Many independent practices find they
do not have the capital to add electronic health records and ancillary services that may be required to remain com- petitive in the current era of health care reform. Several organizational models have recently emerged, aimed at further consolidating and connecting disparate health care systems. These models carry names such as patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs), accountable care or- ganizations (ACOs), clinical integrated networks, and independent practice as- sociations, all with the aim of lowering health care delivery costs while improv- ing quality and outcomes. The payment model that drives the health care industry is undergoing major structural change, shifting to one where reimbursements are tied to improved outcomes and quality of care. This will require better coordination among health care professionals to improve ef- ficiency, regardless of practice location or employer. The emergence of these new organi- zational models began with PCMHs and have expanded into ACOs aimed at driv- ing new systems of care coordination. The Affordable Care Act is at the heart of these new incentives, and in January 2013, the American Medical Association launched a set of new billing codes that allow physicians to bill for non-face-to- face encounters. Such billable services include coordination of care for those with chronic diseases, communications that help prevent hospital readmission, facilitation of access to care, identifica- tion of community services, develop- ment of comprehensive care plans, and medical team conferences about care plans. Today, Medicare and private pay- ers reimburse for services under these new codes when care coordination be- gins within two days of a hospital dis- charge. Before the mobile app DocbookMD was available, it was uncommon for primary care physicians to know of their patients’ hospital discharge, mak- ing the two-day follow-up challenging. DocbookMD can be used to alert the primary care physician about a patient’s discharge in real-time, including details of the discharge plan. This essential tool
12 TEXAS MEDICINE February 2014
not only helps improve the care of pa- tients during this transitional care peri- od, but also helps ensure reimbursement through documentation of transitional care management. Medical team coordination of these patients can now be documented through the weeks of communication on DocbookMD. By using DocbookMD for this type of on-going coordination of care, the entire thread can be used to document the type of complex care de- livery never before captured. Despite the complexity of care de- manded by this new era of medicine, in- novations help physicians save time, pro- vide better care, and capture payments — which ultimately saves the whole sys- tem money. For more information about Docbook- MD, log on to
www.docbookmd.com.
Second annual Quality Poster Session at TexMed 2014
TMA’s second annual Quality Poster Ses- sion will take place at TexMed 2014 in Fort Worth in May. You will have the chance to share your successes and breakthroughs in improving patient care with your peers from around the state. TMA and the TMF Health Quality Institute will host an official continuing medical education presentation at Tex- Med, during which the poster authors will have the opportunity to talk about their creations. The posters will then be on display for viewing throughout the rest of the day.
Have a quality improvement success you want to present? Submit your ab- stract today. First-, second-, and third- place winners will receive special rec- ognition at TexMed 2014 and in Texas Medicine. All selected submissions will receive a modest stipend. For those not presenting a poster, the session is still a great opportunity to support your colleagues by taking some time to walk through and see the great things that are happening in the Texas medical community. Poster session at- tendees will also earn continuing medi-
cal education credit and be able to take away some best practices to develop their own programs at home. For more information, log on to www
.texmed.org/QualityPosters. You may also email Rebecca Stevens at rebecca .
stevens@texmed.org, or phone her at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1423, or (512) 370-1423.
Physician health conference focuses on cultural competence
“Cultural Competence: Putting Patients First” is the theme of the Physician Health and Wellness (PHW) Training Session and 21st Annual Retreat, Feb. 14–15, at the Inn on Barons Creek in Fredericksburg. Presented by the TMA Committee on PHW, the conference has been accredited for a maximum of 10.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, 7.5 of which are designated as ethics and/ or professional responsibility education. Those who will benefit from the seminar are physicians of all specialties; members and potential new members on the regional education teams of the PHW Committee; members and consul- tants of state and county medical society PHW committees; district coordinators; hospital chiefs of staff, medical staff coordinators, and members of hospital- based peer assistance committees; and others interested in learning more about the issues. Presentations during the conference will include Prescription Access in Texas; Cultural Competence; How to Engage Your Audience in an Effective Presenta- tion; Beyond PowerPoint: Other Tech- nologies on the Horizon; Copyright Laws: What Physicians Need to Know; Ethics of Cultural Conflicts in Medicine; Folk Medicine; Complementary and Al- ternative Medicines; How to Improve Communication Skills in Cross-Cultural Populations; and Sexuality, Gender Vari- ance, and Cultural Competence. Review the conference brochure
and register online in the TMA Educa- tion Center at
http://texmed.inreachce .com. To request a brochure or for addi-
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