find out if a supplier is included in the program by visiting http://www.cms.hhs.gov/CompetitiveAcqforDMEPOS. 

For the latest provider information on this new program, CMS has released 3 MLN Matters educational articles, which can be found at:
     http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE0805.pdf
     http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE0806.pdf
     http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE0807.pdf

Once again, if your patient lives in or travels to one of the 10 designated areas and you order, refer or supply any medical equipment or supplies that fall within the 10 product categories, please discuss the new program requirements with your patient, and provide them with the Medicare fact sheet entitled "What You Should Know if You Need Medicare-covered Equipment or Supplies."

http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/Pubs/pdf/11307.pdf

NEWLY ELECTED OFFICERS OF TOMA-SO  

These elected officers will take over on May 1.
Elections for delegates and a rep for the class of 2012 will occur in the fall.

Eric Robinson- President
Raeley Rinderknecht - Vice President
Elizabeth Barney- Secretary
Aaron Guess- Treasurer
Sheva Khorrami- Class of 2010 Rep
David Anderson- Class of 2011 Rep

Congratulations to all of these student leaders on their election by their peers.

WHY YOU SHOULD E-MAIL YOUR PATIENTS 
 

Key Points
E-mail messaging eliminates the need to play phone tag with patients.
Electronic communication often boosts compliance because it's easier for patient-and physician-to follow up.
Patients often prefer traditional e-mail, but secure messaging is the wave of the future.

If you haven't yet begun using e-mail to communicate with patients, there are plenty of reasons to start. First is the increasingly loud patient clamor for e-mail, as indicated in one survey after another. The latest is a Harris Interactive/Wall Street Journal poll in which three out of four respondents said they should be able to schedule medical appointments via e-mail or the Internet, and e-mail their doctors as part of their overall medical care-at no extra charge. http://medicaleconomics.modernmedicine.com/memag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=508926

From:  Medical Economics, by Advanstar Communications, www.advanstar.com

VISIT THE OSTEOPATHIC RESEARCH CENTER'S NEW WEBSITE

Visit The Osteopathic Research Center's new website at http://www.hsc.unt.edu/orc

CONSUMERS CAN SET UP MEDICATION REMINDERS THROUGH PHONE

Verizon Wireless is now offering software that enables consumers to access drug information and get medication alerts through their smart phones. The Pill Phone software offers information on commonly prescribed prescription drugs and medications. Additionally, consumers can schedule reminders for themselves and include dosing instructions. Health Data Management (4/18)
http://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/smart_phone_medication_monitoring26114-1.html

From:  Health Data Management, HealthDataManagement and SourceMedia, Inc., www.sourcemedia.com

AOA HEALTH POLICY NOTES

Raising the price of a gallon of gas by $1 has the potential to lower American obesity rates by 9% by leading people to walk or bike rather than drive, according to Washington University of St. Louis (my alma mater) research published in the 4/10/08 New York Times Magazine.

Autopsies have shown that people who have larger brains tend to be less vulnerable to the plaques and tangles that characterize Alzheimer's, suggesting that those with larger brains can compensate for some loss without developing the disease. 

TEXAS LAWMAKERS OPPOSE LIMITING PAYMENTS TO DOCTOR-OWNED HOSPITALS

El Paso Times, 20 April 2008
EL PASO - Several Texas lawmakers are fighting a proposal to slice the price tag of the multibillion-dollar farm bill by curbing Medicare payments to physician-owned hospitals.http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_8987710
From:  Quorum Report, www.quorumreport.com

CHOOSING AN E.M.R.

A look at the over 400 different EMR software vendors can easily overwhelm anyone interested in selecting a system.
Medscape Business of Medicine 2008
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/571849?src=mp&spon=21&uac=9837HV

From: Medscape Business of Medicine MedPulse®, http://www.medscape.com/

CONSUMERS UNCLEAR ON BEST WAYS TO TOSS UNWANTED MEDICINES

Conflicting guidelines from environmental groups and the U.S. government have left consumers confused about how to dispose of unwanted medicines, which have contributed to the contamination of the water supply in several cities. State governments have begun to act. A new law in California aims to produce a model drug-disposal program. San Francisco Chronicle (4/23)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/22/BU6G109884.DTL

ATOMA MEMBERSHIP:  Add ME to the Texas Osteopathic Family!
 
For Osteopathic Physicians, Family and Friends - $30 due now for 2008!
(The ATOMA directory is being prepared NOW, so don't delay, please.)
 
NAME:______________________________________________
 
Mailing Address:______________________________________
 
EMAIL: _____________________________________________
 
Telephone:__________________________________________
 
Mail $30 check today to ATOMA, c/o Texas Osteopathic Medical Association, 1415 Lavaca, Austin, TX 78701.  OR Fax credit card info to TOMA @ 512-708-1415.
 
Any questions?  Wondering if you've paid already - or forgot?  Please email Deidre Froelich, ATOMA Membership,  d2froelich@verizon.net with any questions.  Fax 903-583-1234. 

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Advocate, D.O.

Underwritten by Advocate, MD Insurance Company of the Southwest Inc.

800-686-2734 or 512.275.1830

www.advocatedo.com