If you would prefer to
view this online, go to:
http://www.dcmsonline.org/news/12-21-07.htm
DCMS News You Need to
Know
From the desk of Jay W. Millson, Executive Vice
President
December 21, 2007
In this Issue:
Ø
Medicare Rate Cut Delayed 6 months
Ø
Time Is Running Out - Have You Renewed Your License?
Ø
2008 DCMS Annual Meeting – January 17,
2008
Ø Interested in Health Information Technology?
Ø Good
Ole Time
Ø
Happy Holidays from the DCMS / Office
Schedule for Holidays
Ø
Meetings Calendar / Educational
Opportunities
Medicare Rate Cut Delayed 6 months
The American Medical Association reports that physicians will get a
six-month reprieve from a 10 percent rate cut when treating Medicare patients
under legislation that passed the Senate on Tuesday. The pay cut for doctors had been scheduled to
take effect January 1, 2008. Doctors had warned that a cut in reimbursement
rates would lead to physicians taking on fewer new Medicare patients. Instead,
they'll get a 0.5 percent raise when they treat the elderly and disabled. The legislation, crafted by leaders of the
Senate Finance Committee and approved on a voice vote, also would extend
funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program through March 2009.
Officials with the American Medical Association said that a six-month
fix creates great uncertainty for Medicare patients and physicians. The AMA
urged lawmakers to shelve the funding formula that has annually caused
lawmakers to pass legislation avoiding a Medicare pay cut. One Senator acknowledged that the Medicare
package fell far short of what many lawmakers wanted. "This is a disappointment for many of
us," Senator Grassley of
Time Is Running Out - Have You Renewed
Your License?
Approximately half of Florida MDs are set to have their licenses to practice medicine expire on January 31, 2008, however, the Florida Department of Health reports that only 38 percent have renewed their license to date. If you have not received your licensure renewal information and are unsure if it is time to renew, visit www.flhealthsource.com to view your profile. Your license expiration date should be at the top.
You cannot practice if your license expires. Renewing after the deadline is costly and time-consuming. Additionally, third-party payers may refuse to reimburse you for services rendered under an inactive license, so renewing early is important. The Board of Medicine has made this easy by putting the renewal process online. To renew online, go to www.flhealthsource.com and click on "Licensees/Provider" and then "Renew License." You will need an account/user ID number and password, which was included in your license renewal notice sent in October. If you do not have your notice, you may email licensure_services@doh.state.fl.us or call 850-488-0595, and press menu option 3.
The licensure renewal
process this year has a new requirement. The Legislature passed a bill that
requires all physicians to complete a Physician Workforce Survey as a condition
of licensure renewal. The information submitted in the survey will help
our state identify physician workforce issues and plan for
2008 DCMS Annual Meeting – January 17,
2008 at the
The 2008 DCMS
Annual Meeting will be held at the Touchdown Club, Jacksonville Muncipal
Stadium on January 17, 2008. The evening begins at 5:30 PM with a wide variety
of exhibitors. At the dinner, Glenn
Knox, MD will be installed as the 2008 President. Make plans to join us! Click here for details and reservation form.
Interested in Health
Information Technology?
Dr. John Montgomery, DCMS President, has established a Health
Information Technology (HIT) Committee which will be responsible for
developing and implementing strategies to educate DCMS members regarding the
evolution of e-health technologies on a local, state and national level in
order to generate practice efficiencies and improve quality patient care.
He has asked Dr. A. Allen Seals to Chair the Committee. If you are interested in serving on the DCMS
Health Information Technology Committee, please let us know by emailing Patti
Ruscito at admin@dcmsonline.org by January 11, 2008.
Good Ole Time
The 2008 Good Ole
Time Reunion will be held on Sunday,
February 10, 2008 at the
Happy Holidays from the DCMS / Office
Schedule for Holidays
The DCMS Board of
Directors and staff wish all DCMS members a Happy Holiday and a healthy New
Year!
Please note that
the DCMS Executive offices will be closed for the Christmas holiday beginning
Friday, December 21 at 1:00 PM and will reopen on Wednesday, December 26. The office will also be closed for the New
Year’s holiday on December 31 and January 1, reopening on January 2, 2008.
Meetings Calendar / Educational
Opportunities (www.dcmsonline.org)
o
Wednesdays in
January 2008 – Pediatric Grand Rounds – Click here for
details
o
Thursday,
January 10, 2008, 6-8 PM – JSMP Lecture Series – Click here
for details
o
Thursday,
January 17, 2008, DCMS Annual Meeting at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium,
Touchdown Club – Click here for
more details and reservation form.
o
January 26, 2008,
FMA Board of Governors, Hyatt Regency,
o
Sunday, February
10, 2008, DCMS Ole Time Reunion at the
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Duval County Medical Society
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