In Memory of Dr. Dominick K. Bioh

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our much loved and admired friend and colleague, Dominick Kwasi Bioh, MD, an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and member of the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West. Dr. Bioh has been a member of the MSHP IPA since August 2013, and was one of our first CIN providers joining in January 2016. Dr. Bioh held a seat on the MSHP Board of Managers and played a major role in the development of our network.

Dr. Bioh earned his medical degree from Georgetown University, where he received the Dr. Gregory S. Threatte Award for Leadership and Service and the Dr. Heinz Bauer Humanitarian Award as a graduating medical student who exemplified integrity, scholarship, humanism, and leadership. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at The Mount Sinai Hospital, where he served as chief resident—a recognized leader who mentored fellow residents and medical students.

Throughout his career, Dr. Bioh maintained an active and large general internal medicine practice in several locations near Mount Sinai Morningside. Devoted to providing outstanding care, Dr. Bioh focused on primary prevention as the main and best strategy for supporting his patients and helping them lead healthful lives. 

He possessed many core qualities of a true physician—humility, kindness, and a deep desire to improve the lives of those who entrusted him with their care. His choice of location to practice was a direct reflection of his commitment to Morningside Heights and West Harlem where he was regarded as a pillar of the community.  

We express our deepest condolences to the Bioh family and ask that you keep them in your thoughts during this difficult time. Should you like to write a tribute to Dr. Bioh, you can do so here.

Reminder: Complete Your Practice Communication Requirement by June 30, 2023

It’s time to complete the mandatory Practice Communication requirement for the 2023 Clinical Integration Program by updating your practice’s demographic information on the MSHP Practice Profile by June 30, 2023.

For more details, please see this communication. 

Pediatrician Patient Panel Reports Arriving July 5

Pediatricians will receive their next Full Patient Panel Report on July 5 in their practice’s main OneDrive account. 

Please be sure to view these reports — including the patient opportunity report that shows you patient-level information on care gaps and patients that need to be seen for appointments.

The last report pediatricians received was on April 5. Adult PCPs are also encouraged to review their customized reports they received on April 5. Remember to use these reports for effective patient outreach. We will continue to notify you of upcoming reports and when they’re on their way.

Collaborative Care for Pain Management

Virna Little, PsyD, LCSW-r, and Laura Sidari, MD, presented on collaborative care for pain management at last week's Mind Matters meeting. They discussed reimbursement policies, treatment options, and suicide risk in chronic pain patients. They also offered clinical pearls for reframing life with chronic pain and treating concominant depression.

Watch the recording | View the slides

Mind Matters now meets quarterly. Our next meeting will be on September 14 with James Wright, Chief of Crisis Center Operations for the 988 team in the Office of the Assistant Secretary at SAMHSA.

We continue to accept cases on a rolling basis. If you have a patient with behavioral health needs or challenges that you’d like consultation and feedback on at an upcoming meeting, please email Anitha Iyer, PhD for more information. 

Updated Hypertension Guidelines 

Download the newly updated Mount Sinai Ambulatory Hypertension Care Pathway and Quick Reference Guide for guidance on hypertension management in adults, treatment targets and recommendations, and when to refer to specialty care.

Highlights include:

1. Updated hypertension staging thresholds from the American Heart Association
2. Single-pill combinations as the first line of pharmacological treatment whenever available as they are associated with better adherence and persistence than multi-pill regimens
3. Removal of “race-based” pharmacologic treatment recommendations and replaced with guidance for providers to consider all factors in treatment for high risk populations.

MSHP Board of Managers Spotlight

Meet Mount Sinai Health Partners’ Board Member, Martin Baskin, MD. Dr. Baskin is a primary care physician and pulmonologist at Manhattan West Medical, P.C. We recently caught up with Dr. Baskin to learn more about him as a MSHP Board member!

How long have you served on the Board?

I have been on the board since its inception.

What do you like most about serving on MSHP’s Board of Managers?

I really enjoy the camaraderie and exchange of ideas with my colleagues in health care, administration, and IT. I have been a member of the Finance and Funds Flow committee from its inception and gaining insight into the business of healthcare has been invaluable to me and the doctors I represent.

What do you hope to accomplish while serving on MSHP's Board of Managers?

I want to continue to advocate for my fellow primary care physicians who are working in the trenches and keep them informed of any upcoming changes that might impact their practices and take some of the load of patient care off their shoulders.



What are your interests/hobbies outside of work?

Spending time with my family, tennis, travel (finally!), reading the New York Times (if I can find the time), being a diehard NY Mets fan (LGM), and catching up on my streaming of series.

We look forward to Dr. Baskin continuing to

serve on MSHP’s Board of Managers! 

Interested in becoming part of MSHP's governance? Join a committee today! Reach out to Lauren Hertan to learn more about how you can participate.

Choosing Appropriate Inhalers for Patients with COPD

Key points for choosing bronchodialtors

• LABAs and LAMAs are preferred over short-acting agents, except for patients who have only occasional dyspnea

• Start patients on a single LABA or dual LABA
• If dyspnea persists in patients on one bronchodilator, escalate treatment to two bronchodilators

• Inhaled bronchodilators are preferred as they have a quicker onset of action and fewer side effects than oral bronchodilators

• Theophylline should only be used if other LABAs are unavailable or unaffordable and is used as an add-on therapy

Choosing and using inhalers

• Weigh access, cost, and patient ability and preference when choosing an inhaler



• It is essential to provide instructions and demonstrate proper use

• Re-check inhaler technique at each visit to ensure continued proper use

• Assess inhaler technique and adherence prior to modifying pharmacological therapy

Why is accurate and specific coding important?



Diagnoses for complex patients add up, sometimes in an exponential fashion, to contribute to the risk model determining amounts budgeted for patients in Medicare (and there is a corollary in Medicaid).

Under-coding or mis-coding can mean patients may utilize more services and/or cost more than expected based on the visit documentation and coding risk profile, and not have adequate budget to cover those services for our risk models in the CIN. This directly impacts our shared savings and incentive payments.

Lastly, don't forget! The Medicare calendar resets every year on January 1 from a coding standpoint.

View more coding tips

Learn more about coding and documentation quality improvement by watching this brief presentation from Donna Malone, Director of Clinical Documentation and Quality Improvement at our March Town Hall Gathering. Donna also welcomes any questions about coding and documentation via email

DispatchHealth: on-demand, urgent on-site health care services from Cigna

DispatchHealth, a Cigna Healthcare (Cigna) national ancillary provider, delivers on-demand, on-site health care services to customers who require treatment for an urgent medical need or a complex injury or illness.

These services became available to Cigna commercial customers on April 1, 2023 and to Cigna Medicare Advantage customers on June 1, 2023.

Learn more

United Healthcare Medical and Reimbursement Policy Updates

United Healthcare shared medical and reimbursement policy updates, effective June 1. Policy changes affect preventive medicine services, breast cancer screening and imaging, prior authorizations, and more.

Ensure Your Billing NPI is Entered Correctly on Claims Submissions

Empire is enforcing CMS billing guidelines that hold providers accountable for billing claims data correctly. Effective December 9, 2023, claims submitted with missing or incorrect billing NPI will be rejected and returned. Submitting claims with complete and correct data is critical to ensure Empire is able to process your claims efficiently and accurately. All data fields on claims are used when building your claim records.

Learn more

To stay up to date with the latest news, guidance, and policy changes from Empire, sign up for their newsletter.

2023 Reimbursement Rates for Contracted Health Plans

Reimbursement rates for top E&M codes for Manhattan localities are available on our website (login required). We have also added the fee schedules for our three opt in contracts: GHI Commercial, Emblem Health Enhanced Care Medicaid, and Empire Medicaid.

Welcome to MSHP!

We'd like to extend a warm welcome to the newest members of our Clinically Integrated Network:

Primary Care

Priya Goel, MD

Family Medicine

Upper East Side Medical, PC

New York, NY

Rohail Haider, DO

Internal Medicine

Qazi K. Haider MD PC

Flushing, NY

Charles Paolino, DO

Internal Medicine

Flatiron Family Medical, PC

New York, NY

Specialty Care

Cassandra Henderson, MD

Obstetrics & Gynecology

Goncharov Medical PC

New York, NY

Makoto Iwahara, MD

Gastroenterology

Makoto Iwahara, MD, PC

New York, NY

Lawrence Jacobson, MD

Ophthalmology

Lawrence Marc Jacobson MD PLLC

Brooklyn, NY

Hasan Khosravi, MD

Dermatology

Bobby Buka MD, PC

New York, NY

Andrew Rosen, MD

Orthopaedic Surgery

Upper East Orthopaedics, PC

New York, NY

Advanced Care Practitioners

Emma Betulia, NP

Nurse Practitioner

Frank Scafuri III, DO, PC

Staten Island, NY

Kimberly Gemayel, NP

Nurse Practitioner

Gynecology & Integrative Women's Care, PC

New York, NY

Leah Reno-Patterson, NP

Nurse Practitioner

Gynecology & Integrative Women's Care, PC

New York, NY

Beth Simmons, NP

Nurse Practitioner

Gynecology & Integrative Women's Care, PC

New York, NY