by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 31, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
I handled a situation with a patient poorly a few months ago, and it shook me up so much I asked Jay Shah to write an article about the subject for Today’s Wound Clinic. I’d love some feedback about the topic, either through my blog or TWC. Here’s what happened. I...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 28, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers
Since the pressure ulcer staging system is based on the tissue you can visualize, we get caught up in a bizarre logic. It ought to be possible to describe the steps a wound goes through to get to a stage 4 pressure ulcer. But you can’t, because an ulcer doesn’t become...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 15, 2019 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Quality Payment Program
Since clinicians were first offered a financial incentive to purchase and use an electronic health record (EHR) to obtain bonus money (or avoid penalties), they have been required to use only “certified EHR technology” (CEHRT). The names of the various payment...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 14, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
I have gotten pretty good at diagnosing dog breed from the hair in patients’ wounds. I diagnosed Labrador in the first, and terrier in the second. This third one stumped me but it turns out it wasn’t my fault because she has a dog and a cat. Third patient...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 11, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
More fun with dog hair and wound care. For more, see my previous post on the topic. Caroline Fife, M.D.Dr. Fife is a world renowned wound care physician dedicated to improving patient outcomes through quality driven care. Please visit my blog at CarolineFifeMD.com and...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 9, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
FRIDAY, 1:30 PM: I decide to check the QPP website. My account is locked. On the phone approximately 37 minutes to get the Password reset. Monica is running this operation, and Jennifer is her backup. CMS has great customer service and they are REALLY NICE....
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 9, 2019 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Do the Right Thing: Thoughts on Quality, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
I heard a few firecrackers on New Year’s eve, but the big fireworks in our industry go off on January 7th, 2019. That’s because the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has established a new physician specialty code for Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 7, 2019 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Most hyperbaric oxygen therapy practitioners know about the first OIG (Office of Inspector General) audit of HBOT which happened in 1998 (published in 2000). I’ve blogged about this before because I was the (relatively young) President of the Undersea and Hyperbaric...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 4, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
The Physician Compare 30-day preview period ends next Monday, January 7, 2019 at 8 PM Eastern Time. If you haven’t previewed your data already, don’t miss your chance to preview your 2017 Quality Payment Program performance information before it is publicly reported...