by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Apr 1, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy
The 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) included a one-year, 2.5% positive update for 2026 Medicare payment. It was better than nothing, but still does not come close to adjusting for inflation. (Physician payments are among the few sectors of medicine that do...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Mar 30, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy
I have blogged a lot about the boring topic of Medicare’s contract with Acumen to develop a cost measure for “non-pressure” ulcers (which means diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers, arterial ulcers, and “generic” chronic ulcers – surgical wounds and traumatic...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Mar 17, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight, Medicare Audits
The final MIPS reporting deadline for the 2025 performance year is March 31, 2026. In other words, you have until the last day of March to report MIPS data – that is, if you are required to report. The purpose of this article is to explain the unnecessarily...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Mar 12, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight
The New World screwworm (NWS) is endemic in the American tropics and subtropics which includes the countries of South America, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. However, Central America and Mexico are experiencing an outbreak of NWS with cases in both animals...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Mar 9, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers
In 2006, the National Qualify Forum (NQF) issued a list of 28 Serious Reportable Events (SREs). Fifteen years earlier, I had initiated a major academic wound center and had spent those years trying (and failing) to prevent pressure ulcers in 6 intensive care units...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Mar 2, 2026 | Dr. Helen Gelly, Fight the Good Fight
Medicare’s National Coverage Determination (NCD) 20.29 lists the clinical conditions for which Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is covered by Medicare. The list of conditions for which HBOT is covered includes “diabetic wounds of the lower extremities” (also referred...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 27, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight
The latest CMS reimbursement change affecting wound care is that, as of Jan. 1, 2028, each outpatient off-campus hospital department must use a National Provider Identifier (NPI) separate from the main hospital’s. This might not seem like such a big deal;...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 23, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight
The Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) model has been launched by Medicare in certain states. The model involves the voluntary prior authorization (PA) of certain traditional Medicare Fee for Service (FFS) services including the use of CTPs/skin...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 19, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight
Plastic surgeon and wound care practitioner Janet MacKenzie, MD has released a wound care guide for patients and families, “Wound Care at Home: A Guide for Families and Caregivers,” now available from Amazon. We take so much about the basics of wound care...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 6, 2026 | Fight the Good Fight
I had the pleasure of working with an amazing group of podiatrists, biostatisticians and public health experts on a paper that was just published in Clinics in Podiatric Medicine and Surgery, entitled “Walking the Line: How Social Forces Shape Diabetic Foot...
