Don’t forget to add the Case Management Foundation (CMF) to your gift list this holiday season!

A gift to the Case Management Foundation is perfect for anyone on your list who shares your commitment to quality patient care.

Donating is easy, and we will even send you an e-card to commemorate your gift! Simply specify an honorary or memorial donation, and let us do the rest.

Your donation is tax-deductible, and your support essential to our success!

Please visit the CMF website at www.supportcmf.org for more information on projects, programs and to donate online.

 

The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) welcomes the Case Management Society of America (CMSA) as the most recent national professional society to link to a continuing education (CE) website supported by AHRQ providing CE in patient-centered outcomes research, also known as comparative effectiveness research.

AHRQ is providing multimedia online CE modules for a wide audience of health care professionals across the health care continuum, including nurses in all practice settings and roles. The program is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

 

As the holiday season quickly approaches, CMSA would like to remind its members that the National office will be closed from Monday, December 26 – Monday, January 2 so that our staff may enjoy the holidays with their families.

As always, our goal is to ensure all of your service requirements are met through the holidays. Therefore, limited Client Service Representatives will be returning urgent calls and emails on Wednesday, Dec. 28 and Thursday, Dec. 29.

• If you have immediate or urgent needs during this time, please send an email to cmsa@cmsa.org or call (800) 216-2672.
   
• If you need a CMSA Continuing Education certificate reissued before the end of the year, please download the request form and submit by tomorrow, December 16.
   
• If you have questions regarding the CCM certification, you may contact the certifying body – The Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC) – at www.ccmcertification.org or by phone at (651) 789-3744.

We hope you have a happy holiday season and wonderful new year!

 

Scheduled in D.C. for April 23-24, 2012

What is the latest information and activity on and around the Hill? CMSA members and case management professionals will find the answer to that question when they converge on D.C. from all parts of the country on April 23-24, 2012.

Attendees will receive important updates on legislative and policy related to case management and concerning national issues in health care reform. They will learn how to interact at the national level and how to apply this knowledge at the local level for greater impact. Attendees will visit The Hill, where they will spend time with members of Congress, representatives from federal agencies, CMSA leaders, and other experts who will address attendees with the latest information.

This public policy summit was created to give CM professionals much needed tools and resources to advocate effectively for policies that impact case management, the effective delivery of health care, and – ultimately – that improve patients’ health and wellbeing.

Be sure to save the date: April 23-24, 2012 for CMSA in D.C.!

 

Who do you know that is an outstanding case manager, or who is an outstanding leader in advancing case management?

Here is your opportunity to nominate them for the recognition they deserve. Watch for more details in November, or visit www.cmsa.org/awards to begin creating your nomination today

 

Did you know the Case Management Society of America (CMSA) has more than 112,000 resumes in its Career Center database? The year is coming to an end but you probably still have hiring needs. Don’t miss the chance to get in front of CMSA’s highly qualified case management professionals.

For a limited time CMSA is offering a 25% DISCOUNT to post your job openings on the CMSA Career Center. Click below to read more reasons you should post your jobs with CMSA today.

 

by Pat Stricker, RN, MEd
Senior Vice President, Clinical Services
TCS Healthcare Technologies

The concept of "external review" is familiar to most case managers. The ability for patients or their providers to appeal an adverse medical necessity or benefit determination has been around for years. However, a new national framework for such appeals is being established through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).

 

About 2.5 million more people, ages 19 to 25, have health insurance than had it before the law took effect because of a provision that lets young adults remain on their parents' insurance plans through age 26, the agency's National Center for Health Statistics said.

"Moms and dads around the country can breathe a little easier knowing their children are covered," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.

 

A true friend of telehealth, Marilyn Tavenner of Virginia, has been nominated by President Obama to be the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).  If confirmed by the United States Senate, she will take over for Dr. Donald Berwick.  Ms. Tavenner served as the former Secretary of Virginia’s health and human services department before joining CMS.  She currently serves as the agency’s acting administrator, taking over for Dr. Berwick upon his resignation.

 

Keeping off the pounds is tough at any age. Now seniors are getting a helping hand from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which has announced that it will cover screening and counseling for obesity as a free preventive service for Medicare beneficiaries.

Coverage is effective immediately.

 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released an educational video in American Sign Language (ASL) to provide important information about the Medicare program to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The video consists of an overview of the Medicare program, including what Medicare is, who qualifies, the four parts of Medicare (A, B, C, and D), new preventive services under the Affordable Care Act, and help paying Medicare costs.

To access go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eskZVAg7v0o

To download, go to http://downloads.cms.gov/media/video/ASLOverview.mp4.

 

To the relief of many providers, the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has announced its intent to delay the start of Stage 2 of the Meaningful Use requirements of electronic health records (EHR) from 2013 to 2014.

 

Since first launching the NCCN Guidelines for Patients™ a little over a year ago, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) has released a total of eight patient guidelines in this new series of consumer-friendly translations of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®): Breast, Non-Small Cell Lung, Ovarian, and Prostate Cancers, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma, Melanoma, and Multiple Myeloma.

 

In 2009, six Premature Infant Health Summits were conducted to address and discuss the many issues facing premature infants. Since that time many stakeholders have developed programs and initiatives, all with the goal of improving the care of premature infants.

This year we will talk about the many small steps that have been taken and, with everyone’s involvement, can lead to big changes in the lives of premature infants.

Topics will include:

• Born too soon...why it matters. The latest on prematurity rates and research
• Engaging national and community stakeholders to make a difference
• Review and discussion of new premature infant resources
• Current policy landscape and the impact on premature infant care

To register, please email MedImmunePrematuritySummits@gmail.com.

 

Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Allegheny Center Alliance Church, Union Place Chapel
801 Union Place, Pittsburgh, PA

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Philadelphia Regional Office, is pleased to present this information on health care reform.

 

Thursday, January 26, 2012
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. EST

This is a "Virtual Meeting." Attendees will need a computer, Internet access, and a phone line to participate. The National Medicare Education Program (NMEP) Partnership Alliance began as an educational effort because of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which expanded Medicare's health plan options by creating the Medicare+Choice program. A partnership soon developed between public and private organizations and CMS around a common goal: educating people with Medicare to make informed choices about their health care. NMEP continues its work under the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 and the Affordable Care Act of 2010.