Your MOA Education Committee continues to develop CME programs to meet the needs of our members. The ongoing changes in CME requirements by the AOA, specialty boards and various state mandates makes this very challenging. At the MOA 118th Annual Spring Scientific Convention, two new programs were piloted with a focus on Emergency Medicine and Hospitalist Medicine specialties. From this experience, MOA will strive to continue providing additional specialty-focused sessions during our conferences.

In addition to the ongoing 150 hours of CME required by the Michigan Board of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, the state of Michigan now requires two new educational requirements for osteopathic license renewals:
1. Recognition and Interventions for Human Trafficking
2. Pain & Symptom Management

In future conferences, the MOA will offer the necessary sessions to encompass the state's specific standards for this education. While these additional educational requirements were not mandated as CME, the MOA will design these programs to also meet the standards to achieve CME credits.

Links:
MOA CME Information page
LARA Osteopathic Medicine web page

Registration is open for the Autumn Scientific Convention

Autumn Convention "Save the Date!" November 3-5, 2017
The Michigan Osteopathic Association (MOA) will once again host the Autumn Scientific Convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the beautiful Amway Grand Plaza. The event has grown over the last 12 years and will offer 20 AOA 1-A credits. Grand Rapids has been a great city for the convention, offering a wide variety of dining, shopping and attractions.

Update your MOA profile
Do you have a new email address? A new office address? Stay connected and ensure you have access to membership benefits and the issues affecting healthcare.

1. Visit: www.domoa.org The member login is on the right hand side of the home page.
Or
2. We can update your profile over the phone. Simply call the MOA office 517.347.1555

Thank you to all of the MOA members who support the association and for being the "Doctors that DO!"

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015 requires CMS to remove Social Security Numbers (SSNs) from all Medicare cards by April 2019. CMS will begin mailing new Medicare cards with a new Medicare number (currently called the Medicare Claim Number on cards) to your patients in April 2018. You may need to change your systems to:

• Accept the new Medicare number (Medicare Beneficiary Identifier or MBI). Use the MBI format specifications if you currently have edits on the current Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN).

• Identify your patients who qualify for Medicare under the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). You will no longer be able to distinguish RRB patients by the number on the new Medicare card. You will be able to identify them by the RRB logo on their card, and we will return a message on the eligibility transaction response for a RRB patient. The message will say, "Railroad Retirement Medicare Beneficiary" in 271 Loop 2110C, Segment MSG. If you use the number only to identify your RRB patients beginning in April 2018, you must identify them differently to send Medicare claims to the RRB Specialty Medicare Administrative Contractor, Palmetto GBA.

• Update your practice management system's patient numbers to automatically accept the new Medicare number or MBI from the remittance advice (835) transaction. Beginning in October 2018, through the transition period, CMS will return your patient's MBI on every electronic remittance advice for claims you submit with a valid and active HICN. It will be in the same place you currently get the "changed HICN": 835 Loop 2100, Segment NM1 (Corrected Patient/Insured Name), Field NM109 (Identification Code).

Links: Medicare Card Provider Webpage

Michigan Osteopathic Association (MOA) President John Sealey, DO, FACOS, was featured in a Crain's Detroit Business article, "Addressing the doctor shortage: More than 1,500 medical residents complete training in Michigan." The article focuses on the challenges of keeping residents in Michigan after their training is complete.

The Crain's article notes that of the nearly 300 graduate medical education programs in Michigan, Authority Health GME is one of the newest. Authority's first class completed training in 2016 with seven of 21 residents staying in Michigan. Its second class held its commencement program at the Detroit Athletic Club on June 17 and will send 10 doctors to practice in Michigan.

Dr. Sealey is the program's director of medical education for Authority Health. "This program has done exactly what it was supposed to do; place doctors in underserved areas," said Dr. Sealey, who is also an associate professor with Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and oversees Authority Health's 71 residents at four Southeast Michigan hospitals.

Link: Crain's Detroit article

Sparrow cuts ribbon on new Herbert-Herman Cancer Center

On Tuesday, July 11, Sparrow Hospital opened the brand new Herbert-Herman Cancer Center in Lansing. The new facility is nearly twice the size of Sparrow's old treatment center, and designed to be on the leading edge of cancer treatment. Part of the new facility's mission is to improve care through clinical trials, with a new focus on genomics. Similarly, the center is designed to decrease the burden on patients, feature more modern facilities and creature comforts.

Links:
WILX-TV
WSYM-TV
Lansing State Journal

Have an opinion on CME's?

The Association of Osteopathic State Executive Directors is conducting a brief survey to better understand osteopathic physicians' opinions on continuing medical education (CME). The effort will gather information to better understand the needs of DO's in regards to CME's. They are asking Michigan Osteopathic Association (MOA) members to lend their comments and concerns by taking a 5 minute survey. By participating you will automatically be entered in a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card.

The survey should take no more than 5 minutes. The survey is seeking input from all osteopathic physicians, regardless of specialty or board certification, so please take a quick moment to complete the survey through the link below.

News and Resources

In case you missed them, The DO, the AOA online magazine has rounded up its 10 most popular stories from the first half of the year.

Link: The DO Article

MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine faculty members, clinical faculty, staff, affiliated residents and current students are invited to help determine the college's direction by providing input into a strategic planning process. The data is being gathered in an online survey. The survey, which can take between 10 and 15 minutes to complete (depending on how much input you want to provide) will be open through Aug. 15.

Link: MSUCOM Strategic Plan Survey

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) will host an online webinar to help build knowledge of The ASAM Appropriate Use of Drug Testing in Clinical Addiction Medicine document, which guides provider decisions about drug testing, as no universal standard exists today.

This webinar is primarily intended for addiction specialists and all providers utilizing drug testing in the context of the identification, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients with, or at risk for, addiction. It will also be useful for physicians and other providers concerned about the possibility of addiction in their patient population.

Link: Register for the Appropriate Use of Drug Testing in Clinical Addiction Medicine Webinar

According to a study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI), Michigan boasted the country's largest decrease in the amount of opioids prescribed for workers' compensation claims between 2009 and 2015.

Link: The Peninsula, Michigan Business News and Perspectives

The HHS inspector general found that some 22,000 Medicare Part D beneficiaries seem to be doctor shopping for opioids - obtaining large amounts prescribed by four or more doctors and filled at four or more pharmacies.

Link: NPR Article