Novitas Changes Mailing Address
AMS would like to remind all physicians that effective July 25, 2014, mail received at the Camp Hill PO Boxes/addresses will no longer be forwarded to the Mechanicsburg PO Boxes/addresses. Please begin using the appropriate Mechanicsburg PO Boxes/addresses for Arkansas listed below: Novitas Solutions ATTN: Part B…
8 things you should know about Medicare’s proposed payment rule
Article from AMA Wire, 7/18/2014, 2:10 PM. If the policies set forth in the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule take effect, physicians will be in for a lot of changes—many of them unfavorable—next year. Here are the top eight things that you should know: 1. A…
HIV diagnosis rates drop by a third over past 10 years.
Article from AMA Mourning Rounds, 7-22-14. USA Today (7/20, Graham) reported that according to research presented at the International AIDS Conference and in a research letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “the rate of diagnosis for HIV infections has fallen in the United States…
CDC report: 46 people die from Rx painkiller overdose each day
Article from AMA Wire, 7/7/2014, 10:02 AM The prescription drug overdose epidemic claims nearly four dozen lives in the United States every day, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Meanwhile, states are considering a number of different policy options to…
Avoid 2016 Medicare penalty: Use a registry for quality reporting
Article from AMA Wire, 7/7/2014, 10:00 AM Physicians who don’t successfully report for Medicare’s Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) this year will face a 2 percent payment penalty in 2016. One of the ways to report is through clinical registries, for which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid…
Help the American Red Cross prevent a summer shortage
(July 1, 2014) — The American Red Cross urges eligible blood donors to roll up a sleeve and give to help prevent a summer blood shortage. Blood donors with types O negative, B negative and A negative are especially needed. The Red Cross is seeing fewer appointments at…
Texarkana illustrating how health care law is altering US economic geography
In a front page story, the New York Times (6/9, A1, Lowrey, Subscription Publication) reports that in Texarkana, the state line between Texas and Arkansas is a serious healthcare divide, as Arkansas has expanded Medicaid and Texas has not. The Times says that “none of the low-income Texarkana…
David Wroten Speaks to KARK About Tax Return Scam
Arkansas Medical Society EVP, David Wroten address the recent tax return scam that is spreading across the country. For more information on how you can protect your personal information, read more here.
It’s not too late for CDL Certification
Effective May 21, 2014 all medical professionals must now be registered on the FMCSA NRCME registry to perform DOT medical examinations and issue medical certificates. You still have the opportunity to become a Certified Medical Examiner The Arkansas Medical Society (AMS) is prepared to assist you in the…
AMS Welcomes 77 New Members
By joining the Arkansas Medical Society, the physicians listed below have illustrated their commitment to improving health care in this community and our state by joining the Arkansas Medical Society. “As society members, these physicians are part of a statewide network of over 4,300 Arkansas physicians, residents and…
UPDATE: Fraudulent IRS Tax Filings
Recently the AMS along with several other state medical societies alerted physicians to a Social Security number breach resulting in fraudulent 2013 IRS tax filings. Physicians and a handful of other medical professionals appear to be the target of this scam. AMS has received over 35 calls from Arkansas…