The Physician Alliance mourns team member |
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The Physician Alliance (TPA) is saddened to share that our team member, Robert Asmussen, senior business advisor, passed away last weekend. Bob was a valued member of our executive team. He also served as the executive director of Providence Medical Group (PMG), one of the physician organization owners of TPA.
Bob had a distinguished career in healthcare. Highlights of his career included serving as the chief operating officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and vice president of strategic planning at St. John Providence Health System. Always interested in learning and problem-solving, Bob focused on working from the physician and patient perspectives when he joined TPA and PMG. In these roles, he helped ensure that our members’ voices were included in important conversations affecting quality measures, patient care, reimbursement, contract negotiation and more.
He was a wonderful sounding board and mentor to many, providing a listening ear and objective advice. His vast professional experience and knowledge offered insight and valuable input on a myriad of issues affecting physicians, patients, and the healthcare industry. Bob will be incredibly missed by many. View his obituary.
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Patient materials promote important diabetic eye exams |
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Over the past 10 years, diabetes diagnoses significantly increased in Americans ages 18 and older, according to a national diabetes statistics report from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. More than 34 million people, representing over 10% of the U.S. population, have diabetes and 88 million people have prediabetes.
Patients with diabetes are at higher risk for vision issues and blindness. Reminding patients to get their annual diabetic retinal eye exam is important for their health. Closing these gaps also helps improve practices' quality measures.
The Physician Alliance created patient education resources to help practices promote eye exams to diabetic patients.
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Diabetic eye exam poster
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6 ways to manage your diabetes poster
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6 tips for lowering diabetes risk poster
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Patient diabetes action plan form
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Diabetic eye exam 'prescription' - This form should be given to patients who need to complete their annual eye exam. Patients can then give to their eye doctor to be completed and returned to the primary care physician to ensure an up-to-date medical record.
There are helpful coding tips to ensure accurate diagnostic coding for the patient and practice.
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Log into member portal to get quality reports and more |
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The Physician Alliance's member portal offers easy access to quality reports, education, practice improvement resources and more. The portal is currently available to physicians and office managers in member practices participating in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Physician Group Incentive Program (PGIP).
Sample content* on the portal includes required education training, quality reports posted for review, PGIP/BFA payment distribution progress report, ability to request specific quality reports, including those with protected health information (PHI), easily update contact information and more
Practices are also now able to access relevant patient lists and reports on the portal. A request must be sent to TPA’s information technology department to receive protected health information on the portal. Multi-factor authentication will then be used to securely access this information.
A reminder that TPA's year-end PGIP incentive payment score card includes a requirement for physicians participating in PGIP to log into the portal to be eligible for the payment. Practices should contact their practice resource team member with questions.
To access the portal:
*Not all practices will see all reports/lists. Distribution based on practice type, PHI-enabled, etc.
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Covid-19 vaccine boosters recommended |
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) now recommend booster doses for all three Covid-19 vaccines approved for use in the United States. Eligible individuals who received an initial dose of the Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine may receive a booster dose of the same brand vaccine or mix brands.
Eligible recipients for Pfizer and Moderna boosters include the following (at six months or after the initial series):
Anyone over age 18 who received the Johnson & Johnson single dose vaccine should get a booster dose two months or after the initial dose.
Additional information for healthcare providers can be found on the FDA website. View the CDC's booster recommendations here.
As of the end of October, nearly 69%, or two in three Michiganders, received at least their first dose of one of the three safe, effective vaccines, according to the state. Unvaccinated Michiganders accounted for 93.1% of Covid-19 cases, 90.7% of hospitalizations and 90.5% of deaths from January - October 2021.
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The latest healthcare news |
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Featured Affiliate Partner: LEGAL SERVICES: Rickard & Associates helps practices with a myriad of business operations, including negotiating/enforcing contracts; employee relations; HIPAA readiness and compliance; audits; general counsel; succession planning and more. TPA members receive a preferred rate.
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