ACCME Update: Murray Kopelow Offers Recommendations For European CME Accreditation; Provides Thoughts For The Next Generations of CME Learners
Last week, Dr. Murray Kopelow, president and CEO of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), offered his insight into two important areas of continuing education: international CME and the challenges CME faces for the next generation of physician learners.
European Accreditation for Continuing Medical Education
Continuing medical education accreditation systems in Europe and the United States are very different from each other. "The majority of accredited CME in Europe comes from individually accredited activities either by the national accreditation authority or by the UEMS, w...
Source: Policy and Medicine - February 2, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
21st Century Cures Initiative Introduces Significant Legislative Proposal
In April 2014, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) partnered with Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) to launch the 21st Century Cures initiative with an important goal: to accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of new treatments and cures for patients. Over the course of nearly a year, patients, providers, innovators, regulators, and researchers from around the country provided a wide range of specific ideas on how Congress could help. Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee took a major move forward by releasing an initial discussion draft of the 21st Century Cures Act, which outlines m...
Source: Policy and Medicine - January 28, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Beyond Law Enforcement: The FTC’s Role In Promoting Health Care Competition And Innovation
By now, the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) law enforcement efforts in the health care area are well known. We have successfully challenged several hospital and physician practice mergers in the last few years. We also continue to pursue anticompetitive pharmaceutical patent settlements, following a victory at the Supreme Court in the Actavis case. Speaking of the Court, it is currently reviewing a case we brought against the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners, alleging that its members conspired to exclude non-dentists from providing teeth whitening services in North Carolina.
Perhaps less publicized are the FTC...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - January 26, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Maureen Ohlhausen Tags: All Categories Competition Connected Health Consumers Health Care Costs Health Law Innovation Policy States Technology Workforce Source Type: blogs
Physician Payment Sunshine Act: Bipartisan Members of Congress Introduce Bill to Exclude Educational Materials From Reporting, Including CME and Medical Texts
A new bill has been introduced that would exempt from Sunshine Act reporting educational materials and transfers relating to continuing medical education.
Congressmen Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, and Peter DeFazio (D-OR) recently introduced the Protect Continuing Physician Education and Patient Care Act, H.R. 293. The bill is in response to the Physician Payment Sunshine Act’s “unintended consequence of over-burdensome reporting requirements that made access to educational materials for physicians difficult to obtain,” ac...
Source: Policy and Medicine - January 23, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Why Doctors, Like Airline Pilots, Should Not Be Completely Trusted.
I would never get on an airplane if I didn’t feel highly confident that the pilot was fully competent. In order to fly a commercial airplane a pilot has to undergo rigorous and continuous training and testing. I’d walk before flying with a pilot whose only credential was his assurance that he’d been diligently “keeping up with his field” and that he was extremely confident in his abilities. I’m glad to know that the FAA and the airlines have extremely demanding programs to ensure the competency of pilots. I would trust 99% of pilots to remain competent on their own. But More̷...
Source: CardioBrief - January 22, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Larry Husten Tags: People, Places & Events Policy & Ethics Continuing medical education maintenance of certification moc Source Type: blogs
Physician Payment Sunshine Act: Council of Medical Specialty Societies Urges CMS To "Promptly Issue Revised Guidance" on CME Exemption FAQs and Website Q&As
Last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued three FAQs and a page of website guidance to supplement their recent decision to remove the continuing medical education (CME) exemption from the Physician Payments Sunshine Act. Unfortunately this guidance adds significant confusion by contradicting CMS’s own rationale for their revision to the Final Rule. On January 15, 2015, the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) sent CMS a letter both explaining the Agency’s troublesome interpretation and also urging them to “promptly issue revised guidance.”
CMSS wrote to CMS on behalf of 41 med...
Source: Policy and Medicine - January 21, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Industry Involvement in Medical Education: Debunking the Myth
A recent article by Harry Pellman, M.D. entitled The importance of bias in education dispels some of the myths about pharmaceutical company involvement in physician education. With 22 years of chairing the CME Committee of an active American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Chapter and co-chairing the CME Committee of an AAP District, Pellman notes that he's had "intimate interactions with hundreds of nationally recognized speakers, some with and some without industry affiliation." He writes: "Myths, frequently perpetuated by those with little or no real-world contact with these programs or by pe...
Source: Policy and Medicine - January 19, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
OIG Soliciting Recommendations on New Safe Harbors To The Anti-Kickback Statute; Stakeholder Comments on Developing Special Fraud Alerts
Each year the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) solicits recommendations for new or modified safe harbor provisions under the Anti-Kickback statute, as well as comments on developing Special Fraud Alerts. Comments to OIG’s Solicitation of New Safe Harbors and Special Fraud Alerts are due by March 2, 2015.
The Anti-Kickback statute makes it a criminal offense to “knowingly and willfully offer, pay, solicit, or receive any remuneration to induce or reward referrals of items or services reimbursable by a Federal health care program.” Remuneration under the statute includes the transfer of anything of value, directly...
Source: Policy and Medicine - January 16, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Where are the medical associations?
Over the last several years, many of us have raised issues concerning the propriety and appropriateness of doctors receiving funding from medical device companies. For my part, I consider such payments as harmful, violating the trust between doctors and patients. In some cases, they clearly influence the clinical behavior of doctors. In other cases, they simply raise doubts about doctors' loyalty to patients' interests at a time when we should be enhancing that partnership, rather than eroding it. When I make these points--in general or in specific--many US doctors respond by saying, in essence, "We...
Source: Running a hospital - January 15, 2015 Category: Health Managers Source Type: blogs
Physician Payments Sunshine Act: Open Payments 2015 Timeline; Enhancements to the System
Unlike the first Open Payments program year, which took place over a 5 month period from August 2013 – December 2013, the second year covers all of industries' 2014 payments or transfers of value to covered recipients. Data collection wrapped up on December 31, 2014.
Following a month-long outage to Open Payments this January in order for CMS to address some technical issues, companies are expected to be able to submit their 2014 payment data during the months of February and March. The review and dispute process will follow, likely in April-May. Physicians and teaching hospitals will have at least 45 days to access the ...
Source: Policy and Medicine - January 15, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Scientific meetings are worth more than CME
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
How many of you have heard a flight attendant or pilot announce, “We know you have a choice of airlines when you fly, and we want to thank you for flying with us”? Over the years, many other industries have adopted similar statements. Continuing medical education (CME) should be one of them. There are more options than ever for physicians to stay up to date, including many online offerings that can be accessed at any time of day from any location.
Continue reading ...
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your onl...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - January 14, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Yul Ejnes, MD Tags: Education Primary care Source Type: blogs
Connecticut Transparency Law: Manufacturers Must Submit One Form at a Time Via Email
This reporting obligation is made more cumbersome due to the fact that reporting is due quarterly.
Per the website:
Please submit the form below to the email address: DCP.DrugManufacturers@ct.gov. Email is the only acceptable method for submission of this form.
In each form, manufacturers must fill out:
Name of manufacturer
Recipient information: First and last name, medical license number, Connecticut controlled substance registration (if applicable)
Date the expenditure occurred
Value/amt of expenditure
Nature of expenditure:
cash/check/credit
educational
demo/evaluation unit;
other
Purpose of th...
Source: Policy and Medicine - January 12, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
ACCME Names Graham T. McMahon, MD, MMSc, as New President and CEO Beginning April 2015
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Board of Directors today announced that it has chosen Graham T. McMahon, MD, MMSc, as the new President and CEO. The Board chose Dr. McMahon unanimously, and he will begin his tenure in April 2015, following the retirement of Murray Kopelow, MD, the current President and CEO of ACCME.
According to the ACCME Press Release, Dr. Kopelow will continue to lead the ACCME during the transition period and will work with the Board of Directors and Dr. McMahon until July 31, 2015, to ensure a smooth leadership transition process.
“At the time of h...
Source: Policy and Medicine - January 12, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
Three Reasons Why You Don’t Need To Feel Sorry For Doctors
I’m not a doctor and I don’t have strong opinions about how doctors should be certified or, more to the point right now, what they should have to do to maintain their certification over the course of their careers. But recently this last topic– called maintenance of certification, or MOC– has become the subject of a raging debate within the medical community, as thousands of doctors have expressed their displeasure, to put it mildly, with a new recertification scheme established last year by the American Board of Internal Medicine, the official “certifying” body of a large More… (Source: CardioBrief)
Source: CardioBrief - January 9, 2015 Category: Cardiology Authors: Larry Husten Tags: People, Places & Events Policy & Ethics certification Continuing medical education Source Type: blogs
Top Policy and Medicine Stories of 2014
2014 has been a big year for healthcare and continuing medical education (CME). Here are ten topics worth going back to that Policy and Medicine has covered over the past 12 months.
1) The year of disclosures
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) releases Medicare Part B data and payments from manufacturers to doctors as required under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act.
Medicare Part B: Medicare Payment Data Released: Journalists Create National and Regional Searchable Databases, Often with Little Context for Payments
For an extensive article on all of our Open Payments coverage, view our Sunshine Act Reso...
Source: Policy and Medicine - December 30, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
