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Week of June 16 - In Case You Missed It...TOMF Medical News Roundup

June 23, 2014


In Case You Missed It...
June 16, 2014

Star Amps Up Health Coverage

The Arizona Daily Star launched "Your Health" page today, giving focus to its coverage of medicine and health issues. Reporter Stephanie Innes (rhymes with tennis) even has a regular internet posting found here. The Star has long covered health as a regular beat and Innes is a terrific reporter, fair thorough and informed. We look forward to her take.

US Ranks Last in Comparison to 10 Countries

Commonwealth Fund examined data from the World Health Organization and the US finished last in health care compared to 10 other wealthy nations. You can see the report at http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2014/jun/mirror-mirror?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=.

In Case You Missed It...
June 17, 2014

What Kills Kids

The CDC reports that in the United States, 70% of all deaths among youth and young adults aged 10-24 years result from four causes: motor vehicle crashes (23%), other unintentional injuries (18%), homicide (15%), and suicide (15%).

The 2013 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Report documents use of bike helmets and seat belts, drinking and driving, carrying a weapon on school property, attempted suicide, use of steroids, cocaine, meth and more.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/ss/ss6304.pdf


More Sunshine

The government announced through a Region IX newsletter today that its Open Payments System is ready. What? Read what CMS has to say, especially if you are physicians...

What is Open Payments?

Open Payments is a federally run transparency program that will increase public awareness of financial relationships between the health care industry and physicians by collecting and making public any payments or transfers of value between drug and device manufacturers and physicians or teaching hospitals. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will require the collection of information from manufacturers of drugs and devices about payments or other transfers of value they make to physicians and teaching hospitals. These payments can be for many purposes, such as research, consulting, travel, and gifts. CMS will collect this data annually, and make this data publicly available and searchable on a website each year.

Why is this program important?

Open Payments will create transparency into the financial relationships physicians and teaching hospitals have with drug and medical device manufacturers. These transactions happen each year for many reasons. This program doesn't make assumptions or draw conclusions about the information reported. CMS will simply make the program available to the public to create transparency and allow interested stakeholders to analyze, monitor, and use the data. It also provides a platform for physicians, teaching hospitals, and other groups to ensure that information reported about them is accurate. It's important that you, as the physician, know about this program, what's reported about you, and how you can answer questions from your patients.

Which physicians and teaching hospitals are affected?

- The physicians affected by the program include:
- Doctors of medicine and osteopathy
- Dental surgeons
- Dentists
- Licensed chiropractors
- Optometrists
- Podiatrists

Note: You'll still be affected even if you don't treat Medicare or Medicaid patients. Also, medical residents are excluded from the definition of physicians for the purpose of this program.

The teaching hospitals include institutions that received payments for:
- Indirect medical education (IME)
- Direct graduate medical education
- Psychiatric hospital IME

CMS will publish a list each year identifying the teaching hospitals that are affected.

What kinds of payments will be reported?

Drug and medical device manufacturers must report most payments made to physicians and teaching hospitals. Examples include:
- Consulting fees
- Speaker fees
- Honoraria
- Gifts, like promotional gadgets, items useful in a medical practice, or vacations
- Entertainment, like tickets to a sporting event, concert, or theater show
- Food and beverage
- Travel and lodging
- Education, like textbooks and medical refresher courses
- Research activities, including enrolling patients in clinical trials
- Charitable contributions
- Royalties or licenses
- Current or prospective ownership or investment interest
- Grants, for example, to support education, operations, or meetings

Is there anything I need to do?

In order to review data that will be made public, resolve disputes, and make corrections, you should register with the Open Payments system at go.cms.gov/openpayments. The system will be available in early 2014. We also encourage you to:
Become familiar with the program and the information that will be reported about you. Keep track of your financial interactions with the health care industry. A free mobile app is available to help you track the payments you receive. See below for more information. Sign up at go.cms.gov/openpayments to get email updates about the Open Payments program, including events and educational opportunities. Work with companies to make sure the information submitted about you is correct. Review the information companies may submit on your behalf prior to public posting. Learn what to do if you disagree with the information that's submitted. When the review period starts in 2014, you'll be allowed to dispute information that you don't think is accurate or complete.

What resources are available to help me track required Open Payments reporting?

A free app (Open Payments Mobile for Physicians) is available to help you track the payments you get from the health care industry so you can compare them with the information reported about you. The app: Can be downloaded at the Google PlayTM app store or iOS AppleTM app store. Search for Open Payments Mobile for Physicians. Gives you a simple, easy-to-use tool to track transfers of value in real time on your own phone. Can also be used to share profile and transfer-of-value information between physician and industry apps. Is for personal information collection and serves as a storage depository only. It doesn't interact with CMS systems, CMS contractors, and can't be used directly for data reporting to CMS or its contractors.

Note: CMS won't check the accuracy of data stored in the app, and it isn't responsible for protecting data stored in the app. You have the sole responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the data submitted to CMS about you by the health care industry under Open Payments. For help with the app, email OpenPayments@cms.hhs.gov.CMS
Product No. 11709-P

Where can I get more information?

Visit go.cms.gov/openpayments to get more information about the Open Payments program and mobile app.

Visit www.medscape.com for a continuing medical education activity that's accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. You'll learn more about the steps involved in collecting and reporting physician data, key dates for implementation, and actions you can take to verify your information.

Email questions to OpenPayments@cms.hhs.gov.

In Case You Missed It...
June 18, 2014

New Words

There are some words we'd just as soon never know about...twerk comes to mind, as does Ayatollah, but now we have a new one: morcellator.

Power morcellators are used 50,000 times a year, mainly in minimally invasive procedures to grind uterine fibroids and in hysterectomies. Critics allege that the grinding inadvertently spreads cancer in 1 and 350 cases, making its use too dangerous for elective procedures where there are clear, if more invasive, alternatives. Johnson & Johnson, maker of the majority of US morcellators, has voluntarily agreed to stop sales.

Next month the FDA will review the data of the already approved device. This is only the second time an approved device has gone through this type of review.

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