Page 9 - Delaware Medical Journal August 2015

PRESIDENT’S PAGE
NANCY FAN, MD
MSD President Nancy Fan, MD is an Obstetrician/Gynecologist who practices with Women to Women OB/GYN in Wilmington and is on the staff of Saint Francis Healthcare.
AMA Annual Meeting 2015
For this month’s President’s Page I would like to offer a brief update on the American Medical
Association (AMA) Annual Meeting which occurred this past June in Chicago. I attended the meeting along with Dr. Kelly Eschbach, MSD Past President and our current AMA Delegate; Dr. Janice Tildon-Burton, also a Past President
and Alternate Delegate; Dr. Stephanie Guarino, a Nemours Fellow and an
AMA Resident/Fellow Section Alternate Delegate; and Mark Meister, our Executive Director. While your AMA delegation worked diligently to review all that occurred in the reference committees
say, the breadth of discussion regarding all the various policy recommendations and resolutions is beyond the scope of this monthly page. However, I hope to provide some highlights.
While the repeal of the SGR was regarded as a legislative success, there was much discussion regarding the impending ICD-10 implementation. Recognizing the potential administrative burden and delay in payment due to ICD-10 implementation, the House of
Delegates passed policy requesting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide a two-year grace period to physicians for a smoother transition. In July, CMS announced Medicare contractors will not deny long as there is a valid code from the right family, although an ICD-10 code will be required beginning October 1, 2015. Another policy recommendation included adding physician participation to the development of ICD codes, as
the four groups that now provide input — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Health Statistics, the American Heart Association,
CMS, and the American Health Information Management Association do not include a physician organization. Additionally, MSD, along with the AMA and numerous other state and specialty societies, have signed onto
a letter to Congress urging a delay in implementation.
Continuing with new initiatives for practice sustainability, Dr. James Madara, the AMA Executive Vice President and CEO, introduced the
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