HEALTHY NOW HEALTHY FUTURE TMA’s Education Center, www.tex
Texas Medical Association Foundation* harnesses the volunteer and philanthropic spirit of TMA and TMA Alliance members to:
future
TMAF, the philanthropic arm improvement initiatives of TMA
foundation supports TMA’s Vision: to improve the health of involved at or call
med.org/education, has it all, add- ing new webinars, publications, and/ or seminars every month. To find out what’s new each month, subscribe to TMA’s e-newsletter, CME Spotlight. The newsletter brings you a quick summary of new and timely education at special TMA-member pricing, with links for more information and easy registration. To subscribe, log in to the TMA web- site,
www.texmed.org. Go to the Sub- scriptions page, and check “CME Spot- light Newsletter.” For help, contact the TMA Knowl- edge Center at (800) 880-7955 or knowl
edge@texmed.org.
TMA opposes audiology scope expansion
Audiologists lack the “medical training necessary to perform the same duties as physicians” and aren’t able to “provide patients with the medical diagnosis and treatment options they require.” That’s the message TMA, the American Acad- emy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, 38 state and local medical asso- ciations, and dozens of specialty societ- ies and national organizations sent in a letter (
http://bit.ly/1lCu3KJ) to House and Senate leaders. The groups strongly oppose HR 4035
by Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and S 2046 by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), saying they give audiologists unlimited, direct access to Medicare patients with- out a physician referral. Representative McDermott introduced the resolution in the House in February at the request of the American Academy of Audiology. The letter acknowledges audiologists play a crucial role as valuable members of the physician-led health care team but states that “aspirations of some audiolo- gists to independently diagnose hearing disorders transcends their level of train- ing and expertise.” TMA and the organizations that signed the letter implore lawmakers “to oppose any efforts to advance this ill-advised legislation” for the sake of America’s senior citizens.
14 TEXAS MEDICINE June 2014
OIG starts fraud education series for physicians
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Office of Inspector Gener- al (OIG) has begun a Provider Education series to inform health professionals on OIG’s efforts in detecting, deterring, and correcting fraud, waste, and abuse in the Texas Medicaid system. The first topic is Understanding Waste, Abuse and Fraud. OIG will use the series as a forum to cover such topics as:
health professionals.
To access the series, visit http://oig
.hhsc.state.tx.us/oigportal/ProviderEdu cation.aspx. If you’d like to suggest a topic for the series, email
OIG.Genera
lInquiries@hhsc.state.tx.us.
New HIPAA security risk tool from HHS
The U.S. Department of Health and Hu- man Services (HHS) released a new HIPAA compliance tool for small- to medium-sized practices. The Security Risk Assessment (SRA) tool helps these practices conduct and document a risk assessment to determine potential HIPAA security risks and address them. The SRA website,
www.healthit.gov/ providers-professionals/security-risk-as sessment, has user tutorials and videos available to help you get started. Conducting a security risk assessment
is a key requirement of the HIPAA Se- curity Rule,
www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/ hipaa/administrative/securityrule/index .html, and a core requirement for phy- sicians in the Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs. The SRA tool also allows you
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