by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 25, 2015 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Miscellaneous Musings, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
Welcome to “Throwback Thursdays” in June. I’ve noticed that patients are having increasing problems affording wound care supplies as a result of the high deductibles under the Affordable Care Act. We are going back to baby diapers for some patients. Caroline...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 18, 2015 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Miscellaneous Musings, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
Welcome to “Throwback Thursdays” in June. I’ve noticed that patients are having increasing problems affording wound care supplies as a result of the high deductibles under the Affordable Care Act. I confess I am having to go back to tricks I used in the 1990’s like...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 17, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Miscellaneous Musings
Welcome to “what is it Wednesdays” in June. What is this growth on the medial thigh of a morbidly obese patient? It’s a form of “massive localized lymphedema” (MLL). I don’t think they are rare anymore. They can be associated with hypothyroidism so check for that....
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 15, 2015 | Miscellaneous Musings, Quality Payment Program
On Mondays in the month of June I am focusing on the way that quality measures will be used to evaluate practitioner performance inside and outside a healthcare organization, including compensation packages and contracted rates with payers. Last month, CMS released...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 11, 2015 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Miscellaneous Musings, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
Welcome to “Throwback Thursdays” in June. I’ve noticed that patients are having increasing problems affording wound care supplies as a result of the high deductibles under the Affordable Care Act. I’m having to provide patients with the “recipes” for making acetic...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 10, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Lymphatic Imaging & Lymphedema, Miscellaneous Musings
Welcome to “what is it Wednesdays” in June. What is this growth on the anterior thigh of a morbidly obese patient? It’s a form of “massive localized lymphedema” (MLL). They have been called “pseudosarcomas” because they are sometimes mistaken for malignant tumors....
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 4, 2015 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Miscellaneous Musings, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
Welcome to “Throwback Thursdays” in June. How many different products do you use in your wound center? How many do you really need? Do you think you could care for patients with, say, only 5 categories of dressings? We used to do that in the 1990’s. Which products...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 3, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Lymphatic Imaging & Lymphedema, Miscellaneous Musings
Welcome to “what is it Wednesdays” in June. What is this growth on the arm of a morbidly obese patient? It’s a form of “massive localized lymphedema” (MLL). They used to be considered rare but I am seeing it more and more often. Caroline Fife, M.D.Dr. Fife is a world...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 1, 2015 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Miscellaneous Musings, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
Last month I focused on healthcare reform initiatives focused on how quality measures will be front and center in the move from volume based care to value based care by CMS. Performance on quality measures is also going to be used to determine physician compensation...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | May 28, 2015 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Miscellaneous Musings, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
I am wondering how many of you have seen a change in your practice with the advent of the Affordable Care Act? Am I the only one who has noticed that more and more patients are coming in saying, “Doc, I can’t afford for you to [fill in the blank with any procedure].”...
