The Drug Enforcement Administration urges its DEA-registered practitioners and members of the public to be cautious of telephone calls from criminals posing as DEA or other law enforcement personnel threatening arrest and prosecution for supposed violations of federal drug laws or involvement in drug-trafficking activities. DEA continues to receive reports from practitioners and the general public, alike, indicating that they have received calls threatening legal action if an exorbitant fine is not paid immediately over the phone. The callers typically… Read More

In the March edition of the Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society, we discuss the measures needed to maintain cybersecurity in the medical industry. Below are a list of FAQ’s from the FBI that can… Read More

CMS is finalizing a number of documentation, coding, and payment changes to reduce administrative burden and improve payment accuracy for office/outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) visits over several years. For calendar years (CY) 2019 and… Read More

AMS has been notified that some changes have been made to a physician’s selection of high priority beneficiaries. The AHIN portal (BCBS) will reopen May 25 for physicians to reselect their PCMH HPBs for the 2018 performance period. This… Read More

AR-IMPACT was created to improve multi-disciplinary pain care and treatment for Arkansas physicians. The weekly interactive tele-video consultation program offers free CME credit to better manage chronic pain patients and those who need their opioid… Read More

  Beginning in April 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will mail new Medicare cards to all people with Medicare on a flow basis by geographic location and other factors. Additional details… Read More

In December 2017, the American Medical Association conducted a survey of 1000 practicing physicians (40% primary care/60% specialists) to gain more insight and data on the extent to which prior authorization requirements delay or interfere… Read More

AMS has learned from the Medicaid program that a capitation payment (PBPM) for Quarter 1 of 2018 was generated to PCMHs on March 10 with a settlement date of March 16 and some of those… Read More

The new Medicare card is a result of MACRA’s requirement that CMS issue Medicare cards that do not display Social Security numbers to address the risk of beneficiary identity theft. New Medicare cards will be… Read More

Social media is an increasingly common presence within the healthcare industry – among providers and consumers alike – but despite the potential benefits it can offer both parties, it introduces many risks. Paging Dr. Google… Read More

Seasonal Influenza A(H3N2) Activity and Antiviral Treatment of Patients with Influenza Summary The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is providing: a notice about increased influenza A(H3N2) activity and its clinical implications; a summary… Read More