I have only heard about the history of DOs fighting to maintain independent licensing in the state of California or being able to gain rounding privileges at traditional allopathic hospitals. I have never been denied the ability to provide holistic care to a patient because I have DO after my name instead of MD. That is why seeing such misinformation about our profession being spread through Twitter, Facebook and mainstream media seems both surreal and archaic at the same time.
Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) is the risk-adjustment methodology for Medicare used by all Medicare Advantage plans. HCCs stratify patient risk and predict the costs for capitated payments. This is because patients with only minor health conditions are expected to have averaged medical costs in the near future. Those who have multiple chronic complex conditions are expected to have higher costs due to increased utilization.
Osteopathic medicine has faced countless threats over nearly 150 years of existence. To ensure osteopathic family medicine remains a viable profession for decades and centuries to come, ACOFP members must come together as a community to encourage residents and medical students to pursue osteopathic certification through AOBFP.
I am a proud DO physician! I chose to go to an osteopathic school because of the tenets of osteopathy and the additional skills that I could provide my patients with OMT. As an osteopathic family physician, I will continue to serve my patients with the highest quality of care that I can without hesitation. I will continue to serve alongside both DO and MD physicians in ALL specialties and know that they will be providing excellent patient care because that’s just what we do!
NPCW aims to engage students across the health care system through special programming and communications. NPCW activities are an opportunity for student groups to help others learn about, experience and spread awareness of primary care’s pivotal role in health care. A few ACOFP members shared videos about why they chose family medicine.
Taking the AOBFP board certification supports and maintains distinction of the osteopathic profession. By supporting the AOBFP, we are endorsing advocacy for and protection of the distinct elements of the osteopathic profession. With taking the OMT practical in addition to the written exam, one will be “safe” from the possibility that OMT reimbursement in the future will be only to those who are board certified in the practice.
I analogize family medicine to a “Swiss army knife” as it is the only medical field that requires a knowledge, skill and humanism to effectively care for a vast array of issues affecting patients of all ages and genders in both hospital and ambulatory settings.
This is the last installment in our three-part series covering physician-focused proposals in recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed regulations. In this edition, we will discuss two proposals in the Calendar Year (CY) 2021 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule. These proposals are relevant for physicians practicing in outpatient hospital settings who receive Medicare payments.
Through its CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule, CMS proposes to implement several sweeping changes to the current framework and reimbursement for evaluation and management (E/M) CPT codes. These changes originally were finalized in the CY 2020 PFS final rule.
Throughout the PFS Proposed Rule series, ACOFP will highlight major proposals relevant for members and encourage individual physicians to submit comments to CMS. In this first blog post, we discuss the recent telehealth proposals in the PFS proposed rule.
I am proud to say that the initiatives I had hoped to share with the 2,000+ registered attendees in NOLA have not been delayed. I am grateful for the support, dedication and collective energy of the ACOFP Board and staff in adapting to our new circumstances. I am looking forward to continuing these efforts and hoping that one day soon we get the chance to share an osteopathic hug. I am hopeful that our country can forge a path that includes empathy, peace and good health.
The Student Association of the ACOFP is partnering with Resident Council on a number of exciting initiatives, including the Resident Council Spotlight series of interviews and articles. For our next article in the series, students sat down with Loc Nguyen, DO, to learn more about his residency program, what being a part of ACOFP means to him and what advice he has for students.
Recently, several physicians have created patient education handouts on COVID-related topics. Simply download the PDFs below and print them out for easy distribution to your patients.
Congress is currently negotiating a new COVID-19 package to stimulate the economy and provide financial relief for individuals and families. For many members of Congress, continuing to provide student loan relief is a major priority although it currently is unclear how this important issue will be addressed in this legislation.
The result of the sudden and dramatic interruption in normal care delivery is the creation of two significant gaps in the system: (1) the gaps in care created by cancelled and delayed visits and procedures, and (2) the financial shortfalls that will be difficult to fill without a change in strategy and day-to-day operations.
By Donna Brighton, Brighton Leadership Group Leadership goes beyond power and position; it’s about actions, routines and practices. For example, the way information is shared, how decisions are made and […]
