by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 17, 2015 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Miscellaneous Musings, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
I’ve previously posted information about the way that Congress got out of the annual “Doc Fix” problem with new legislation that restructures physician payment based on a variety of quality programs. Recently, Medicare trustees have warned that by 2048 physician pay...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 10, 2015 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, Quality Payment Program, US Wound Registry
I have big news. The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) has partnered with the US Wound Registry (USWR) to sponsor The Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Registry (HBOTR). Submitting data to this registry will satisfy the requirement of a specialty registry...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 4, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
There is a lot going on about hyperbaric oxygen therapy documentation. The start of the prior authorization demonstration program for non-emergent hyperbaric oxygen therapy was delayed a bit but is it now active in Illinois, Michigan, and New Jersey. If prior...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 3, 2015 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, Quality Payment Program, US Wound Registry
I have previously blogged about big changes that could affect the delivery of hyperbaric oxygen therapy services. I’m keeping my eye on a House Ways & Means health subcommittee (chaired by Kevin Brady from my own district). A few days ago, the subcommittee...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 28, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, US Wound Registry
Every Tuesday this month we’ve been having some straight talk about a US Wound Registry Quality Measure. I’d like to talk about the measure “Appropriate use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for diabetic foot ulcers”. This was the first HBOT measure the USWR asked CMS to...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 20, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
Every Tuesday this month we’ve been having some straight talk about a US Wound Registry Quality Measure. In the Jan/Feb 2-13 issue of Today’s Wound Clinic, Darlene Carey discussed the results of a pilot study of 3 quality measures: 1) vascular screening of leg ulcer...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 19, 2015 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, Quality Payment Program, US Wound Registry
More and more of my patients are on Medicare “advantage” plans. Just this week I asked one of them why she decided to take a Medicare replacement plan rather than a traditional Medicare plan. I was pretty sure I knew the answer because my husband got Medicare this...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 14, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Quality Payment Program
Every Tuesday this month we’ve been having some straight talk about a US Wound Registry Quality Measure. In the June/July issue of Today’s Wound Clinic (TWC) I present a case history of a 30 year old man who had been treated for a year at another wound center for a...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 9, 2015 | Cassandra Chronicles: Regulatory and Coverage Policy, Miscellaneous Musings, Pressure Cooker: Rethinking Pressure Ulcers, US Wound Registry
There are a lot of wonderful cleansers out there but some of my patients can’t afford them. This is the recipe that I give them to make a 0.25% acetic acid solution if they have the classic neon green drainage of Pseudomonas: 3 Tbsp white vinegar in 1 quart distilled...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 7, 2015 | Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care
Every Tuesday this month we are going to have some straight talk about Quality Measures. In the June/July 2015 issue of Today’s Wound Clinic (TWC), Darlene Carey has a fantastic article about how she used quality measures to create a wound care program around evidence...
