MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'acc'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:39:23 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3876650&cid=t_164790_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdoctors-in-cubicles-a-barrier-to-patient-care%2F2010.08.17 I present interesting cases to colleagues often because it’s educational and good for patient care and because I like to. But it has been many years since I was mandated to present a case. It seems that I’m not the only doctor exasperated by a pesky new barrier to patient care: Doctors in cubicles. An old friend and mentor, Dr. Richard Kovacs, now chair of the American College of Cardiology’s Board of Governors (and IU guy), has written about these same pre-certification barriers. Dr. Kovacs, being a professor and distinguished ACC official, kindly terms these obstructionists “radiology benefit managers” (RBMs). (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Dr John M* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3876650 Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:00:00 +0100 3876650 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3511564&cid=t_164790_105_f&fid=38964&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdrwes.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F04%2Ffinally-doctors-push-some-lawyers.html Hard to believe, but true:Ogletree Deakins will vacate its current D.C. office at 2400 N St. NW. The labor and employment law firm is on the market for a new space because the owner of its building, the American College of Cardiology Foundation, wants to expand into Ogletree’s space. The nonprofit bought the Class A, 177,380-square-foot building in 2005 for $67 million, according to D.C. tax assessment records.You've got to love this: our one chance to push around 450 lawyers! On a more serious note, do fund raising, guideline development, lobbying efforts and scientific meeting organization on behalf of our specialty really require that much space?-WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist. (Source: Dr. Wes) Dr. Wes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3511564 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:20:00 +0100 3511564 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3171928&cid=t_164790_105_f&fid=38964&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdrwes.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fdoctor-paycut-suit-score-hhs-1-acc-0.html It's hard to bring a suit against lawyers. As case in point, from ModernHealthCare.com:A U.S. District Court judge in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has denied the American College of Cardiology's request for a preliminary injunction to block a scheduled Medicare reimbursement cut for cardiology services. The ACC, its Florida chapter and other cardiology organizations filed a lawsuit against HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Dec. 28, seeking to stop the pay cut on the grounds that is based on the “erroneous and flawed” Physician Practice Information Survey. The ACC said Medicare payment cuts for 37,000 cardiologists are being based on the practice expenses of 55 doctors.In addition to denying the injunction, Judge William Dimitrouleas denied a request for expedited discovery and canceled a sc... Dr. Wes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3171928 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:19:00 +0100 3171928 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3067068&cid=t_164790_105_f&fid=38964&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdrwes.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fgetting-ready-for-cardiology-cuts.html There are potentially plenty of ways cardiologists will see their payments decline next year: from the loss of Medicare inpatient consultation code payments to the 2010 physician fee final rule issued last week by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) which threatens to cut to cardiology practice procedural payments an average of 27 percent.For those who want to calculate the potential impact to their practice, the American College of Cardiology has prepared a nifty Practice Impact Calculator that contains two worksheets: one for your practice and the other for the impact that loss of consultation codes will impart. Just enter this year's volumes and the calculator will do the rest.Try not to get too depressed filling it out and consider sending your results to the ACC.Oh, and... Dr. Wes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3067068 Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:14:00 +0100 3067068 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3052417&cid=t_164790_165_f&fid=37959&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthskills.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F03%2Fback-to-the-basics-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-and-psychosocial-factors-in-low-back-pain%2F In New Zealand, the national accident insurer, Accident Compensation Corporation, has been reviewing its pain management service contracts. The latest message from both the Government and ACC is the need to reduce costs (not that I’ve ever heard anyone say ‘let’s go for broke, let’s spend all we can!’) and one way to do this is to look at how to reduce the risk of long-term disability associated with chronic pain. So, in their pursuit of ways to do this, ACC has consulted with providers and reviewed opinions about services provided to claimants under the various pain services contracts and come up with some pretty sensible options. Some of the findings from examining current services simply do not surprise me – amongst two of the most common services, pa... HealthSkills Weblog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3052417 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:34:49 +0100 3052417 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1154116&cid=t_164790_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.wsjonline.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F217378201%2F Conclusions should not be made until the three large clinical-outcome trials are presented within the next two to three years. The ACC recommends that Zetia remain a reasonable option for patients who are currently on a high dose statin but have not reached their goal. The ACC also notes that Zetia is a reasonable option for patients who cannot tolerate statins or can only tolerate a low dose statin. Reports also indicate that the ENHANCE trial has been submitted as an abstract to be presented at the upcoming American College of Cardiology Scientific Session in March, 2008. The late-breaking clinical trial selections by the meeting co-chairs are scheduled to occur in late January. ACC Bonus: The ACC’s Cardiosource site dives deeper into the Enhance trial here. Bottom line: “Al... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1154116 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:18:15 +0100 1154116