ment penalties based on all-payer data are wrong. Physicians should not be rewarded or penalized based on variations in payer mix.
• Design a system that provides real- time feedback and meaningful data to physicians. CMS reports it can provide feedback on performance only as often as data are reported, which currently is on an annual ba- sis. Timely access to feedback re- ports is vital for physicians to iden- tify gaps in care and performance to make improvements where neces- sary within the performance period. CMS should allow submissions of data more frequently throughout the year to provide timely feedback for performance corrections or compliance issues, and avoid delays in performance improvement that result in payment penalties. CMS reports it plans to leverage the ven- dor community to disseminate data contained in performance feedback reports in the future. If and when such a process is created, physicians should not have to pay practice or technology vendors extra fees for such data and information that CMS currently offers annually at no cost.
DEA reverses course on registration renewals
IN QUICK SUCCESSION, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced and then rescinded sig- nificant changes to its registration renewal process. DEA initially said it would eliminate the informal grace period the agency has previously al- lowed for registrants to renew their registrations. After the American Medical As- sociation and others criticized the move, the agency reversed course and announced it would maintain its cur- rent policy: If a renewal application is submitted in a timely manner prior
to expiration, the registrant may con- tinue operations, authorized by the registration, beyond the expiration date until final action is taken on the application. DEA allows the reinstatement of an
expired registration for one calendar month after the expiration date. If the registration is not renewed within that calendar month, an application for a new DEA registration will be required. Regardless of whether a registra-
tion is reinstated within the calendar month after expiration, federal law prohibits the handling of controlled substances or List 1 chemicals for any period under an expired registration. DEA also initially said it would
send only one renewal notice to each registrant’s “mail to” address approxi- mately 65 days before the expiration date and no other reminders. The re- vised plan now includes sending an electronic reminder to renew to the email address associated with the DEA registration. To check your registration expira-
tion date, contact the DEA Registra- tion Service Center at (800) 882-9539 or by email,
DEA.Registration.Help@
usdoj.gov, and include your DEA reg- istration number in your email. AMA has asked DEA some addi-
tional questions about the details of the registration process. TMA will provide those answers in upcoming issues of Texas Medicine.
Partial victory for medicine in new VA policy
NURSE ANESTHETISTS have been ex- cluded from a new Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA’s) policy that permits certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists to practice independently of direct physician supervision. Anes- thesia practice by certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) will con- tinue to require anesthesiologist su-
March 2017 TEXAS MEDICINE 17
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