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SDMS Sound NewsTM
Volume 6, Issue 11
November 30, 2004
ISSN 1543-0448
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In This Issue...
This issue of SDMS Sound News is sponsored by GE Healthcare, a PLATINUM sponsor of SDMS.
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GE Healthcare is the leading global pharmaceutical provider of diagnostic imaging products. GE Healthcare is dedicated to providing healthcare professionals with products that expand and improve their diagnostic capabilities and contribute to the treatment of disease. With a focus in cardiovascular imaging, GE Healthcare markets Optison (Perflutren Protein-Type A Microspheres for Injection, USP) for use in echocardiography.
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SDMS Sound News is a way of sharing important or time-sensitive news with our members. It supplements our print newsletter, News Wave, and provides links to new information and services available on the SDMS web site. SDMS Sound News is published monthly. An archive of past issues is available at http://www.sdms.org/lists/soundnewsarchive.asp
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SDMS Member: [[FirstName]] [[LastName]]
Membership Expires: [[ExpDate]]
Email Address: [[Email]]
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2. FREE CME Article: Quality in Ultrasound: Credentialing and Accreditation Explained
SDMS members can take an online CME test to earn one SDMS CME credit for the article entitled Quality in Ultrasound: Credentialing and Accreditation Explained. This article appeared in News Wave in the September/October 2004 issue of JDMS. The article is also available online. SDMS members can go to http://www.sdms.org/members/CMEscoring.asp to reread the article and take the CME post-test.
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3. SDMS Educational Foundation Giving Made Easy Through Benevolink
Giving Made Simple.SM And FREE!
As you know, charities are constantly challenged to meet fundraising goals without incurring additional costs. Continued support from donors like you is highly treasured -- now, more than ever.
We have recently enrolled in a new program called Benevolink. This unique concept provides the SDMS Educational Foundation with a perpetual funding source to increase financial support. Now, the simple act of everyday shopping can do more than you ever imagined. In fact, you could earn $100 or more in a year for the Foundation’s sonographer and student scholarship and grant programs just by shopping. And best of all...
It’s free! AND it’s easy!
Through the Marketplace at www.Benevolink.com you can earn up to 13% of your purchase for the Foundation. This is not an extra charge that is tacked on to your bill, this is money the vendors have set aside to donate to charitable organizations on behalf of their customers. Think of it as the money they would have spent on advertising their companies if they had to contact you directly. The Foundation and Benevolink have done the research and partnered with quality vendors of every kind to bring their products to you, and in turn, allow you to donate to the Foundation while you shop.
With the holidays quickly approaching and shopping malls becoming increasingly packed, many people are going online to do their shopping. This year, we encourage you to visit Benevolink.com and shop from the many merchants shown there that will make donations to your designated charity. Some of the vendors are: Best Buy, The Gap, Eddie Bauer, Old Navy, Harry and David’s, RadioShack, and many, many more!
You buy the things you want.
Your favorite charity gets the things it needs. SM
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4. Medi-Cal Approves Reimbursement for Spine and Chest Ultrasound
Medi-Cal (California's Medicaid Program) has just approved
reimbursement for spine and chest ultrasound procedures. These CPT
codes were previously denied. Requests were heard by a member of the Medi-Cal board that is a neonatologist with the understanding that chest ultrasound in critically ill patients is not only necessary,
but in most cases, the only means of determining whether or not the infant has a pleural effusion. Due to their critical condition most cannot be transported for a CT scan.
SDMS Region 1 Director Joy Guthrie, RT(R)(M), RDMS, RDCS, RVT, ROUB adds, "Likewise...it makes no fiscal sense to perform an MRI for a "screening"
for a tethered cord, when a ten minute u/s can accurately determine the
level of the conus. The MRI can be reserved for those studies that are positive."
The details will be published in the Medi-Cal bulletin for Dec and become effective Dec 1st.
The CPT codes are:
76800 Spine
76604 Chest
The driving forces behind getting the spine and chest ultrasound procedures covered by Medi-Cal were Dr. J. Charles Smith, Chief Radiologist at Children's Hospital Central California, and Dr. Ehinger, a physician on the policy board. Dr. Smith states that "Dr. Ehinger was the first person in Sacramento to call me back , ask questions , do more research and actually understand the clinical importance of these two exams and then move it through the system."
Thanks to Dr. Smith for continuing to push for this important change in the Medi-Cal reimbursement rules and to Dr. Ehinger for hearing his voice.
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6. Medicare Fee Schedule: Good News for Ultrasound Imaging Service Providers
Many SDMS members never see or deal with issues related to reimbursement rates and billing. For many it is the 'hidden part' of their day to day work. However, particularly for those who work within a hospital environment (over 70% of our members), Medicare reimbursement is the most important part of the 'numbers game'. Many third party payers model their fee schedule based on the Medicare reimbursement rates. Of the two parts of Medicare reimbursement, the professional and technical components (those services performed by a non-physician), clearly the technical component reimbursement is the most important factor for sonographer related issues. The following message from our lead lobbyist, William Sarraille, is a very encouraging development, and while he did not say it in his introduction, I believe that this outcome can be in large part attributed to our presence in the CMS/PEAC/RUC process over the last 6 years.
Dear Folks,
I wanted to follow-up on my earlier e-mails regarding the final Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and the good news it offers for technical component ultrasound imaging service providers.
Payment rates for ultrasound services generally were stable or slightly positive compared to the final 2004 rule. And most non-invasive vascular study rates increased significantly. The rates for non-invasive vascular studies (93875-93888) and extremity arterial studies (93922-93921) were up between approximately 17% and 42%. The rates for extremity venous studies (93965-93971) were up approximately 26%-52%. Payment for a duplex scan of the hemodialysis access increased approximately 18%.
Ophthalmology ultrasound rates also increased, with payment rates for a-scan and b-scans improving more than 100% over last year.
The ultrasound payment rates under the final Hospital Outpatient Payment System also generally remained stable or slightly positive. Certain ophthalmology codes increased over 65% from 2004, as did CPT 76810 (ob pelvic ultrasound). Pelvic ultrasound guidance procedures (76930--76965), however, all decreased approximately 10%. Payment rates for non-invasive vascular diagnostic studies (93875-93990) also decreased slightly by 1.37%
All in all a very positive set of developments!
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7. SDMS/OSHA Form Alliance for Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders
On Tuesday, October 26 the SDMS and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) signed a formal Alliance Partnership agreement in Washington, D.C. This Alliance document addresses SDMS/OSHA collaboration on the provision of resources and information to SDMS members and others within the medical community on issues related to the reduction and prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). To read the full press release, visit http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=11091
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NOTE: To be removed from the recipient list (including all future "SDMS Alerts" and future issues of "SDMS Sound News"), please send your request to: membershipdept@sdms.org. Be sure to include your name, email address, and SDMS membership number.
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Questions, suggestions, or comments? Send an email to webmaster@sdms.org
© Copyright 2004. Society
of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Plano, TX. All Rights Reserved.
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