Mark Your Calendars: Health Policy Education Opportunities at 2012 Annual Meeting

During the 2012 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO September 9-12, in Washington, DC, the Physician Payment Policy (3P) Workgroup and AAO-HNS Health Policy team will present three miniseminars for attendees. These miniseminars are essential for any member, so remember to mark your calendars. CMS’ Contractor Advisory Committee (CAC) Miniseminar The Academy is dedicated to ensuring its members are well versed on Medicare payment policies and the importance of the Medicare ENT Contractor Advisory Committee network. This CAC miniseminar will provide members with an inside look from CAC Medical Directors at the administration of Medicare, including national and local coverage determinations, denials, and Recovery Audit Contractors (RAC), and how CACs serve as a means of communication between physicians, societies, and the contractors. The session is designed to teach members about the CAC and how to ensure a positive experience working with the CACs. This timely and important miniseminar will provide members with an understanding of the role CACs play and how they function, and examine the best ways to communicate with contractors. Attendees will learn about the RAC process and how members can prepare for, and properly handle, audits. Academy Advocacy for Physician Payment: 2012 Many years of declining reimbursement now threaten the viability of physician practices across specialties and practice settings. This miniseminar will outline the Academy’s efforts, specifically the Physician Payment Policy Work Group (3P), to advocate for fair reimbursement for its members in increasingly challenging public and private payer environments. Topics include updates on government healthcare reform; the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) and Relative Value Update Committee (RUC) processes and how Academy members can participate; coding and reimbursement for new technology; dealing with payer policies across the spectrum (individual to the Academy and new public and private payment models [e.g., Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), quality initiatives]); and the importance of the future of quality and payment initiatives. Shared strategies will discuss how members can become actively involved to make a difference for our specialty. Attendees of this miniseminar will learn current healthcare reform initiatives, new payment models, and Academy efforts on Capitol Hill; understand Academy interaction with the AMA’s CPT Editorial Panel and Relative Value Update Committee; and examine Academy strategies for interaction with public and private payers, and effective membership involvement. ICD-9 Transition Hurdles to ICD-10 Diagnostic Coding  This presentation will assist the ENT physician in determining the influence ICD-10 will have on their practice and other healthcare providers, and present a timeline of essential activities for successful implementation. This session will delve into what physicians should expect to prepare for during implementation processes. This is the largest change to the healthcare system in our history and careful planning will be necessary in order to successfully implement both ICD-10 and 5010. We will also explore common implementation hurdles, outlining why it is important to get started now and how clinical documentation issues will impact physicians. In addition, we will review the most commonly billed ENT ICD-9 diagnosis codes and what they will look like in ICD-10-CM. These and other miniseminars presented at the annual meeting will educate members on issues that affect everything from their practice to the entire specialty. For more information on these and other seminars, visit the Academy’s annual meeting website at www.entannualmeeting.org.