by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 28, 2017 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Quality Payment Program
I’ve attached a link to a Kaiser Health News article that came out today (June 28) about Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) that is less than flattering, and another in the Washington Post printed yesterday by the same author. Some of the battles we face in...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | May 31, 2017 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
ALERT! “Targeted” Pre-payment review of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to occur in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska The Medicare Administrative Carrier “WPS” has announced a Targeted Medical Review (TMR) of 100 claims for hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the states of...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 24, 2017 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
Last week on Friday January 20th, Novitas posted a new draft Local Coverage Determination (LCD) for wound care. If you are involved in wound care, you need to read this in its entirety. However, here is one small excerpt of the many documentation requirements to...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 30, 2016 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
The Hyperbaric oxygen therapy prior authorization project has been in effect a little more than a year and CMS is in the process of reviewing its impact to prepare an interim report. As the Medicare coffers dwindle, we have to ask ourselves how we can best utilize...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 29, 2016 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
Friday’s Featured Friend and Guest Blogger is none other than Helen Gelly, MD, FUHM, FACCWS, UHM/ABPM. When it rains, it pours. There seems to be no end to the rain clouds on the horizon for hyperbaric medicine. But HBO is not the only specialty at risk. CMS...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | May 9, 2016 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
As shared by Renee Duncan of UHMS, “Pressure” the official newsletter of UHMS Membership is now open access (now listed under ‘Publications’ on the home page). This means you can invite your colleagues who may be considering membership in the...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | May 5, 2016 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Quality Payment Program
I’m picking up where I’d left off before SAWC Spring – explaining MIPS, the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System. Although MIPS does not begin until 2017, 85% of the MIPS score is derived from performance in the 2 quality programs that clinicians...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 17, 2016 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Quality Payment Program
We have less than two weeks in the deadline for Registry Reporting deadlines for 2016 Meaningful Use Stage 2 Objective 10 (February 29, 2016). But let’s not forget the preparation required in order to successfully pass Quality Reporting for PQRS. Below is a...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 9, 2015 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, Quality Payment Program, US Wound Registry
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) opened the Physician Compare quality measure preview period on October 5th. The 30-day preview period closed on Friday, November 6th. It provided an opportunity for individuals and group practices to review their...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 3, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
Please remember to check out my November/December 2015 editorial in Today’s Wound Clinic. I reviewed the sad history of the two years I spent as President of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society from 1998 to 2000, during which CMS attempted to reduce facility...
