by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 5, 2020 | US Wound Registry
The average wound is treated with at least 5 different wound dressing products (which may or may not make sense based on the wound characteristics recorded), and dressings are often layered into a “club sandwich” of competing products that ought to be served with a...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 18, 2019 | Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, US Wound Registry
Nearly every week I get a question about the different registry participation options for wound care and hyperbaric medicine. We need all the data we can get in the fields of wound care and hyperbaric medicine. The thought process should not be that one approach is...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 30, 2019 | Healthcare Payment Policy, Quality Payment Program, US Wound Registry
Do you still have the photos of the first patient you treated with the VAC? Here are the 1997 photos of my first VAC patient, only 2 years after the device was cleared by the FDA. I know the photo quality is terrible – they were originally Polaroids! My point is that...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 21, 2019 | Fight the Good Fight, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
The story of my son’s intraoperative pressure injuries In August of 2017, Hurricane Harvey dumped 52 inches of rain on Houston turning the 4th largest city in America into a literal island. However, with our house above water, I was selfishly focused on...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Mar 11, 2019 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, US Wound Registry
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was cursed by the gods to spend eternity rolling a boulder up a hill, only to have it roll down again. In the March issue of TWC, I talk about my Sisyphean Mondays with heart failure patients, who represent a quarter of my wound care...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 14, 2018 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) spent 6 months reviewing a proposed rule to ease Medicare-participation requirements called, “Regulatory Provisions to Promote Program Efficiency, Transparency and Burden Reduction.” CMS has promised to “reform...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 16, 2018 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, Quality Payment Program, US Wound Registry
Helen Gelly recently blogged about the HCC methodology that CMS uses to create risk adjustments and why it is a really big deal for wound care practitioners. Last year “Minuteman Health,” a Massachusetts based insurance company, filed a lawsuit in federal court...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 16, 2016 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Miscellaneous Musings, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
A Predictive Model for Diabetic Foot Ulcer Outcome: The Wound Healing Index Caroline Fife, MD I’ve got a NEW Facebook Page – be sure to follow me there too! Twitter/CarolineFifeMD | Facebook/CarolineFifeMD | LinkedIn/CarolineFifeMD Caroline Fife, M.D.Dr. Fife is a...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 16, 2016 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Miscellaneous Musings, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
Two great articles about Pressure Ulcer Terms: OWM Guest Editorial: Changing Pressure Ulcer Terms: Consensus or Conspiracy? Wound Care Advisor: A Pressure Ulcer By Any Other Name Let me know your thoughts. Comment below or connect with me on Twitter @CarolineFifeMD ...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 22, 2015 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, Quality Payment Program, US Wound Registry
Selecting Measures Beginning in 2015, measure selection took on a whole new meaning. No longer was it “ok” to simply pick a few measures that your EHR could easily capture the data and send the results off to CMS. Where once you were paid for reporting, P4R, now with...
