About this newsletter
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The ACP Advocate is an e-newsletter, edited by the College's Washington, DC governmental affairs division, created to provide you, our members, with succinct news about public policy issues affecting internal medicine and patient care. To learn more about ACP's Advocacy and to access the ACP Advocate archives, go to www.acponline.org/advocacy.
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Welcome to The ACP Advocate.
As expected, Congress put into place a temporary measure halting the scheduled Medicare SGR cut. Our first story looks at what is likely to happen before the measure expires at the end of February.
Our second story this issue details the next steps that will take place on health care reform following the Christmas Eve passage of the Senate legislation. As the two bodies of Congress work to hammer out the compromise legislation we will be continuing to push to ensure that ACP’s priorities are included.
Our third story examines a new web-based tool being offered by the College. The Medical Home Builder is a new approach to helping practices make steps in quality improvement. It can be used by practices looking to make the transition to a medical home, or by practices looking to find opportunities for smaller improvements.
Also, in the section to the right of this letter, we provide you with information on how major new Medicare regulations will affect your practice in 2010.
Finally, for more coverage of health care reform and what’s happening in Washington, take a look at my blog, The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty. I hope you’ll join me to discuss ACP’s efforts as we head toward the final health care reform bill.
And, as always, please send your feedback and suggestions on this newsletter to: TheACPAdvocate@acponline.org.
Yours truly,
Bob Doherty
Senior Vice President
Governmental Affairs and Public Policy
American College of Physicians
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In the news
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ACP 'Biopsy' Tool Could Aid Practice Transformation |
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Web-based program assists with medical home recognition, electronic health record implementation, quality improvement and more |
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Breaking away from day-to day patient-care demands to identify practice flaws, improve quality and shift workflow patterns can be tough. But in an environment increasingly geared toward performance measurement, more medical practices are making an effort t... » Click to read the full article
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In focus
How will changes to Medicare in 2010 affect your practice?
The College has compiled, on our Running a Practice Web site, a summary of the changes to Medicare in 2010 that will most affect internists. The summary covers the overall impact of payment changes; how to adjust your coding to accommodate the elimination of consultation codes; and how to take advantage of incentive programs that could help you earn more in 2010. |
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