California
Oncology
Weekly
"Where California Oncologists Go For Answers!"
A collaborative publication of the
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc.
and the
Association of Northern California Oncologists, Inc
.
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- THIS SATURDAY! MOASC's Spotlight on Hematology (MOASC News)
- New California Laws of Interest to Physicians for 2019(California News)
- NIOSH Update on protective wear for administering chemotherapy (National News)
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- California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order directing state Medicaid managers to negotiate prescription drug prices for all beneficiaries. The state will compile a list of drugs for bulk purchasing or price negotiations, and other governmental agencies, private-sector companies and insurers and will be invited to join the pact.
- Effective January 1, 2019, AB2760 requires that, for certain categories of high-risk patients, prescribers must offer a prescription of naloxone or another drug Federally approved for the complete or partial reversal of opioid overdose. It also requires the prescriber to provide specified education to those patients on overdose prevention and provide education about how naloxone or other FDA-approved drugs may be used to prevent an overdose.
- The California Medical Association has published a summary of the most significant new health laws of interest to physicians. For more details, see Significant New California Laws of Interest to Physicians for 2019 at
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- Noridian/JEMAC has the following updates on their website
http://med.noridianmedicare.com/web/jeb
- MLN Connects Provider eNews:
Announcements
: Medicare Shared Savings Program: Final Rule Creates Pathways to Success; Medicare Shared Savings Program: Submit Notice of Intent to Apply by January 18; Laboratory Date of Service Exception Policy: Enforcement Discretion Exercised until July 1; Quality Payment Program: 2019 Resources; Medicare Enrollment Application Fee for CY2019; New Medicare Card: Transition Period Ends December 31
Events:
Clinical Diagnostic Laboratories to Collect and Report Private Payor Rates Call-January 22; New Electronic System for Provider Reimbursement Review Based Appeals Call-February 5; New Part D Opioid Overutilization Policies Call-February 14
Publications:
Hospital OPPS: January 2019 Update MLN Matters Article-New; Medicare Billing: Form CMS-1500 and the 837 Professional Web-Based Training Course-Revised
* Coverage of FDA Approved Biosimilars
* Educational Events-January 2019
* Coverage of FDA Approved Biosimilars
* Chemotherapy Administration-R16
* ICD-10 and Other Coding Revisions to NCDs-Revised CR11005
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- THIS SATURDAY! Attend MOASC's Spotlight on Hematology, January 19, 2019, 1:00pm to 7:00pm at The Waterfront Hilton, Huntington Beach. Through a grant from MOASC, UCI brings speakers from UCI, UCLA and City of Hope to present the best from ASH's 60th Annual Meeting & Exposition. Contact the MOASC office at 909-985-9061 ext.1 or moasc@moasc.org or www.moasc.org
- SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, February 23, 2019 for MOASC's Oncology Summit, Advancing Cancer Care in the Elderly, at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa. Mark your calendar and keep watch for further information on speakers and topics. moasc@moasc.org.
- MOASC Member, City of Hope CME presents, Current Trends in Urologic OncologyCME Conference, February 8 to February 10, 2019, The Pines Lodge, Beaver Creek Resort, CO. Support this program and invite a colleague to join you.
- MOASC's LunchTime Series presents the interactive tool, "Know Your State" webinar Wednesday, February 13, 2019 at 12:00pm PT. Learn more about a resource for educating your patients about medication access and affordability options in California and the other 49 states. Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, topics within the tool include: Medicaid expansion, state pharmaceutical assistance programs (SPAPs), Low-income subsidy (LIS) eligibility information, state health insurance assistance programs (SHIPs), standard prior authorization (PA) forms, National Foundations and other nonprofit resources, oral parity laws, advocacy connector, biosimilar legislation, continuity of care and state legislature resources. Join by calling (908) 316-2436 conference ID 73711760. Contact the MOASC Office if you have any questions moasc@moasc.org.
- MOASC member, City of Hope CME would like to invite physicians and nurses to save the date for their upcoming conference, How the Experts Treat Hematologic Malignancies, March 21 to 23, 2019 at the Waldorf Astoria, Las Vegas.
For more information, please contact
JOB BOARD
Compassionate Oncology Care (Laguna Niguel)
Available Positions: Oncology RN and Front Office Authorization Coordinator
A busy private medical oncology practice with chemotherapy suite.
RN Candidate
must have IV skills.
OTN Nucleus drug management system Allscripts/EHR are a plus.
Front Office Authorizations Coordinator Full Time/Part Time
Obtain/maintain applicable authorizations for visits, diagnostic testing & treatment regimes. Medical Terminology, Computer Proficiency & the ability to competently manage multiple projects required. Emphasis on excellent Patient Service utilizing excellent verbal, written and communication skills. Salary reflects experience.
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- ANCO, in association with the Organizing Committee of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and Encore Medical Education, will host the Best of San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium San Francisco (Best of SABCS San Francisco) at The Claremont Hotel on Saturday morning, January 26. Hope S. Rugo, MD, UC San Francisco, is the Regional Director for Best of SABCS San Francisco. Learn more and register at
www.bestofsabcs.com/best-of-sabcs-san-francisco/
.
- Registration is now open for the 19th Multidisciplinary Management of Cancers: A Case-based Approach, taking place at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa on March 15-17, 2019. Go to
http://www.multicancers.org
to register and arrange for housing.
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National News
- Updated 2019 diagnosis, procedure, and HCPCS codes are available as follows:
- A research team led by investigators from the National Institutes of Health and Global Good has developed a computer algorithm that can analyze digital images of a woman's cervix and accurately identify precancerous changes that require medical attention. This artificial intelligence (AI) approach, called automated visual evaluation, has the potential to revolutionize cervical cancer screening, particularly in low-resource settings.
- The FDA has proposed creating an office focused on advancing innovation in drug development, with divisions focused on research and implementation of clinical outcome measures, biomarker development, safety analytics and biomedical informatics FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, believes the time has come to make the science of drug development a more formal scientific discipline within the new drug approval process, along with the components that it comprises.
BioCentury
.
- Besides changing the batteries in your smoke detector, you need to review your health materials annually.
Is your health information in Plain Language?
Plain language can make your health materials easier to use and understand. Visit the CDC's Plain Language Materials & Resources webpage for resources to organize and present health information clearly.
Also, check out the Clear Communication Index! A research-based tool that helps you develop and assess communication materials for your intended audience.
- The American Cancer Society found US cancer mortality continuously decreased between 1991 and 2016, falling by 27% overall and resulting in about 2.6 million fewer cancer deaths, a trend experts attribute to better cancer detection and treatment, as well as reduced smoking prevalence. The findings in
CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians
also showed narrowing racial disparities but widening socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality.
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CMS News
- The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule and opened comments that attempts to give more leeway to limit coverage of drugs in protected classes. The proposed rule would only come into play when the price of a prescription rises more than the rate of inflation or if only minor changes are made to older products. Antineoplastics, and five other classes of drugs, are currently required by Part D policy, for sponsors to include on their formularies. While the proposed regulatory provision maintains all protected classes, it provides Part D plans with a greater flexibility to negotiate discounts for drugs in protected therapeutic classes. Submit your comments by January 25, 2019.
- CMS opened the data submission period for MIPS eligible clinicians who participated in Year 2 (2018) of the Quality Payment Program (QPP). Data can be submitted and updated any time from January 2, 2019 to April 2, 2019, with the following exceptions:
CMS Web Interface users need to report their Quality performance category data between January 22 and March 22, 2019
For clinicians who reported Quality measures via Medicare Part B claims throughout the 2018 performance year, CMS will receive your quality data from claims processed by your Medicare Administrative Contractor, and claims for services furnished during 2018 must be processed within 60 days after the end of the 2018 performance period.
Submit your 2018 MIPS data by visiting the
QPP website
and log-in using your QPP access credentials. CMS encourages clinicians to log in early to get familiar with the system. Please note, clinicians who are not sure if they are eligible to participate in the QPP can check eligibility status using the
QPP Participation Status Tool
.
For more information about how to submit data, please review the
2018 MIPS Data Submission FAQs
and other resources available in the
QPP Resource Library
. CMS also recently posted new 2019 resources to the library, be sure to check the full list.
If you need further assistance, please contact the QPP by phone at 1-866-288-8292, (TTY) 1-877-715-6222,
QPP@cms.hhs.gov
, or via a
local technical assistance organization
offering no-cost support.
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Affiliate Association News
- The Quality Training Program (QTP) Summer 2019 session at ASCO Headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia will be the first thematic QTP focusing on oncology team wellness and avoiding burnout. Meeting dates are July 11-12, September 18-19, and December 5. The application process will begin in April. Once applicants are accepted, they are paired with an improvement coach who can provide feedback and help participants outline their quality improvement goals and plans so they can get the most out of the session.
Learn more
.
If you and your team are interested in attending a QTP summer course but would like to focus on a project not related to burnout, please email
qualitytraining@asco.org
.
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Submit your abstract
for the
ASCO Annual Meeting
, taking place May 31-June 4, in Chicago
, Illinois. The Meeting will bring together the brightest minds in oncology research, education, and care into a single community to benefit patients with cancer everywhere. From the high-profile Plenary and Clinical Science Symposia to thematic poster discussion sessions, ASCO recognizes the importance of showcasing your research to a worldwide audience.
Submit your research by February 12 at 8:59 PM (PST)
.
- COA offices have moved! The new office is located at 1225 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005.
- Register, NOW, for the year's most important conference in community oncology! The 2019 Community Oncology Conference, April 4-5, 2019, will focus on ensuring quality, affordable and accessible cancer care. Networking with community oncology practices and allied professionals from across the country, sharing insights on how to overcome the challenges you face on a daily basis. Put together for community oncology by community oncology, there is no substitute for the information and networking opportunities offered at this conference.
Register today to save your seat at COA 2019 in Orlando!
- ASCO is pleased to invite you to their
2019 Annual Meeting
being held May 31 - June 4 in Chicago.
- NCCN has published the following updates at
www.nccn.org
.
AIDS-related Kaposi Sarcoma (V2.2019), esophageal and esophagogastric junction cancers (V2.2018), gastric cancer (V2.2018), neuroendocrine and adrenal tumors (V4.2018), older adult oncology (V1.2019).
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- AstraZeneca informs ANCO and MOASC that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Lynparza for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline or somatic BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm or sBRCAm) advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to first-line platinum chemotherapy. Patients with gBRCAm advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancers should be selected for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic (BRACAnalysis, Myriad Genetic Laboratories).
- Sanofi-Genzyme informed MOASC and ANCO about their educational material they have on Gaucher Disease Type 1. Gaucher disease is one of the most common
lysosomal storage disorders
and results from not having enough glucocerebrosidase (GCase), an important enzyme that breaks down a fatty chemical called glucocerebroside. For more information go to
https://www.gaucherdisease.org/
or
https://raredisease.org/
.
- Bristol-Myers Squibb Oncology informs ANCO and MOASC that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Sprycel tablets in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of pediatric patients one year of age or older with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
- Alexion Pharmaceuticals informs ANCO and MOASC that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Ultomiris for adult patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).
Recent FDA Drug Approvals
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MOASC CALENDAR
Spotlight On Hematology
(January 19, 2019)
Oncology Summit
(February 23, 2019)
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The
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California
(MOASC) is a leading oncology society that advances and protects the ability of cancer patients to obtain, and the ability of the oncology physicians to provide, optimal cancer care. The
Association of Northern California Oncologists
(ANCO) is an association of hematologists/oncologists dedicated to promoting high professional standards of cancer care by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas, data, and knowledge.
The material contained in the
California Oncology Weekly
is intended as general information for ANCO and MOASC members. Because diagnostic, treatment, contracting, coding, and billing decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis, any such information contained in the
California Oncology Weekly
may not apply in any given situation. Members are encouraged to contact their own consultants or advisors to obtain specific advice on matters relating to contracting, coding, and billing. The information contained in
California Oncology Weekly
should not be used as a substitute for such advice.
This publication provides a summary of regulations affecting oncology and its business practices. Reading this newsletter does not substitute for understanding regulations and verifying the validity of every claim. This information is time-sensitive and is subject to change. MOASC or ANCO accepts no liability for any statements or articles herein.
CPT codes are owned and trademarked by the American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
MOASC: P.O. Box 161, Upland, CA 91785 | P (909) 985-9061 | F (909) 804-5006| www.moasc.org
ANCO: P.O. Box 151109, San Rafael, CA 94915 | P (415) 472-3960 | F (415) 472-3961 | www.anco-online.org
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