Dermatology World February 2011 : Page 8
rounds continued news in brief Dermatologists discuss patient safety, ACO proposals at White house meeting AmeriCAN ACADemY Of DermATOlOgY Association Secretary-Treasurer Robert Greenberg, M.D., and former president David Pariser, M.D., joined repre-sentatives of numerous specialty societies, hospitals, and other health care provider organizations for a meeting with the Obama administration regard-ing implementation of health system reform. Led by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., the meeting, robert greenberg, m.D. which took place at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Dec. 17, 2010, focused on implementa-tion of patient safety rules related to hospitals and the development of rules regarding accountable care organizations (ACOs). During the latter discussion, Dr. Emanuel and Donald Berwick, M.D., M.P.P., administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), David Pariser, m.D. heard numerous suggestions from attendees regard-ing how ACOs should be structured to incentivize providers to coordinate care and foster innovation. Suggestions included allowing providers to work with multiple ACOs — which would be important for dermatologists and other outpatient specialists — and ensuring that incentives account for dis-ease severity. The AADA representatives noted that the risk sharing under consideration would not work if it required dermatologists to share risk for the behavior of other providers over whom they have no control. Publication of a proposed rule related to patient safety and ACOs is ex-pected in mid-February; the Academy responded to CMS’s earlier request for information in advance of the rule, and will comment on the proposed rule to reiterate the specialty’s concerns. To facilitate the Academy’s development of principles and further engagement around ACOs, a working group of the AADA Council on Government Affairs, Health Policy and Practice was re-cently formed. Information on the proposed rule and the Academy’s concerns will appear in a future issue of Dermatology World . -riChArD NelsON ehr incentive program registration open regisTrATiON beCAme AVAilAble for physicians and hospitals that wish to partici-pate in the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program through the CMS website on Jan. 3. Under the program, physicians can potentially re-ceive $44,000 over a five-year period through Medicare. Under the Health Information Technol-ogy for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, physicians and hospitals that demonstrate “meaningful use of technology” and the adoption of a certified EHR system will be eligible to receive incentive payments from CMS. Physicians who wish to participate must begin their 90-day reporting period for calen-dar year 2011 by Oct. 3. A list of certified EHR systems — the Office of the National Coor-dinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC’s) Certified HIT Product List — can be found on the CMS website. The list features more than 150 EHR products for ambulatory care. In addition, CMS offers hands-on assis-tance through 62 Regional Extension Centers that offer training, support service, and techni-cal assistance to eligible professionals. Additional resources are available on the Academy’s online HIT Kit. The site offers a number of resources pertaining to EHR adop-tion and the CMS incentive progam. Cms meDiCAre ehr iNCeNTiVe PrOgrAm PAge www.cms.gov/ehrincentiveprograms/ ONC CerTifieD hiT PrODuCT lisT http://onc-chpl.force.com/ehrcert AAD hiT kiT www.aad.org/hitkit -JOhN CArruThers 8 Dermatology WorlD // February 2011 www.aad.org
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