Newscope - May 30, 2008

NewScope

THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S NEWS BRIEFING FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION
May 30, 2008

"Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." James Dean

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."
Maria Robinson

"One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure its worth watching."

IN THIS ISSUE, FOR YOU:
ON THE SCHEDULE AND DISTRICT MEETINGS
TEXAS ADVISORY PANEL CALLS FOR STATE OVERSIGHT OF PPO HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS
WHY DOCS ARE HEADING TO TEXAS
GETTING A HANDLE ON HEALTH CARE COSTS
MEDICARE REMIT EASY PRINT BROCHURE UPDATED AND NOW AVAILABLE
NEW OFFICERS TO TOMA STUDENT ORGANIZATION (S.O) AT UNTHSC
TEXAS' TORT REFORM GIVES EXAMPLE FOR OTHER STATES
BEGIN TRANSITION TO ELECTRONIC FORMAT WITH ARCHIVED RECORDS
26 WAYS TO DO YOUR DIET RIGHT
THE BEST DIET TIPS EVER
YES, GOOD TEXAS NEWS: AGGIE FINDS HEALTHY FATTY ACID IN BRISKET
FDA RELEASES WHITE PAPER ON PRODUCT SAFETY
PHYSICIANS DEBATE COMPUTERIZING MEDICAL RECORDS
HUMOR IS THE ARM OF RELAXATION AROUND OUR SHOULDER.

ON THE SCHEDULE AND DISTRICT MEETINGS:

District 18                   Tuesday, June 3, 2008; 6:30 pm
                                 Cheeves Brothers Steak House
                                 14 East Avenue A
                                 Temple, TX 76501

District 3                    Friday, June 13th, 6:30 p.m.
                                Ricks's On The Square
                                104 W. Erwin St.
                                Tyler, TX 75702

District 7                    Friday, August 8th
                                Reception and Mixer to welcome incoming residents
                                TOMA building, 1415 Lavaca
                                Austin, TX

District 7                    Thursday, August 21st

June 19-22, 2008         Joint Annual Convention - TOMA & TX ACOFP
                                Intercontinental Hotel, Dallas, TX
                                Register ON-LINE at www.txosteo.org

or www.txacofp.org

Aug. 9-10, 2008          "Ligamentous Articular Strain Techniques" Basic Course presented by the Dallas
                                Osteopathic Study Group
                                Location: Doubletree Hotel-Campbell Centre, Dallas, TX 75206
                                Contact: Conrad Speece, D.O. course director
                                214-321-2673 or email: cjspeece@yahoo.com
                                Date: August 9-10, 2008
                                CME: 16 hours OMM category 1-A anticipated from AOA

National Cancer Survivors Day                  June 1, 2008
National Men's Health Week                      June 9 - 15, 2008
Father's Day                                          June 15, 2008

TEXAS ADVISORY PANEL CALLS FOR STATE OVERSIGHT OF PPO HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS

By TERRENCE STUTZ, Dallas Morning News, 21 May 2008
AUSTIN - A state commission, citing the fact that four out of five insured Texans now receive health care through preferred provider organizations, urged the Legislature on Wednesday to protect consumers by placing all PPOs under state regulation for the first time.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/052208dntexppos.1640b335.html

From: Texas Weekly, by Printing Production Systems, Inc., www.texasweekly.com

WHY DOCS ARE HEADING TO TEXAS

Two words: Tort reform. According to this Wall Street Journal article (subscription required), caps on medical malpractice awards enacted in 2003 and other reform efforts are the primary reason nearly 7,000 physicians have migrated to the state in the last few years. It's easy to see the appeal for doctors-some malpractice insurance companies have cut premiums by as much as 35%. Other states that are looking for ways to lure doctors may want to take note. [Read More:
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/211871/topic/WS_HLM2_PHY/Why-doctors-are-heading-for-Texas.html

From: HealthLeaders Media PhysicianLeaders, www.healthleadersmedia.com

GETTING A HANDLE ON HEALTH CARE COSTS

Are insurers making too much money or are the hospitals? And who's to blame for health care costs rising higher than inflation? Senators hear all this and more today. Big health insurance carriers are paying less on collected premiums and are instead shifting health care costs to doctors and patients, according to a New York-based health care consultant brought in to testify today before a Senate

State Affairs panel on rising health care costs.

Susanne Madden of the Verden Group told lawmakers that over the first three quarters of 2007, the amount of spending as a share of premiums collected for four large national health insurance carriers declined. Humana's cost ratio, for example, dropped from 85.1 percent to 81.3 percent while UnitedHealth's cost ratio dropped from 82.7 percent to 79.5 percent. Aetna's ratio dropped from 79.6 percent to 78.6 percent.Madden, who was brought in to testify by the Texas Medical Association, said that while the percentages are small, the costs savings for the insurance companies are large because of the sheer size of the companies. She notes, for instance, that UnitedHealth collected nearly $17 billion in premiums over those three quarters, so the company saved more than $500 million from shaving 3 points or so off their cost ratio.

And while insurance companies are hired to manage health insurance policies for companies because they can negotiate better rates on care and can reduce various inefficiencies, Madden said that insurance carriers rely more and more simply on cutting costs. That leads to cost shifting where doctors are paid less for their services and patients end up with higher deductibles and more co-pays.

Jared Wolfe of the Texas Association of Health Plans and Carl King of Aetna questioned Madden's conclusions, saying that her reliance on simple cost ratios does not give the full picture of what goes into an insurance carrier's costs. Wolfe said that modern insurance carriers work toward an integrated approach to managing the health needs of clients. Therefore, some spending that ends up classified as administrative costs is actually of direct benefit to the carrier's clients.

King also took issue with the small time window cited in Madden's testimony. He said that carriers have historically alternated between several years of profitability with several years of losses. Aetna recorded a 7 percent profit in 2007, King said, but that has to be balanced against the years 2000 to 2003 when the company lost $200 million. As such, he cautioned against drawing any conclusions from such a small snapshot of time.

Earlier in the day, Dianne Longley of the Texas Department of Insurance said the rising costs of health care were being driven largely by a small section of the population. She said that nationally, the top one percent of health care spenders accounted for 24 percent of the system's costs and that the top 25 percent accounted for 85 percent of the system's costs. In Texas, less than 5 percent of health care consumers spend more than half of the dollars in the system.In addition, the trend lines don't indicate the problem will turn around anytime soon. Health care spending is predominately on the older and sicker sectors of society and with the country as a whole getting older and less healthy, it's hard to imagine costs stabilizing anytime soon, she said.

She noted that while the oldest members of society are the least likely to be uninsured, that group also accounts for the largest growing population of the uninsured. That is mostly the result of companies cutting health benefits to retirees. The problem, she said, is that "we reward quantity over quality. How do you get to the point where you reward outcomes and not just pay for services?"

State Affairs Chairman Sen. Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock) said that he heard a lot of people laying blame for the problem on others but he didn't hear any solutions proposed to rein in costs. He cited a Wall Street Journal article about the profits being run up by non-profit hospitals as a way of saying that there's enough blame to go around on the issue. "Who has their hand on the stick? I'm not sure anyone does," he said. "Until we get more transparency, we're not going to get good answers, I'm saying everybody has a piece of the action here." He closed by saying that he'd like to see premiums go down but that so far all he's seen are rising profits. Such a situation makes it more likely that lawmakers will get involved, he said.

From: Quorum Report by Harvey Kronberg, Mayi 21, 2008, www.quorumreport.com

MEDICARE REMIT EASY PRINT BROCHURE UPDATED AND NOW AVAILABLE

The Medicare Remit Easy Print (MREP) brochure has been updated and is now available to order print copies or to download as a PDF file. This brochure provides an overview of free software that enables physicians and suppliers to view and print remittance information.

To view the PDF file, go to http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/MedicareRemit_0408.pdf.

Print copies may be ordered by visiting the MLN Product Ordering Page at
http://cms.meridianksi.com/kc/main/kc_frame.asp?kc_ident=kc0001&loc=5

on the CMS Website

Version 2.4 of the MREP software is available for download at
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/AccesstoDataApplication/02_MedicareRemitEasyPrint.asp

on the CMS website.
For a description of the minor changes in this version, see the "What's New" section of the MREP User Guide - Version 2.4 at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/AccesstoDataApplication/Downloads/EasyPrintUserGuide.pdf

NEW OFFICERS TO TOMA STUDENT ORGANIZATION (S.O) AT UNTHSC

Congratulations to the newly elected officers of the TOMA S.O. at the medical school in Fort Worth:

Eric Robinson- President
Raeley Rinderknecht - Vice President
Elizabeth Barney- Secretary
Aaron Guess- Treasurer
Sheva Khorrami- Class of 2010 Rep
David Anderson- Class of 2011 Rep

We wish them every success. Members of TOMA stand ready to work with them in any ways possible.

TEXAS' TORT REFORM GIVES EXAMPLE FOR OTHER STATES

Tyler Morning Telegraph, 27 May 2008
TYLER - Even as the nightly news seems to be steeped in story after story about the country's failing heath care system, former state Rep. Joseph Nixon, writing for the Texas Public Policy Center, points to a success in Texas that other states can emulate.
http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20080527/OPINION01/805260313/-1/RSS01

From: Texas Weekly, by Printing Production Systems, Inc., www.texasweekly.com

BEGIN TRANSITION TO ELECTRONIC FORMAT WITH ARCHIVED RECORDS

Organizations that have yet to transition their medical records from paper to EHRs should consider storing archived records in an electronic format.

This approach reduces costs by enabling facilities to destroy paper records and eliminating the need for off-site storage. Before undertaking this option, however, ensure that:
     The project complies with state and federal law
     Only authorized personnel may access the archived records
     Records are backed up nightly to ensure they're available if the system crashes or fails completely

Also, increase efficiency with high-speed equipment that scans both sides of a document simultaneously and automatically discards blank pages.
This tip is from The HIM Director's Handbook published by HCPro, Inc.

From: EHR Connection, HCPro, Inc., www.hcmarketplace.com

26 WAYS TO DO YOUR DIET RIGHT

Summer is almost here. Are you ready to show off all that hard work? Is your weight loss goal within reach? If not - pay attention. Here are 26 ways to jump-start your diet so you can look sun-sational this summer. Read on and make 'em weep with envy.
http://www.webmd.com/community/healthy-weight-8/diet-tips?ecd=wnl_wlw_052408

From: WebMD Daily,www.health.webmd.com.

THE BEST DIET TIPS EVER

http://www.webmd.com/diet/slideshow-best-diet-tips-ever?ecd=wnl_wnb_052708

YES, GOOD TEXAS NEWS: AGGIE FINDS HEALTHY FATTY ACID IN BRISKET

Austin American Statesman - May 27, 2008
A 23-year-old Texas A&M University researcher has given brisket-eaters another reason to cheer.

Brisket - long known as the toughest chunk of meat you can cut off a cow - is good for you. Or at least it's not as bad as some nonmeat eaters would have you believe. Aggie graduate student Stacey Turk's master's thesis shows that fat from brisket contains significant amounts of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid that can promote good cholesterol in people.
click here for more: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/05/26/0526brisket.html

From: Harvey Kronberg's Quorum Report, www.quorumreport.com

FDA RELEASES WHITE PAPER ON PRODUCT SAFETY

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released this week a "White Paper" entitled the "The Sentinel Initiative - A National Strategy for Monitoring Medical Product Safety". The Initiative includes development of an electronic system that will enable the FDA to monitor the use of medical products on the market, which will help them to identify potential post-market adverse events. The white paper can be accessed online.
http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/advance/reports/report0508.html

PHYSICIANS DEBATE COMPUTERIZING MEDICAL RECORDS

The Dallas Morning News - May 28, 2008
In 2003, President Bush said he wanted most Americans' medical records to be computerized within 10 years. The savings from moving away from paper could rise into the hundreds of millions a year, the president said. And electronic records can reduce medical errors, proponents said. Five years later, only a third of Texas physicians surveyed by the Texas Medical Association are using an electronic medical record system, up from 27 percent in 2005.
click here for more:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/052808dnbusMedicalRecord.36507f1.html

From: Harvey Kronberg's Quorum Report, www.quorumreport.com

HUMOR IS THE ARM OF RELAXATION AROUND OUR SHOULDER.

So the article in this week's "Autoweek" magazine brought it all to light. What if you were to buy a gallon of . . . (p.s. 1 gallon = 128 ounces)

- Diet Snapple 16 oz for $1.29 = $10.32 per gallon
- Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz for $1.19 = $9.52 per gallon
- Gatorade 20 oz for $1.59 = $10.17 per gallon
- Ocean Spray 16 oz for $1.25 = $10.00 per gallon
- Quart of Milk 16 oz for $1.59 = $6.32 per gallon
- Evian (water) 9 oz for $1.49 = $21.19 per gallon
- STP Brake Fluid 12 oz for $3.15 = $33.60 per gallon
- Vicks Nyquil 6 oz for $8.35 = $178.13 per gallon
- Pepto Bismol 4 oz for $3.85 = $123.20 per gallon
- Whiteout 7 oz for $1.39 = $254.17 per gallon
- Scope 1.5 oz for $0.99 = $84.84 per gallon

The old day trading? Stocks. The new day trading? Buy 10 gallons of gas in the morning, sell it at night for 10% profit. (over 3600% annualized income!)

I have my car towed to work because it's cheaper than buying gas.

The high gas prices could come in handy for many people, especially married men:
"Honey, can you mow the lawn this afternoon?" "No, sweetheart, we can't afford the gas."

A fellow nurse at my hospital received a call from an anxious woman. "I'm diabetic and I'm afraid I've had too much sugar today," she said. "Are you lightheaded?" my colleague asked. "No, I'm a brunette."

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ADVOCATE DO MEDICAL LIABILITY COVERAGE FOR DO's

As a TOMA member, you are eligible for the TOMA Preferred Program which offers discounted rates on medical malpractice insurance premiums from Advocate, DO. TOMA has partnered with Advocate, DO to bring you competitive rates, free risk management assessments, in-house legal assistance, aggressive claims management and a claims-made policy that does not expire. In addition, you will receive Texas Medical Board coverage with separate limits, no deductible and no out of pocket expenses! Advocate, DO does not require any surplus charges, TMA or County Medical Association dues and will provide prior acts coverage.

Take full advantage of your TOMA Preferred Program discounts, call Advocate, DO today - (800) 686-2734 or visit www.advocatedo.com.

Advocate, D.O.
Underwritten by Advocate, MD Insurance Company of the Southwest Inc.
800-686-2734 or 512.275.1830
www.advocatedo.com

I hope that this information is helpful. Please feel free to give me any feedback or suggestions on the information in the updates. They are really only as good as the information is useful. So the more useful the information is or can be, the better the updates are.

Respectfully submitted,

Robt. J. "Sam" Tessen
Executive Director