Drug and Opioid Abuse Prevention: An Update for Neurosurgeons
Benjamin M. Zussman, MD Neurosurgery Resident, UPMC Council of State Neurosurgical Societies, State and Regional Advocacy Committee As a junior neurosurgery resident, I have already cared for too many patients whose lives have been destroyed by drug abuse. Consider the 22-year-old being whisked to the operating room for a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused […]
Cross Post about the Opioid Crisis — Now Comes the Hard part: Turning National Attention into Action
Patrice A. Harris, MD From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog you will see us cross-posting or linking to pieces from other places when we believe they really hit the mark on an issue. Today’s post originally appeared in the American Medical Association’s AMA Wire publication and is authored by Patrice A. Harris, MD, chair-elect […]
Faces of Neurosurgery: AMA Honors Neurosurgeons Karin Muraszko and Shelly Timmons
Guest post from Ann R. Stroink, MD, FAANS (left) Central Illinois Neuro Health Sciences Bloomington, Illinois and Maya A. Babu, MD (right) Neurosurgical Resident, Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN September is the month that the American Medical Association (AMA) celebrates and honors influential women physician leaders in conjunction with their program entitled, “Women in Medicine.” As […]
New Study Shows ICD-10 Implementation Costs to Be Significantly Higher
New cost estimates for implementing the federally mandated ICD-10 code set by Oct. 1, 2014, are, in some cases, nearly three times more than previously estimated, according to a new study released by the American Medical Association (AMA). Costs associated with ICD-10 implementation include training, vendor and software upgrades, testing and payment disruption. Compared to a […]
Congress Makes Significant Progress on Physician Payment Reform
On Feb. 6, 2014, the Senate Finance, House Energy and Commerce and House Ways and Means Committees released bipartisan legislation to repeal Medicare’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) physician payment system. The “SGR Repeal and Medicare Payment Modernization Act ” (S. 2000/H.R. 4015), establishes a new streamlined value-based incentive payment system called the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System, or […]
Neurosurgery to Washington Monthly: Who’s REALLY Getting a “Special Deal?”
In the recently published July/August edition of Washington Monthly an article by Haley Sweetland Edwards entitled, “Special Deal” is completely outrageous in its attempt to paint specialists as a “shadowy cartel of doctors that control Medicare.” Ms. Edwards’ efforts to vilify the AMA/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) are misleading, inaccurate, and misguided. […]
Neurosurgeons Urge Congress to Prevent Sequestration Cuts
Today, organized neurosurgery joined the AMA and other groups in sending a letter to urge Congress to reach a bipartisan agreement to prevent budget sequestration cuts that would threaten critical health programs. So if you are not familiar with this topic, you might be asking yourself what’s this all about. Well, as we have reported before, […]
Neurosurgeons Make their Mark at AMA Meeting
The 2012 Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association’s just concluded, and once again, neurosurgery’s small, but mighty, delegation made its mark. In recognition of his longstanding service to his patients and the profession, the AMA honored one of neurosurgery’s own – Dr. Mark J. Kubala – with its Distinguished Service Award. In addition, the […]
New System for Patients to Report Medical Mistakes Could Be Potential Disaster
According to a New York Times report, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has developed a new proposed program that is intended to complement safety reports already being submitted by providers, including doctors and hospitals, with those from patients and their relatives. This proposed reporting system, would allow patients and family members to […]
Fixing the UnSustainable Growth Rate Once and For All!
Did you know that Congress has employed 16 temporary fixes to override sustainable growth rate (SGR) pay cuts over the last 10 years? The time for a permanent, workable and sustainable solution is loooooong overdue. To that end, neurosurgery recently joined with the American Medical Association (AMA) and over 100 state and national medical societies […]