As you know, Dr. Pacita Keh passed away on Dec 23. A memorial service for Dr. Keh will be held on Jan 11, 2012, at 4 pm. This will be held at Northwestern University Hospital, Pritzker Auditorium, Feinberg Building, 3rd Fl., 251 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611.
Here is a link to her Obiturary in the Chicago Tribune
Donations may be made in her honor to UNICEF, 1.800.486.4233.
Well our leadership in Washington managed to put off many items and kick the can down the road yet again.
While we were facing the potential for a massive decrease in payment for Medicare services, looming on January 1, the legislature decided it was easier to put it off for another two months rather than deal with this issue permanently.
The bill that was put through extends the 2011 Medicare physician rates for another 60 days, as well as the TC-grandfather clause. Additional portions of that bill also extended the payroll tax “holiday” and unemployment insurance benefits for the long-term unemployed.
We will continue to watch what congress does in relation to a long-term solution to this annual issue.
My money is on yet another delay and more kicking of the can down the road….
Do you wear your seat belt…always?
Do you make everyone in your car put on their belt?
If not, continue to read the posting, copied from the ISMS e-mail letter:
Not only is it “about time” Illinois law requires all automobile passengers to wear seat belts, the law itself is “about time” – buckling a seat belt takes only seconds, but may save years of precious life in the event of an accident.
Thanks to a new ISMS-supported Illinois law, all passengers will be required to buckle up beginning January 1st. Previously only the driver, front seat passengers, and certain passengers under the age of 19 were mandated to wear seatbelts.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates an injury occurs in a traffic collision every 15 seconds and a fatality occurs every 13 minutes. It is also estimated that only 68 percent of Americans use seat belts. It’s about time Illinois makes a dent in those numbers.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish each and every member of the ISP a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous Holiday Season and 2012.
Without the support of our membership and its many volunteer members, we would not be able to provide the advocacy and support that we do, which benefits ALL IL pathologists.
Not a member? Why not? Your additional support will help in many ways, beyond the nominal dues. A greater percentage of membership provides the ISP with a stronger voice when advocating for pathologists.
Do you know a pathologist who is not a member? Invite them to join us, and help move pathology forward in Illinois.
Do you know a pathologist in another state society? Let them know that there is a site for their state or territory society to post a page. We are trying to get the word out about this. Please help us.
Last, it has been a busy month (as I am sure for you also). I fell behind on postings, but we are back to posting interesting and informative information on the site. Please visit often and provide feedback, or….even better, send me YOUR posting of interesting information. You can do that by sending the information to PCramer@IllinoisPathology.org. When received, we can get it on the site!
Happy Holidays!
Stephen G. Ruby, MD, MBA, FCAP
President, ISP
As you may have remembered, as President of the ISP, I wanted to increase the benefit that is obtained from your ISP membership.
One of the items that I had negotiated previously was the reciprocal arrangement with the Florida and Michigan Societies of Pathology, so ISP members in good standing could register for those State Society educational opportunities at state membership tuition/registration rates.
I am happy to also announce….
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Tale of the tape: 2012 Medicare physician fee schedule
■Is 1,235 pages long.
■Includes payment information for roughly 10,000 physician services.
■Classifies 56 patient encounters as eligible for the electronic prescribing incentive program.
■Identifies 120 advanced diagnostic imaging services as subject to the multiple procedure payment reduction policy.
■Lists 240 individual reporting measures for the physician quality reporting system.
Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2012 fee schedule
See the whole document here
(ofr.gov/ofrupload/ofrdata/2011-28597_pi.pdf)
What SGR cut would look like
The sustainable growth rate formula would cause Medicare doctor payments to drop by 27.4% in 2012 unless Congress acts. Here’s what the effect would be on some common physician services.
Service 2011 rate 2012 rate Change
New patient office visit $102.95 $76.23 -$26.72
Established patient office visit $68.97 $51.07 -$17.90
Chest x-ray $23.78 $17.27 -$6.51
Mammogram $81.20 $58.96 -$22.24
Rechanneling of artery $1,128.70 $806.25 -$322.45
Total hip arthroplasty $1,440.26 $1,047.79 -$392.47
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2012 fee schedule
The grandfather provision for technical component of anatomic pathology services provided to Medicare inpatients and outpatients of “covered” hospitals is scheduled to sunset on December 31, 2011.
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This posting is a reprint of an information e-mail provided by McDonald Hopkins, who is responsible for the content. It is provided here because it was thought to be of interest to the ISP membership
The following information is from the Dark Daily and is reprinted here because it is thought to be of value to the ISP membership.
Some medical laboratory organizations risk coming up short on the deadline for implementation of 5010 standards
Less than eight weeks remain before the January 1, 2012, deadline for implementation of Form 5010. Every sector of the healthcare system—from government and private payers to hospitals, physicians, pathologists, and clinical laboratories—is involved in this important healthcare reform.
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Something that all pathologists should be aware of. Post your thoughts below!
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Dermatologists will soon get some high-tech help deciding which suspicious-looking moles should be removed and checked for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a first-of-its-kind device,
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