AMS Board takes positions on ballot issues and approves new member benefits
Tort Reform Amendment - The Board authorized spending up to $250,000 in support of a constitutional amendment that would (a) limit plaintiff attorney fees, and (b) place a cap of no less than $250,000 per defendant on non-economic damages. The amendment is currently under review by the Arkansas…
Joint Commission Removes Ban on Texting Orders
Prior to the new policy, hospitals and other medical "organizations" have been unable to send and receive patient orders via text messaging. That has now changed. The new Joint Commission policy reads: "Licensed independent practitioners or other practitioners in accordance with professional standards of practice, law and regulation,…
Credentialing Applications May Contain Waiver of Peer Review Protections
It has been brought to the attention of AMS legal counsel that at least one hospital, as part of their credentialing process, is requiring physicians to sign language agreeing that the hospital's internal peer review hearing and appeals process will be the physician's sole and exclusive remedy. AMS…
Arkansas One of 14 Regions Selected for CPC+
CPC+ is a nationwide, 5-year patient-centered medical home model that will include up to 5,000 practices across 14 regions, and includes Medicare, Medicaid, and private payers. The AMS was instrumental in supporting the application submitted by Arkansas Medicaid and a group of private payers in Arkansas. Arkansas was…
Revalidation Efforts Underway for Medicaid and Medicare
Arkansas physicians will begin to receive letters of revalidation from both Medicare and Medicaid. Instructions on how to complete the revalidation process will be included in the letter. AMS advises physicians to begin the process as soon as you receive the notification. A physician has 90 days from…
Switch & Save with the Arkansas Medical Society VISA Gold or VISA Platinum Credit Card
VISA is exclusively for AMS members and features a new "Select Rewards Program," which offers a wide variety of money-saving benefits. Make the move today and take advantage of one of the many benefits of being an AMS member. With this introductory offer, members will enjoy 4.9% APR*…
Managed Care Organizations Met With Skepticism by Some Health Care Professionals
Article from Arkansas Business, by Sarah Campbell, 7/4/16. Health care professionals in Arkansas are voicing skepticism that bringing managed care organizations into the state-run Medicaid program will stem the rising costs of government-provided health care. Their arguments are two-fold: The measures that MCOs employ to lower costs in…
Changes for Novitas Providers
Provider Enrollment Revalidation Cycle 2 All Medicare Part A and B providers are required to recertify the accuracy of their enrollment information every five years through a process known as revalidation. The initial five-year revalidation cycle was completed in 2015 and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services…
Vast majority of people very interested in accessing electronic medical records, survey finds
Healthcare IT News (7/29, McCarthy) reported a new CareCloud survey of 1,443 patients found that close to “75 percent of patients expressed a high level of interest in accessing their electronic medical records...and 33 percent indicated that EHRs have already changed their experience for the better.” The survey…
Opioid addiction related insurance claims rose by 3,204% from 2007 to 2014
(AMA Morning Rounds, 8/2/16) - On its website, CNBC (8/1, Mangan) reports a new analysis conducted by FAIR Health found that healthcare claims for people addicted to prescription pain medications “and heroin skyrocketed as the number of Americans who fatally overdosed on those opioids hit record highs.” Data…
CDC HEALTH ADVISORY: ZIKA
Following last week's confirmation of the first continental US cases of Zika caused by local mosquitoes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised Monday that all pregnant women in the U.S. should be assessed for possible Zika exposure during every prenatal visit. The agency explained that pregnant…