Deaths
Thomas H. Alexander, MD, 85; Flint; The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, 1955; died Jan. 19, 2016.
Jack A. Alford, MD, 85; Houston; Baylor College of Medicine, 1955; died Feb. 6, 2016.
Morris T. Bronstad Jr., MD, 94; Clifton; The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, 1948; died Jan. 20, 2016.
Dale Coln, MD, 81; Dallas; Baylor College of Medicine, 1961; died Jan. 6, 2016.
William H. Fagan, MD, 85; Houston; The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, 1957; died Jan. 24, 2016.
Billy B. Kern, MD, 89; El Paso; Tulane University School of Medicine, 1958; died Jan. 30, 2016.
W.S. “Bill” Lorimer Jr., MD, 96; Fort Worth; Northwestern University School of Medicine, 1944; died Jan. 9, 2016.
John J. Murphy, MD, 67; Canadian; University College Cork, Ireland, 1975; died Jan. 25, 2016.
Leslie W. Ralston, MD, 89; Jacksonville; The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, 1949; died Feb. 2, 2016.
Charles T. Richardson, MD, 75; Dallas; The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, 1966; died Feb. 1, 2016.
Royce L. Sedotal, MD, 86; La Porte; University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, 1968; died Jan. 13, 2016.
James K. Stewart, MD, 92; San Antonio; University of Arkansas College of Medicine, 1946; died Feb. 1, 2016.
Gail Thornton Jr., MD, 89; Wichita Falls; Baylor College of Medicine, 1952; died Jan. 23, 2016.
Glenn W. Tillery, MD, 83; Dallas; The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, 1959; died Jan. 13, 2016.
George W. Tipton Sr., MD, 102; Austin; The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, 1938; died Feb. 5, 2016.
Robert S. Totz, MD, 71; Houston; The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, 1970; died Jan. 11, 2016.
Donald H. Wallace, MD, 85; Dallas; University of Melbourne Medical School, Australia, 1957; died Jan. 25, 2016.
Charles H. Williams, MD, 87; Kerrville; The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, 1954; died Feb. 7, 2016.
22 TEXAS MEDICINE May 2016
formance “only to eventually arrive at the conclusion that this information was inapplicable.” Read “PQRS Mess” in the March
2016 issue of Texas Medicine, pages 59–62, or visit
www.texmed.org/ PQRSmess for more about this issue and TMA’s advocacy efforts. CMS’ missteps may have a lasting
impact on physicians and group prac- tices that participated in PQRS. The letter says “needless obstacles” that vexed the 2016 PQRS feedback and informal review processes “prevented physicians and group practices from understanding their performance, which in turn prevented them from contesting potentially unwarranted penalties. Without complete and ac- tionable data as well as a streamlined process for correcting data inaccura- cies and unwarranted penalties, phy- sicians and group practices may not only be subjected to unfair Medicare reductions in the immediate payment year, but also in future years as they are unable to correct unidentified re- porting issues.” The organizations that signed the
letter also provided recommendations for CMS to improve the processes, specifically delving into CMS’ incom- plete and inconsistent feedback, lack of recourse for vendor transmission issues, inadequate assistance from the QualityNet Help Desk, and faulty in- formal review process. They “strongly recommend” CMS:
• Clearly articulate the cause for a penalty assessment in the PQRS feedback report;
• Promptly communicate and rem- edy errors in the PQRS feedback reports;
• Hold harmless groups and physi- cians whose data was unsuccess- fully transmitted by third-party vendors;
• Expand QualityNet Help Desk training and access to feedback in- formation; and
• Fix flaws in the informal review process.
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