Last minute gift idea

by Holly Yang, MDDear HPM colleagues,For those of you who celebrate Christmas (and for those of you who are waiting patiently for the after Christmas sales), you'll be happy to know that there is still a chance to ask your friends and relatives for a gift, one they can get online without going to that crazy mall or fighting through traffic. Heck, give the present to yourself!Ask CMS to pay providers for having advance care planning conversations. There are codes now (yay!), just no reimbursement (insert frowny emoji here).  BUT... the comment period to CMS is open until Dec. 30th, so if you are a procrastinator, not to worry. You still have time!Ask your non-HPM friends to do it. It matters to them too! Do you think a primary care doc can fit in an ACP conversation into a 10-15 min. visit for their patient scheduled for another problem? Or an annual exam where they are supposed to do a full H and P, counsel against smoking, promote healthy eating, exercise, ask about gun safety, screen for domestic violence, and catch up with major events in a patient's life? What about the specialist who also has to fit it into a busy clinic day packed to the brim with scheduled and urgent, unscheduled visits? We love our patients. It's just that often it doesn't come to the forefront of conversation until it becomes an urgent issue or a true crisis. We need to have these conversations valued as "separately and identifiably" necessary part of providing high-quality, patient-centered car...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - Category: Palliative Carer Workers Tags: advance care planning advocacy CMS yang Source Type: blogs