by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Mar 3, 2025 | Fight the Good Fight
This Modern Healthcare article from 2/26 is behind a paywall, but I am posting the link anyway. The article reports that earlier in February, a federal judge “partially advanced a potential class action lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group and its UnitedHealthcare...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 28, 2025 | Fight the Good Fight
Migraines are the bane of my life, but I’ve gotten relief from Botox injections to trigger points. This was working fantastically for a year, until suddenly my insurance company decided to deny the prior authorization (PA) request. It took six months to get it...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 19, 2025 | Fight the Good Fight
Some of you have alerted me to new taxonomy codes that are relevant to the practice of wound care. This seems like huge news to me! I am listing a few of them below, with some explanation of what the components of the code mean. I do not know, for example, if an...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 17, 2025 | Fight the Good Fight, Miscellaneous Musings
The AP (2/7, Stobbe) reported, “The U.S. winter virus season is in full force, and by one measure is the most intense in 15 years.” According to the AP, “one indicator of flu activity is the percentage of doctor’s office visits driven by flu-like symptoms.” Two weeks...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 14, 2025 | Fight the Good Fight
On January 30th, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Journavx (suzetrigine) 50 milligram oral tablets, a first-in-class non-opioid analgesic, to treat moderate to severe acute pain in adults. Journavx reduces pain by targeting a pain-signaling pathway...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 11, 2025 | Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy, Medicare Audits
The Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST. If you and your organization provide wound care to Medicare beneficiaries, are you prepared for the important policy updates for 2025 implemented by...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 10, 2025 | Fight the Good Fight
JAMA has just published the results of the WHIST Randomized Clinical Trial, Effect of Incisional Negative Pressure Wound Therapy vs Standard Wound Dressing on Deep Surgical Site Infection After Surgery for Lower Limb Fractures Associated With Major Trauma. You should...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 20, 2025 | Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy
A U.S. District Court in Alabama has given preliminary approval to a landmark antitrust settlement involving Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS), calling for the insurer to pay $2.8 billion into a settlement fund designated for settlement class members, including...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 17, 2025 | Fight the Good Fight
JAMA has published a patient handout explaining the categories of weight loss medications. You have to sign in to download the PDF, but anyone can view it in the link. The need for clinicians of all types to be engaged in conversations with patients about obesity is...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 15, 2025 | Fight the Good Fight
Given that the new Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs) on CTPs/skin subs are almost surely going to be implemented on Feb 12th, it’s likely that patients are going to be asked to sign Advanced Beneficiary Notices (ABNs) around their use. I got an interesting email...
