by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 7, 2018 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Lymphatic Imaging & Lymphedema
I’ve been receiving the emails from Tactile Medical emphasizing the relationship between chronic venous insufficiency and lymphedema, many of which feature real-time lymphatic images taken with the near infrared imaging device developed by Dr. Eva Sevick at the...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 2, 2018 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
This patient is a 57-year-old man with diabetes, end stage renal disease on dialysis and congestive heart failure. He has these lesions over most of his arms and legs and they are horribly pruritic. He has scratched until several of them are open sores. What does he...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 1, 2018 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
Ever wished you could take back something that you said or did? That’s practically a daily thing for me. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work that way, except for maybe one area. You can take back your unused prescription drugs – which may help protect the lives of your...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 30, 2018 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
Senate Democrats have released the details of the “Medicare-for-all” plan under the appealing banner of, “Leaving No One Behind.” This plan apparently has broad support. I can understand why. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) kept insurance premiums in check initially via...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 29, 2018 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
I am still recovering from the shock. I opened my October 9th JAMA and there in the Clinical Update section was “Management of Chronic Wounds -2018.” Congratulations and kudos to Drs. Jones, Foster and Longaker! They highlighted the diverse array of...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 26, 2018 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
I wanted to take a photo of this man’s legs on his scooter because he’s got profound heart failure and I’m worried about the edema of his thighs. I have been wondering if the way he sits on his scooter contributes to his edema. (It seems like I have...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 25, 2018 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
A lifetime ago, when I was a young faculty member at the University of Texas Healthcare system in Houston, I received a letter (yes, an actual PAPER letter) from my regional Medicare Administrative Carrier (MAC) – which back then we called a “fiscal...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 23, 2018 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Quality Payment Program
In a recent interview, American Medical Association (AMA) President Barbara McAneny discussed the fact that insurance prior authorization can create major disruptions to patient care and significant administrative burdens to the physician’s office. The AMA estimates...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 18, 2018 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
In a previous blog post on this site, Dr. Helen Gelly described the OIG evaluation in the WPS J5 region (Iowa, Kansa, Missouri, Nebraska, and all legacy hospitals) in which the OIG found an error rate of 85% among hyperbaric oxygen therapy claims. The OIG recommended...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 12, 2018 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
Last week CMS complied with the requirements of the 21st Century Cures Act by issuing its revised instruction manual to the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs). You will find it described on the CMS website as: CMS Accelerates Innovation and Promotes Patient...
