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As the health system reform law is implemented, and as
the demand for medical services increases, medical practices are
expected to step up their hiring. That, coupled with salary reviews that
often fall toward the end of the calendar year, will have many
physicians contemplating matters of employee pay. This article offers some suggestions for considering employee compensation.
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A report on the accomplishments and activities of the Council on Chiropractic Guidelines & Practice Parameters (CCGPP).
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Insurance companies are
facing limits on how much they can deduct executive pay from their taxes. The top 10 publicly traded health plans paid out $228.1 million in
2009 compensation to their chief executives, up from $85.8 million in
2008; and that excluded stock options, such as the $98.5 million earned in 2009 by
the UnitedHealth Group CEO.
And starting next year, insurers will be required to spend 80% of the
premiums they collect for individual and small-group policies on patient
care and quality improvement -- 85% of premiums for large-group
policies. The latest draft proposal from the National Assn. of Insurance
Commissioners (NAIC) gives an idea of how the federal government might
classify particular types of spending when determining the medical-loss
ratio,
"If plans have not
spent enough premium dollars on patient care, they will be required by
the health reform law to provide rebates to subscribers."
"The top state insurance regulators from across the nation voted to
put patient care above insurance company profits."
"'For too long, health insurance company CEOs have been pocketing
astronomical salaries all the while denying care and coming up with
foolish reasons to kick people off their insurance policies,' Sen. Jay
Rockefeller (D, W.Va.) said....'If we want to
change the culture of health insurance companies and how they treat
individuals and families in need of health care, then we need to change
the way they do business.'"
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District Five of the Texas Chiropractic Association will have a special meeting on Tuesday, September 14th at 7:00 p.m. with food and
refreshments beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Parker College Auditorium.
We look forward to seeing you at
the meeting.
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August 17, 2010, the trial court
issued a letter that concludes that doctors of chiropractic may
diagnose, but that the authority to diagnose is not unlimited.
The court states that doctors of chiropractic are:
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Each quarter the TCA meets with the Texas Department of Insurance to
review with each other what is occurring within the respective
professions. On June 3, 2010, representatives from the TDI met with the
leadership of the TCA. Read more about the results of this meeting in this article.
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Men taking a dietary supplement marketed as a sexual function aid experience a
significant increase in cardiac QTc interval. "Because most male patients are embarrassed to report erectile
dysfunction, the use of QTc prolonging supplements, such as Enzyte, is
likely to be underreported to healthcare providers."
"This creates a
relatively anonymous patient population at an elevated risk for
drug-induced sudden death."
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Among patients with acute osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures,
vertebroplasty reduced pain more than medical therapy...
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Having a large waist circumference increases the risk of death -- even
for people who are not overweight. This emphasizes the importance of waist circumference as a
mortality risk factor for all older adults
A larger
waist is also associated with inflammation, insulin resistance, type 2
diabetes, dyslipidemia, and coronary heart disease.
This issue is critical because more than half of men and
70% of women age 50 to 79 in the U.S. exceed the abdominal obesity
threshold.
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The maker of the only
FDA-approved temporary total artificial heart has opened an online store
to take orders for the device and its accessories. Anyone can browse through the accessories on the website -- which
include a shoulder bag, backpack, and car charger. Interesting...
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Medicare will pay for intensive
diet and exercise programs developed under the Ornish and Pritikin
brands for reducing cardiovascular event risk, the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services announced. Medicare will make these programs available to all
beneficiaries regardless of income. Chiropractic Doctors, of course, will be ineligible for provision or ordering of these diets for Medicare reimbursement.
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A new plan for solving the problem of skyrocketing medical student debt
would do away with traditional tuition altogether. Instead, prospective
physicians would commit to paying a portion of
their income back to their medical school during their first 10 years of
practice, after completing residency and fellowship training.
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An estimated 30 million women
will be helped by the new health reform law over the next 10 years "While women are just as likely as men to be uninsured, they are more
likely [than men] to have trouble buying coverage on the individual
market. Women
seeking health insurance policies on the individual market were charged
as much as 84% more than men for similar policies.
Nearly 17 million U.S. women -- 18% -- were uninsured in 2008.
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Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) which
created a $19 billion subsidy program to help physicians and hospitals
purchase electronic health records (EHR) systems.
There
are two incentive programs, one for Medicare and one for Medicaid.
For Medicare, physicians are eligible for up to $44,000 over five years
starting in 2011
For Medicaid, the
incentives are based upon a physician's patient volume. Under the Medicaid program,
physicians are eligible for up to $63,750 over six years beginning in
2011.
Read here some of the pitfalls, hurdles, obstacles, and problems associated with the Government's EHR incentive programs.
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There’s a lot of talk right now about EHRs and how health care professionals and hospitals are going to pay for them. It’s
important that you have a reliable resource to turn to for accurate
information.
CMS is the federal agency establishing these incentive
programs. The CMS Web site is the official federal source for facts
about the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs. The site
contains up-to-date resources that will give you the insight you need to
make educated decisions.
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Physicians and Non-Physician Practitioners Internet-based PECOS for your Medicare enrollment actions [is] easy to use and offers a host of advantages over the paper-based enrollment process. Learn more here...
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CMS to Begin Chiropractic Services Supplemental Measures Study; What to do if your claim is selected for review"
Failure to respond to the medical records
request letter within the specified time period of 30 days will
result in a full denial of the claim, as well as a possible fraud
referral. The universe for the initial phase of this study includes
beneficiaries with multiple claims from the same chiropractor in the
sample months (April 2010-June 2010). A random sample of 100
beneficiaries was drawn from this universe."
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A former Independence chiropractor has won a $6.3 million judgment in
his case against former members of the Missouri State Board of
Chiropractic Examiners for suspending his license. In his case against "the show me" state, it appears that the state board was unable to show good cause for their actions.
The 20 year-old case stems
from accusations that the chiropractor had convinced a Mennonite farmer with AIDS
that he was cured and could start a family. The doctor has insisted that
he made no such claim. The patient’s wife and mother-in-law have
contended
otherwise. The
chiropractic board suspended his license for two years. Ultimately a court said he had not been given access to key pieces of
evidence such as a religious anointing
ceremony
at the patient’s church held in hopes of curing him.
The chiropractor filed suit against the former
board members to collect legal fees and losses to his business.
That case went to trial last week. The
jury awarded damages of $6,284,759. Ordinarily, members of such boards are immune from civil suits for their
official duties, but there is an exception when a court finds they
acted with gross negligence.
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The Governor of Illinois recently appointed a chiropractic physician
to the Illinois State Board of Health, and appointed a second
chiropractor to the Illinois Medical Disciplinary Board.
The newly created Chiropractic Physician position on the State Board of
Health position was created last year after Illinois Chiropractic Society initiated legislation
into law adding the position to the State Board of Health and the Illinois legislature passed it.
The the Medical Disciplinary Board in Illinois has had a chiropractor serving on it for at least the last 8 years.
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The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation
(TDI-DWC) has made, in addition to the English and Spanish versions, a Chinese and Vietnamese version of the notice
included with the DWC Form-069, Report of Medical Evaluation.
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Texas Chiropractic College (TCC) has signed an articulation agreement
with Lee College so that their students who earn 90 undergraduate credit hours and
maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.5 overall, including a 2.5
in specific science prerequisite courses, will automatically qualify for
TCC admission.
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The president of Erchonia Medical recently joined the faculty, staff,
students and administrators of Texas Chiropractic College (TCC) to
officially kick off the grand opening of the Erchonia Laser Healthcare
Center at TCC’s Moody Health Center (MHC). Erchonia Medical generously donated several of their lasers and also the
funds needed to expand and renovate the rehab facility.
The lasers will be used by doctors and their interns at TCC's
outpatient clinic, MHC. Lasers are commonly used to treat pain in both
acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions.
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Texas Chiropractic College (TCC) is proud to announce the establishment of the Dr. Sandra K. Hughes Book Award.
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There is no
alternative medicine. There is only scientifically proven,
evidence-based medicine supported by solid data or unproven medicine,
for which scientific evidence is lacking. There are three piles:- You have a test or treatment that has itself been tested and found to be safe and effective. Use it; pay for it.
- You have a test or treatment that has been found to be unsafe or ineffective. Don't use it; don't pay for it.
- You
have a test or treatment that is scientifically plausible, meaning not
preposterous. Test it AND then put it into one of the other two piles."
This opinion from the M.D. perspective offers an interesting point of view--there is "only scientifically proven, evidence-based medicine" or "unproven medicine, for which scientific evidence is lacking."
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Guest Editor Dr. Clem Martin shares his perspective on chiropractic.
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We often hear of the side effects of medication, surgery, and other
invasive medical treatments, but we don't too often hear of the "side
effects of chiropractic." This brief look into "side effects" sheds some light into some of the comparative side effects of drug & surgery therapy versus chiropractic therapy.
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