by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 1, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight, Miscellaneous Musings
I must have been absent from medical school the day we learned about dystonia because there is a big blank space in my memory where any knowledge of that disorder should be. I didn’t know anything about it until two decades after medical school when my Mary, my dear...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | May 29, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight
Starting July 1, 2026, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) will “enhance” its claims editing and review process for office, inpatient, and outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) services for patients in commercial BCBSTX plans. For dates of service on or...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | May 18, 2026 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes
Last month, Dr. Ryan Mathis updated us on the legal initiative around CAMP (skin sub/CTP) pricing. The case, filed in the district court of the Northern District of Texas, was dismissed — not because the companies lost on the merits, but because the judge said...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | May 12, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight
Dr. Fife, Thank you for the wonderful blog post by Drs. Melin and team: “Wrestling Armadillos”. I could not agree more on all points! I want to emphasize this statement: “…’the underlying reason for chronic wounds may be systemic’, a...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | May 1, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight
The disconnect between the subjects enrolled in prospective clinical trials and patients in the real world has been an issue of concern for years. Dr. Marissa Carter and I first published on this in 2009 Advances in Skin & Wound Care. To over-simplify the problem...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Apr 24, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight
One of the things that makes wound care fascinating is that just when you think you have seen it all – you haven’t. I have only seen one case of leprosy in my 35+ career. Even though it is rare, we do see cases of leprosy in the southern US. And, growing up in Texas,...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Apr 24, 2026 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes
Guest Blog by Michael Crouch Dr. Fife – Like you, I follow the blog of well-known healthcare attorney, Knicole Emanuel, and her recent post “The End of Chevron Deference: How Loper Bright Could Help Defendants Challenge Materiality in False Claims Act Cases |...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Apr 22, 2026 | Nutrition & Wound Healing
I have watched many patients suffering from months of chronic non-healing wounds completely heal within a few weeks of normalizing their Vitamin D-25 levels (a treatment which cost about $10). The list of benefits of Vitamin D continues to grow and now includes a...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Apr 20, 2026 | Healthcare Payment Policy, Quality Payment Program
Last week I got a call from a hospital that employs two practitioners in their Hospital Based Outpatient Wound Center (HOPD). The clinic manager and the hospital quality officer said that they have employed these practitioners for years, and that, “We just heard about...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Apr 17, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy
If you prescribe medications electronically through your electronic health record (EHR), you have almost certainly encountered a “formulary alert” from a patient’s pharmacy benefit plan warning you that you must select a “lower tier” drug before the drug you are...
