OCOT Trauma Paper Competition

Submission Deadline Extended!
Deadline to submit abstracts extended to Wednesday, April 27 at 5:00 pm.

The competition is open to all general surgery residents, surgical specialty residents and trauma fellows.  Medical students are not eligible.

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Provisions in the 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule that will affect surgical practice: An overview

New payment policy and coding and reimbursement changes set forth in the 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule took effect January 1, 2016. The MPFS, which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updates annually, lists payment rates for Medicare Part B services and introduces and updates a number of other policies affecting physician reimbursement and quality measurement. On September 8, 2015, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) submitted comments related to the MPFS proposed rule. These comments provided feedback to CMS on a number of policies outlined in the final rule released October 30, 2015. Although the MPFS final rule introduces important payment and policy changes that affect all physicians, this article focuses on updates that are particularly relevant to general surgery and its related specialties.

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The Calling of Rural Surgery

Large healthcare systems, massive surgery centers – these are the realities for some urban surgeons. In contrast, there are small hospitals in rural corners of the country. Here, there are often a shortage of surgeons as the older generation retires, without younger counterparts to fill in. This shortage is the subject of a film series, which got its start five years ago at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Conference. The director and her father attended one of the sessions on rural surgeons, where she learned about the shortage. So, she directed her talents to the issue.

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Patient-Centered Medical Home Survey

The Ohio Department of Medicaid invites primary care practices to participate in a survey that will inform the design of a statewide Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) care delivery and payment model. One office manager and one clinician from each practice are asked to complete the questionnaire. In addition to providing important feedback, clinicians and office managers can elect to receive a $25 Visa gift card in recognition of their time. The survey takes 20-25 minutes to complete and will be open until December 7, 2015. Both clinicians and office managers can access the questionnaire via the following link:

http://bitly.com/MedicaidPCMHSurvey 

PCMH Survey FAQ’s

News & Updates April 13, 2015

House Passes Bill To Fix Medicare’s Doctor Payments. What’s In It?

The troubled payment formula for Medicare physicians is one step closer to repeal. The House Thursday overwhelmingly passed legislation to scrap Medicare’s troubled physician payment formula, just days before a March 31 deadline when doctors who treat Medicare patients will see a 21 percent payment cut. Senate action could come this week as well, but probably not until the chamber completes a lengthy series of votes on the GOP’s fiscal 2016 budget package.  Continue reading →