Visit the SDSMA Health System Reform Page
Health system reform discussions have kicked into high gear in Washington, D.C, as the issue looks to be a very high priority in 2009 and beyond.
We've compiled health system reform information from the SDSMA, the AMA, Congress and the Obama administration for our members so you can be informed and speak your mind on the various plans proposed by the Obama administration and Congress.
Click here to visit the SDSMA Health System Reform page.
CMS Warns of Potential Scam
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have identified a scam where perpetrators are sending faxes to physician offices posing as the Medicare carrier or Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC). The fax instructs physician staff to respond to a questionnaire to provide an account information update within 48 hours in order to prevent a gap in Medicare payments. The fax may have the CMS logo and/or the contractor logo to enhance the appearance of authenticity.
Medicare FFS providers, including physicians, non-physician practitioners, should be wary of this type of request. If you receive a request for information in the manner described above, please check with your contractor before submitting any information. Medicare providers should only send information to a Medicare contractor using the address found in the download section of the CMS.gov Web site found at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNGenInfo/ or http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareProviderSupEnroll .
Update Your Member Directory Information
It's that time again ... to update your information and photo for the annual SDSMA Member Directory!
Please return your completed forms to Donna Toay at the SDSMA office. For more information, contact Donna at 605.336.1965 or dtoay@sdsma.org.
Save the Date! SDSMA Annual Meeting
Save the date for the SDSMA annual meeting scheduled for October 1 and 2 at the Ramkota Hotel in Sioux Falls.
More information will be posted here as the meeting approaches.
Materials Available from RAC Seminar
About 100 medical group managers attended a seminar held May 21 on the upcoming roll-out of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Recovery Audit Contractors program.
The SDSMA - along with the South Dakota Medical Group Managers Association (SDMGMA), Sanford Health and Avera Health - sponsored the seminar, which featured speakers Kathleen Wallace from CMS and Lane Edenburn and Ellen Evans, MD, of HealthDataInsights, the regional RAC for South Dakota.
Click here and here to view the presentations from the seminar. Read more on the seminar in the upcoming June issue of South Dakota Medicine.
Swine (H1N1) Flu Information and Updates
Human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have been identified in the United States and internationally.
Click here for the latest comprehensive swine flu information and guidance from the SD Department of Health and the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
South Dakota residents with questions about flu can contact the department’s call center at 1.800.592.1861 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Red Flag Rules
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted April 30 to delay implementation of the Red Flags Rule until August 1, 2009.
The AMA will utilize this time to convince the FTC and Congress that physicians are not "creditors" and therefore should not be subject to this rule. many physicians will be required under federal law to assist the government in detecting, preventing and mitigating "red flags" of identity theft.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) implemented the so-called Red Flags Rule, which will impose certain duties on financial institutions and "creditors" with the goal of curtailing the growing issue of consumer identity theft.
SDSMA Introduces "For The Media" Page
Looking for contact information or recent news releases from the SDSMA? We've compiled information for the media on a new page.
The Federal Stimulus Package and Your Practice
- Click here for a detailed summary from the American Medical Association (AMA) on the federal economic stimulus package and its impacts on organized medicine.
South Dakota Medicine Special Issue 2009
- Click here to read The Next Vital Sign, our special issue on tobacco cessation and the dangers of secondhand smoke. Individual copies of this special issue are also available for purchase by contacting Megan Myers at 605.336.1965.
Electronic Health Records Demonstration Project
The South Dakota e-Health Collaborative is assisting CMS in implementing this five-year demonstration project. For more information, please see the website at: http://www.ehealth.dsu.edu/CMS/Background.aspx or contact Kevin DeWald at the South Dakota eHealth Collaborative at (605) 256-5555. You may also email questions to CMS at EHR_Demo@cms.hhs.gov.
SERV SD
The goal of the Statewide Emergency Registry of Volunteers in South Dakota (SERV SD) is to create a database that will enable health professionals to be mobilized immediately in response to a large-scale disaster or emergency.
- Click here to learn more about SERV SD and how you can volunteer.
New to the SDSMA?
The SDSMA has a number of benefits that help foster personal and profession development for its physician members.
- Click here to see how the SDSMA's member-driven focus is at work for you!
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