Harris County Medical Society

Felix Munoz shows off an ornament. He is one of the more than 400 children who attended the HCMS Alliance’s 35th annual Touch, Smell & Hear Holiday Event at the John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science on Dec. 1 for children with mental and physical challenges.

Honor HCMS/HAM Leaders: Installation of Officers and Leadership Recognition

Make plans to attend the 2009 Harris County Medical Society (HCMS) and Houston Academy of Medicine (HAM) Installation of Officers and Leadership Recognition banquet on Friday, Jan. 23, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., at the Westin Oaks Hotel, 5011 Westheimer at Post Oak.

Dr. William H. Fleming III, former HCMS president and 2009 TMA president, will act as Master of Ceremonies, welcoming 2009 HCMS President Dr. Lewis E. Foxhall, 2009 HAM President Dr. Betty J. Edwards, as well as the other HCMS and HAM leaders into office.

Dr. Nancy W. Dickey, former American Medical Association president, will provide the keynote address. Don’t miss this event! Watch for your invitation.

Deadline approaching: TMA’s Ike Relief Fund

The deadline for the Texas Medical Association’s (TMA) Hurricane Ike Disaster Relief Fund is approaching for physicians who need help rebuilding their medical practices because of Ike. The Physicians Benevolent Fund of TMA is accepting applications for assistance until Jan. 5.

"The program's purpose is to reestablish the delivery of medical care to the hardest-hit areas of Texas by providing physicians in need with financial assistance," said TMA House Speaker Dr. Stephen L. Brotherton, chair of the Disaster Relief Fund. "Grants are available if your practice incurred uninsured or nonreimbursable property damage and you do not have adequate funding to cover the damage."

You may complete the applications on the TMA Web site, www.texmed.org, or download the form, complete it and mail it back. Completed applications will be evaluated monthly but must be received by Jan. 5, 2009, to be considered for assistance. Physicians who practice in a Hurricane Ike federally designated disaster area are eligible to apply. Additional guidelines and a timetable for evaluating applications and awarding grants also are on the TMA Web site.

The program is nearing its $1 million goal. A generous $500,000 donation from the Physicians' Foundation has been bolstered by additional contributions from UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, the Texas Medical Liability Trust, the TMA Insurance Trust, Humana, the American Medical Association, the Okefenokee County Medical Society (Georgia), the Williamson County Medical Alliance, and the Louisiana State Medical Society. Aetna is the latest to make a contribution, donating $15,000.

The TMA Foundation continues to accept donations online through the Web site, https://www.texmed.org/Forms/TMAFoundation/Donation/Default.aspx.

"We intend to use every single penny we raise to help our fellow physicians begin seeing patients again," Dr. Brotherton said.

If you have questions or need help completing the application, call Gail Schatte at TMA, 800-880-1300, ext. 1600.

Source: Action
Presented by the HCMS Community Health Improvement & Communications Committee

Have your voice heard: Join First Tuesdays at the Capitol

Want your voice heard by your state legislators? Participate in one of the Harris County Medical Society’s (HCMS) and Texas Medical Association’s (TMA) First Tuesdays at the Capitol. Make plans now to spend a day in Austin on any one or all of these days on Feb. 3, March 3, April 7, and May 5, to join us for briefings with your local elected officials on the issues that mean the most to you.

HCMS and TMA will do all the work. We will make the appointments as well as give you briefing papers and key insights on the officials you will be meeting.

When the Texas Legislature convenes in January 2009, it will face serious challenges—more attempts to overturn our liability reforms, physician ownership, insurance transparency, scope of practice, and more.

Since 2003, physicians, Alliance members, students, and medical societies from around the state have converged on Austin the first Tuesday of each month for First Tuesdays at the Capitol. Representatives and senators from both parties say “those white coats” in their offices and in the gallery definitely helped in passing our historic tort reforms in 2003 and kept dozens of bad bills at bay in 2007.

First Tuesdays at the Capitol need physicians and alliance members from all across Texas. For more information, go to www.hcms.org or e-mail Doug Abel at doug_abel@hcms.org. We need you to carry your message to the legislators.

President's Page

President's Page
Dr. Tom Garcia

Making it all worthwhile

I want to stress the courtesy of thank you. When a patient says thank you or when a colleague says thank you, it makes my day and all the hard work feels worthwhile. So, I want to end this year by saying THANK YOU.

I cannot overemphasize the gratitude I feel for my colleagues who’ve worked so hard on the various boards, councils and committees of Harris County Medical Society (HCMS) and Houston Academy of Medicine (HAM); the staff at HCMS, who’ve made my job as president a little easier; and you, the member, for helping us to maintain the largest and best county medical society in the nation.

I, especially, want to thank my wife, my family, my office staff, and my patients for their patience with my duties as president. Because of all of YOU, we have made significant accomplishments this year. In fact, there are so many, I can’t mention them all.

One of the most significant accomplishments this year, resulted from the Harris County Physician Payor Survey, in which you rated the performance of the six largest Harris County health insurance companies, in regards to patient services, payment and customer service. It was just last December that we held a news conference to present the survey findings. We received extensive media coverage, which resulted in meetings with the national executives of the “Big Six” health insurers in Harris County AND helped to increase public awareness of the issues we have been facing.

In our discussions with the national heads of the Big Six, we focused on reducing your administrative burdens as well as promoting and properly compensating the medical home. To help work on these issues, two new HCMS subcommittees have been formed—Physician Administrative Relief and Medical Home Subcommittees.

This year, we formed the HCMS Ad Hoc Business Community Committee, which has been working with the Houston Business Group on Health. The business community has agreed to work with us on standardization of health insurance processes, diminishing administrative hassles, as well as to improving transparency and accountability from health insurance companies.

We’ve also been wildly successful with our HCMS Payment Advocacy Program. Since 2000, we have collected more than $14 million in reimbursements from health insurance companies and other payers for our members. In addition, we have helped to bring about changes in insurance policies, resulting in millions of additional dollars of savings for academic institutions and community physicians.

In response to HCMS, the Texas Medical Association (TMA) and individual physician concerns, the Texas Medical Board (TMB) adopted new rules for administrative penalties, doing away with the harsh penalties for minor administrative violations, and increased its staff so it could efficiently process the huge backlog of licenses from physicians who want to practice in Texas. I traveled to Austin with several of you to testify before Texas Legislature committees about these issues and to present the legislature with the HCMS Physician Survey data on the TMB.

I would be remiss if I did not mention Hurricane Ike. I applaud all my fellow physicians and health care professionals for their selfless work; our HCMS for collecting and publishing data on physician offices and dialysis centers as they opened after Ike; TMA for assisting both physicians and patients; and my fellow Texans for the teamwork I witnessed before, during and after Ike. I am so proud to be a Houstonian and a physician.

These are just a few highlights of this eventful year. We have accomplished much but 2009 brings additional challenges. As we move into 2009 and I turn the reins over to Dr. Lewis Foxhall, I thank you for this time and for YOUR help in making these accomplishments possible. I have truly enjoyed every minute. Thank you all!

In Memoriam

Dr. James A. Behling, an emergency medicine physician, died June 14, 2006. He had been a member of HCMS for 24 years.

Dr. Leslie H. King, an anesthesiologist, died Nov. 14. He had been a member of HCMS for five months.

Dr. Robert L. Williams, a psychiatrist and a neurologist, died Nov. 16. He had been a member of HCMS for 36 years.

Dr. Thomas L. Martin, an obstetrician and gynecologist, died Nov. 26. He had been a member of HCMS for two years.

Dr. James T. Billups, a general surgeon, died Nov. 27. He had been a member of HCMS for 73 years.

Dr. Homer F. Leifeste, a urologist, died Nov. 29. He had been a member of HCMS for 60 years.

New member benefit
Practice Listing in Roster

Would you like to receive more referrals from your colleagues, let others know of procedures performed, languages spoken, or office locations? We have a new resource for you.

Through a Practice Listing in the Pictorial Roster, you can let your colleagues know more about your practice. This new section, located in the 2009 Harris County Medical Society/Houston Academy of Medicine Pictorial Roster, following the “Physicians by Specialty” section, will enable you to include information about your practice, details that you cannot include in the individual biographical listing due to space limitations.

The cost of the listing is $200. The listing content will be entirely of your choosing within generally accepted medical ethics. HCMS will provide you a form to fill out exactly as you want the listing to appear. For details and to view sample listings click here. Listing copy and full payment must be received by Dec. 31, 2008.

The 2009 Roster is scheduled to be released in April 2009, with an annual circulation of 12,000. For more information, visit the HCMS Web site at www.hcms.org and click on “New Membership Benefit” in the right margin, or call Holly Smith at 713-526-7378, ext. 274.

Business of Medicine

Keep up with changes

It’s time to get prepared for changes in patients’ deductibles, co-pays and health insurance carriers, effective Jan 1.

The big question to ask your patients and payers is: “What changes will occur for you, come the first of the year?” For patients, notate any changes in their records. For payers, create a spreadsheet that lists CPT and HCPCS codes down the left side and your payers (including Medicare) across the top. Populate the spreadsheet accordingly with the new allowances. Review this spreadsheet with your front desk staff so that they fully understand the new amounts they need to collect from patients. Instruct them to ask patients these key questions:

1. Have you changed insurance carriers? May I see your new insurance
   card? (Staff needs to be sure to scan the card or at least make a copy.)
   For your Medicare patients, follow with a second question: So are you
   still with such-and-such plan or have you recently chosen another
   Medicare plan?
2. Have you met your deductible for this year?
3. Will today’s payment be with cash, check or credit card?

Provide your staff with the means to determine whether a patient has an outstanding balance – either electronically or a list given out each day. If a patient visiting the office that day does owe the practice money, your front desk staff should add the past due amount to the current visit.

Also, be aware that an increasing number of patients are using high deductible health savings accounts. These plans are becoming more popular or are becoming mandatory by many employers. Collection of these amounts should be done after the visit to make sure you know the level of service (E&M) and diagnostic services provided to the patient for that visit. The first-of-the-year collection will be for the full amount of the visit, since most high-deductible plans start at $2,500 or more.

Making the collection at the time of visit is the most efficient method for collections. Awareness and training of the reception staff will make the start of 2009 collections a good one.

Source: Physicians Practice
Presented by the HCMS Board on Socioeconomics

Find CME online

Find out where you can get CME credit by going to the HCMS Web site, www.hcms.org, and click on “CME” at the top of the page. You can browse local course offerings, home study courses and link to Texas Medical Association and American Medical Association course information.

JANUARY CALENDAR
Visit the calendar online
To register for meetings online, please click here .

THURSDAY 1
HCMS and Medserv offices - Closed
The John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science - Open

SATURDAY 10
6:30 p.m., Arab American Medical Association, JW Marriott

MONDAY 12
6:30 p.m., Houston Dermatological Society, Trevisio

TUESDAY 13
Noon, Retired Physician Organization (RPO) Luncheon, Houston Racquet Club
6:30 p.m., Houston Pediatric Society, TBA

WEDNESDAY 14
5:30 p.m., Gulf Coast Medical Group Management Association, www.gulf coastmgma.org
6:30 p.m., Houston Psychiatric Society, Briar Club
6:30 p.m., Harris County Academy of Family Physicians, TBD

THURSDAY 15
6:30 p.m., Texas Gulf Coast Gastroenterological Society, Damian’s

TUESDAY 20
6:30 p.m., Houston Society of Emergency Medicine, TBA

WEDNESDAY 21
6:30 p.m., Houston Surgical Society, Trevisio

THURSDAY 22
6:30 p.m., Joint Meeting/Houston Society of Plastic Surgeons and Houston Society of Otolaryngology, The Petroleum Club

FRIDAY 23
6:30 p.m., HCMS Installation of Officers and Leadership Reception, Westin Oaks Hotel

MONDAY 26
6:30 p.m., Houston Radiological Society, Trevisio

Medserv Spotlight

So you interviewed a good candidate. What’s next?

Most people like to think they are good judges of character. When it comes to making a hiring decision, relying only on this instinct can yield costly outcomes. Although no hire is ever guaranteed to be successful, there are many things that employers can do to increase their odds. The checklist below is a great place to start. This list should be applied to candidates at all levels. Even entry-level candidates have plenty of background data that can be and should be researched.

Verify the obvious:
     • All educational background, starting with high school completion.
     • Licensures and/or certifications from the entity that issued the document.
     • Employment record. An accurate work record also offers insight to honesty.
     • Job performance references. A call from a physician to a colleague can yield sub-
       stantial insight into a former employee’s competencies and weaknesses.
     • Criminal background. Practices that do not perform these checks run the risk of ex-
       posing their patients, patients’ records and practices’ financial information to unre-
       liable employees. (Results of criminal background checks have included applicants
       with felony charges of assault with a weapon, murder and theft. Relevant misde-
       meanor charges of drug use, criminal mischief, and indecent exposure have also
       been identified. These results reflect a typical yield.)

Look into the not so obvious:
     • Internet Search engines. Type a candidate’s name in the search block, include cities
       in which the candidate formally resided.
     • Name search in local newspaper.
     • Social networking sites.
     • Volunteer work can be verified if listed in the resume or referred to in an interview.

The outcome of a thorough investigation can be the difference between moving ahead with confidence and going back to the drawing board. Don’t have time for all these checks? Let Medserv Employment Services Division assist you with your employment needs. Medserv can do everything from advertising, initial interviews, background checks, salary information, and more.

The Houston Business Journal ranked Medserv Employment Services Division as the 12th largest permanent placement firm in Houston. Medserv is a subsidiary of HCMS. Medserv Employment Services Division serves the clinical and administration staffing needs of HCMS member practices and offers special HCMS member rates.

For information on Medserv’s Employment Services Division, call 713-526-7378 or e-mail info@medserv-hcms.com.

Presented by Medserv Employment Services Division

Want to know the latest? Receive HCMS Direct (e-mails)

The Harris County Medical Society (HCMS) is providing a new e-mail service to its members: HCMS Direct. Through HCMS Direct, member physicians can select the information they wish to receive. The choices are:

     • Practice Management & Insurance
     • Continuing Medical Education Opportunities
     • Legislative Issues
     • Public Health Issues
     • Newsletters
     • HCMS Products & Services

For example, would you like to get the HCMS newsletter by e-mail? You can receive it days before anyone else and read it anywhere and anytime online. Check the box and it is on the way!

Individuals wishing to avail themselves of the program can go to the HCMS Web site at any time and sign up. To sign up, click here. The process is simple…provide your Texas medical license number and check the boxes for the subjects of interest. Change your mind? Go back online, identify yourself and check the box to be taken off that list.

HCMS Direct’s purpose is part of the HCMS Strategic Plan to: “Facilitate members’ access to information with prompt accurate answers on current issues affecting their medical practices and HCMS activities.” It is another benefit of being a member of HCMS!

Presented by the HCMS Community Health Improvement & Communications Committee

Beware! Check charity legitimacy

As the holiday season approaches, we begin to open our hearts and wallets to those in need. Here are some tips to ensure the charity you give to is legitimate:

     • Check stationery to make sure it has an address and telephone number on it. Be-
       ware if only a post office box and no telephone number are given.
     • Ask for a copy of the organization’s 501C (3) tax-exempt status letter to ensure
       gifts to it are tax deductible.
     • Verify if the charity is registered to solicit. Call the state’s attorney general’s office.
       This is not an endorsement. It means the organization has filed the proper paper-
       work.
     • Never give cash. Write a check to the organization using its full name.
     • Do not give phone solicitors personal information, such as credit card information.
     • Ask the charity for a copy of its annual report so you can review its finances and
       programs.
     • Beware of charities with similar names to ensure that you are giving to the one you
       had in mind.
     • When in doubt, contact the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org.

Tools to navigate the coding maze

Physicians go to medical school so they can learn how to take care of sick and injured people. However, medical coding — putting the right codes in the right boxes in an insurance billing claim — is the financial engine that drives a medical practice.

To help physicians navigate the coding maze, the Texas Medical Association (TMA) is releasing two new tools for physicians. TMA’s free e-book, TMA Practice E-Tips Greatest Hits, Vol. 3: Coding, instructs physicians about coding issues. TMA also issued a downloadable audio podcast on the topic. “Cracking the Code” is a Podcast TMA program featuring TMA staff reimbursement specialists Drena James and Erin Gregorcyk. Among the topics they cover:

   • Why coding is such a difficult problem for physicians’ offices.
   • Some of the most common evaluation and management coding errors, and what
     doctors’ offices can do to prevent them.
   • Coding for Medicare vs. Medicaid and commercial insurance.
   • How physicians should code for telephone consults.
   • Coding modifiers and how they cause prolems.
   • Consultations vs. referrals.
   • How TMA can help member physicians avoid coding problems and fight coding misin-
     terpretations.

“The coding battle is a never-ending arms race, but with tools like this, TMA provides the ammunition needed to improve physicians’ chances of economic survival,” adds Dr. Sidney Ontai, Chair of the TMA Practice Management Services.

TMA Practice E-Tips is a free, bimonthly e-mail newsletter for TMA member physicians and their office staff. Each edition provides inside advice and practical solutions for managing a successful medical practice. Practice management education and consulting are two member benefits for TMA physicians.

Thus far this year, TMA has released two other reviews of the most popular TMA practice e-tips: TMA Practice E-Tips Greatest Hits, Vol. 1, covering embezzlement in the medical practice and working with irate patients, with the accompanying podcast, “Getting Ripped Off From the Inside”; and TMA Practice E-Tips Greatest Hits, Vol. 2: Medical Records and Privacy, with its podcast, “Medical Records and EMRs — What You Need to Know.”

You can access all these resources on the TMA Web site. Visit www.texmed.org, click on Practice Management on the left, then click on E-Tips.

Source: TMA
Presented by the HCMS Board on Socioeconomics

Zap! Surgery Beyond the Cutting Edge

The John P. McGovern Museum of Health & Medical Science (The Health Museum) is presenting Zap! Beyond the Cutting Edge from Jan. 23-May 10.

Zap! helps people of all ages understand how light, sound and other forms of energy are being applied in today’s faster, safer and less-invasive surgical procedures. Throughout this exhibition, museum visitors learn about forms of energy and mechanical systems and how they are applied in the development of high-tech instruments used in the latest surgical procedures.The Health Museum visitors can explore how these technologies work through exhibits, virtual surgeries and video.

Group and individual sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Suzanne Gschwind at sgschwind@thehealthmuseum.org or 713-521-1515, ext. 272.

TMA Winter Conference

The Texas Legislature will be in full swing come January, and you won't want to miss any of the action at TMA's 2009 Winter Conference in Austin Jan. 30-31. The conference will offer media training, a dawn duster on e-prescribing, and a discussion of legislative priorities and TMA's health care agenda by prominent politicos.

Mark your calendar now to be at the Hyatt Regency Austin on Jan. 30 and 31 for all the excitement. Go to www.texmed.org or call 800-880-1300, ext. 1421, for more information.

HCMS Alliance gives children special experience

Approximately 400 children with various physical and mental challenges experienced the joy of the season when they attended the 35th annual Harris County Medical Society Alliance (HCMS Alliance) Touch, Smell and Hear Holiday Event on Dec. 1, at the John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science (The Health Museum). The HCMS Alliance, comprised of spouses of HCMS members, hosts this event to allow special needs children the opportunity to experience the holidays through their senses. HCMS Alliance members decorated a 10- to 12-foot tree, donated by Teas Nursery, with ornaments that the children could touch, smell and hear. The ornaments included wind chimes, bubble-blowing Santas, chirping birds, cinnamon logs, and pomander balls.

“It is heartwarming to witness the delight and excitement on the faces of these special children as they experience the sights, smells and sounds of the holidays,” said Mary Ann Russell, HCMS Alliance event chairperson. “For many of these children, it’s the first time they are a part of the holiday experience. We believe it is important for them to be able to experience fully the holidays. The Touch, Smell and Hear Event is filled with the holiday spirit.”

To add to the festivities, choir members from St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church sang holiday music and Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center donated refreshments. Santa and his elves were on hand to give each child a teddy bear, candy cane and jingle bell bracelet. High school students from St. John’s School Community Service Club assisted the Alliance by making special ornaments and helping to decorate the tree.

In recent years, this event has been attended by Houston Independent School Districts and surrounding-area school districts, including Spring Branch, Pearland, Stafford, Woodlands, and Conroe. Also, children associated with the Texas Commission for the Blind, United Cerebral Palsy of Houston, Center for the Retarded, and Houston School for Deaf Children have attended in past years.

Help fix our health care system: Five things you can do

Today’s health care system is broken. Unfortunately, you cannot fix it or protect your practice by working more hours and taking care of more patients. The only way for you to effect “real change” is through the legislative process. Here are five easy things you can do for your practice starting today — right at your desk.

1. Sign up for TMA Legislative News Hotline and HCMS Direct (leglislative). Keep track of medicine’s top priority issues throughout the session by subscribing to the daily or weekly e-newsletter.
2. Use TMA’s Grassroots Action Center. Write, e-mail, or call your legislator when critical issues arise. TMA makes it easy. All you have to do is respond to a TMA Action Alert using the message provided. It only takes a minute.
3. Get to Know Your Legislators. When medicine speaks, legislators do listen, especially if they’ve heard from you before. Work through your county medical society to set up a local physician meeting with your state representative or state senator. Very often, you or your colleagues know them personally. There is no substitute for this personal relation-ship!
4. Sign up for First Tuesdays at the Capitol. Join hundreds of your colleagues in Austin the first Tuesday of the month (Feb. 3, March 3, April 7, May 5). Legislators take note when doctors in white coats walk the halls of the capitol each session.
5. Join TEXPAC. A small contribution to TMA’s political action committee can make a huge difference.

For more information and to sign up for these activities, go to TMA’s Web site at www.texmed.org, click on Governmental Affairs on the left, then scroll down to Get Involved, or call TMA’s Knowledge Center at 800-880-7955 or e-mail doug_abel@ hcms.org or call 713-524-4267.

Source: TMA
Presented by HCMS Board of Medical Legislation

December 15, 2008