California Oncology Weekly
"Where California Oncologists Go For Answers!"
A publication of the
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc.
|
|
|
This
Weekly
's Hot Topics
|
- MOASC LunchTime Series webinar recording available MOASC News
- Take ANCO survey for Hem/Oncs on COVID-19 impact ANCO News
- CMS to raise payments to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans CMS News
|
|
|
-
Google-UCSF platform mines EHRs for Rx errors
. Google Health and the computational health sciences department at the University of California at San Francisco developed a machine learning model that mines EHR data to predict physicians' drug prescribing patterns and prevent prescribing errors. The technology, described in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, works similarly to predictive analytic programs used by banks to detect credit card fraud and identifies prescriptions that seem "abnormal for the patient and their current situation."
-
A new study from the
Scripps Research Translational Institute suggests that devices such as Fitbits may serve as valuable tools for population health, generating data that can alert health officials to emerging outbreaks in real time. Using de-identified data from Fitbit devices that were equipped with sleep, and heart rate, tracking capabilities, scientists were able to show that they could significantly improve predictions of influenza-like illness at the state level when compared with data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The findings appear in The Lancet Digital Health.
|
|
|
Recent Announcements Published to "Latest Updates" of Medicare Jurisdiction E Part B.
- Quarterly Update to the NCCI PTP Edits, Version 26.1, Effective April 1, 2020 - Revised
CR 11628 contains the quarterly update to the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) Procedure-to-Procedure (PTP) edits. Please be sure your billing staffs know of the updates.
Read the complete update
- In order to increase cash flow to providers of services and suppliers impacted by the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has expanded the current Accelerated and Advance Payment Program to a broader group of Medicare Part A providers and Part B suppliers. The expansion of this program is only for the duration of the public health emergency. Details on the eligibility, and the request process are outlined below. The information below reflects the passage of the CARES Act (P.L.116136).
https://www.cms.gov/files/document/Accelerated-and-Advanced-Payments-Fact-Sheet.pdf
.
COVID-19 Telephone Hotline:
The telephone hotline 1-866-575-4067 has been created to address accelerated payment questions as a result of the COVID-19 response. The hotline is available Monday-Friday 6 a.m. - 4 p.m. PDT. med.noridianmedicare.com/
- Telehealth and Virtual Services - During COVID 19 Webinars. T
his event includes: Telehealth Information, Waiver Changes, Eligible Providers, Service listing, Virtual Visits, E-Visits, and Resources Read the complete update
- COVID-19: Accelerated and Advance Payment Program Webinars.
These events will include: CMS Current Emergency and Telehealth, Accelerated and Advance Payment Program Information, Repayment, Guide to Request Payment, Frequently Asked Questions and Answers, and Resources Read the complete update
- QIC Encourages Sending Second Level Appeal Requests through Fax or Portal during COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. T
his information is at the request of the Qualified Independent Contractor (QIC). C2C conducts second-level Medicare Part B Fee-For-Service claims appeals, for claims submitted in your MAC jurisdiction. Read the complete update
-
Quarterly Medicare Updates - A/B - After Hours Webinar - April 14, 2020.
This event includes: CMS Updates, Noridian Updates, April 2020 Quarterly Provider Updates, Payment and Recurring Updates, Special Editions (SE), Resources, Educational Information
Read the complete update
-
Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage Webinar - April 23, 2020.
This event includes: Advanced Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN) Overview, ABN Completion, ABN Tips, Noteworthy Information, and Resources
Read the complete update
-
MolDX: Decipher Biopsy Prostate Cancer Classifier Assay for Men with Intermediate Risk Disease Final LCD - Effective May 04, 2020
This Local Coverage Determination (LCD) has completed the Open Public Meeting and Contractor Advisory Committee (CAC) comment period and is now finalized under contractor numbers: 01112 (NCA), 01182 (SCA), 01212 (AS, GU, HI, NMI), and 01312 (NV). Responses to comments received may be found as a link at the bottom of the final LCD.
Read the complete update
.
|
|
|
-
Thank you to those who participated in the MOASC LunchTime Series webinar
held last Wednesday, April 1, 2020. Bobbi Buell presented, "Telemedicine in the COVID-19 Era."
To listen to the presentation, click
HERE.
Enter password: Moasc04012020.
Linked here, for your perusal, are the following documents:
Bobbi's presentation
In a continuing effort to improve the information, presentations, and content of future events, it is extremely important to us to obtain your feedback on the meeting you attended. Please take a few moments to answer these questions.
1. What was your overall opinion of this LunchTime Series presentation?
2. Was the information presented helpful?
3. Any suggestions for future topics?
Thank you in advance for your comments!
- As the emergence of asynchronous, or store-and-forward, telemedicine is giving rise to new platforms that stress collaboration and best practices over real-time, video-based treatment, the MOASC Office has compiled a glossary of terms, to assist members in understanding the nuance of the various modalities of the telemedcine technology as addressed in Bobbi's presentation.
1)
Real-time
(or live video) telemedicine consists of an online-based audio-video consult. Real-time telehealth provides timely care, especially in emergencies or urgent situations, and maintains the concept of the doctor-patient relationship by enabling a face-to-face analysis and treatment. The doctor is able to see the patient, conduct and examination and engage in conversation, much as he or she would in an office visit.
2)
Asynchronous
(store-and-forward; sometimes called capture, store and forward) involves the gathering of data from the patient which is then sent through a secure e-mail or messaging service to a cloud-based platform. The data is analyzed and a diagnosis and treatment plan are sent back to the patient or provider. Proponents of store-and-forward technology say the platform is ideal for evidence-based care in which providers are able to gather all the information on a patient, analyze that data, match it to evidence-based care and make a diagnosis. While perhaps not suitable for emergency care, it gives providers the leeway to add clinical decision support to the process and eliminates the sometimes-inconvenient requirement of having both patient and doctor available at the same time. And,
3)
Remote patient monitoring
. Remote patient monitoring allows a provider to continue to track health care data for a patient released to his or her home or a care facility, potentially reducing readmission rates.
Effective treatment plans might require use of all three types of telehealth, as well as services that might not fall into these categories. Currently, though, the distinction among these types of services is important in understanding what private and public insurance policies cover.
As an FYI: AT&T is offering free telehealth services through VitalCare to its customers in the health care sector, including hospitals and clinics.
- The MOASC Oncology Summit Annual Symposium virtual presentations are available for viewing at www.oncologytube.com/moasc. View presentations from:
- Tanya Dorff, MD, City of Hope, presenting "Genitourinary Cancers: Evolving Practices & Controversies."
- Herbert Eradat, MD, UCLA, discusses, "An Update on Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Novel Therapeutic Strategies."
- Omid Hamid MD, Cedars Sinai Foundation, discusses, "The Multi-Modality Management of Melanoma in the Era of Immunotherapy."
- Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD, USC, presenting "Update on Molecular Targeted Therapies for Metastatic Colorectal Cancers."
- Nick McAndrew, MD, UCLA, discusses, "Updates in Breast Cancer Summary of 2019 Practice Changing Studies and Overall Survival Updates."
- Zev A. Wainberg, UCLA, presenting, "Updates in Gastrointestinal Cancers."
- MOASC applauds all first responders, physicians, nurses, technicians and healthcare support staff on the frontlines caring for those in need of healthcare services. Thank you for all that you do every day to keep us, our families, our friends, and our communities healthy and safe. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, MOASC is here for you as your support. For status, questions or for coding advice, contact
moasc@moasc.org
; go to
www.moasc.org
; continue to read the California Oncology Weekly, and subscribe to our social media sites.
|
|
|
- The Association of Northern California Oncologists (ANCO) is conducting a survey for Hematologists and Oncologists to learn how COVID-19 is impacting their practice. Please take a moment to complete our brief survey:
https://forms.gle/5jPTGrGtVeSEujVf9
- The Association of Northern California Oncologists (ANCO) continues to monitor the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and is committed to providing the membership the best possible information with which to make clinical and personal well-being decisions.
We encourage member practices to let ANCO know of COVID-19 resources they are depending upon and found useful and how they are responding to COVID-19 and serving their patients and staff at director@anco.org (Use Subject: COVID-19: RESPONSE). Thanks!
- Applications period has been extended for ANCO's Travel Awards to Fellows and Young Clinicians to support attendance at the ASCO Annual Meeting, ASH Annual Meeting, or other national oncology meeting in 2020. The deadline for submission is May 3. Awards will be announced by May 3. Learn more at
https://anco.org/membership/fellow-benefits/
.
-
20th Multidisciplinary Management of Cancers:
A Case-based Approach taking place in Napa on June 19-21. For the more information on the impact of COVID-19 on this meeting go to
www.multicancers.org/covid19.html
.
- ANCO physician members, their practice staff, and representatives from ANCO's corporate members must register to access password-protected content (e.g., The ANCO Directory, ANCO meeting materials) on the ANCO website
www.anco.org
.
- Use ANCO's
job board
to post or search for employment opportunities at ANCO member practices.
- Follow ANCO on Twitter at @ANCO News.
|
National News
- CDC recommends use of cloth masks in public. The CDC issued guidance urging Americans, particularly those living in areas with significant community-based transmission, to wear cloth masks or face coverings in public places such as pharmacies and grocery stores where social distancing measures are hard to maintain. President Donald Trump said the use of face coverings in public is voluntary.
- According to a letter from the Pew Charitable Trusts to HHS Secretary Alex Azar, the COVID-19 pandemic should spur the Office of the National Coordinator to issue rules immediately for health data access and sharing, yet most Americans don't want app makers or the government to scrape their data to combat the coronavirus pandemic. A new survey by Oliver Wyman Forum of 1000 Americans and "a little over 500 people each" in the U.K., Germany, Spain, Australia and Singapore, balanced by age and gender, finds, in the face of public- and private- sector efforts, to do just that.
Efforts to fight the pandemic are putting new pressure on privacy protections, particularly around health information, but this study's results suggest the U.S. public isn't ready to give them up.
Some 54% of Americans surveyed from March 21-27, said they'd be comfortable sharing health status data, such as whether they'd recently visited a doctor, in the interest of monitoring public health, and they are willing to share some health data, including a positive COVID-19 test result, with the CDC or World Health Organization, but far fewer said they would want a positive test result shared with local officials or other federal agencies. Only 21% said they would share a positive test result with apps that anonymize or aggregate data on where infected people are, and 9% would share it with apps that disclose patient names.
|
CMS News
-
CMS said it will raise payments to Medicare Advantage and Part D plans by 4.07% in 2021
, higher than the nearly 3% hike initially proposed by the agency. The agency will also increase by 4.04% the advanced payment rates to MA plans for beneficiaries who suffer from end-stage renal disease, up from the 2.8% initially proposed, and it will relax data requirements, reprioritize coding audits, and allow expanded use of telehealth and reduced cost-sharing to help beneficiaries through the pandemic.
- Billing for Professional Telehealth Distant Site Services During the Public Health Emergency - Revised. This corrects a prior message that appeared in CMS' March 31, 2020 Special Edition.
Building on prior action to expand reimbursement for telehealth services to Medicare beneficiaries, CMS will now allow for more than 80 additional services to be furnished via telehealth. When billing professional claims for all telehealth services with dates of services on or after March 1, 2020, and for the duration of the Public Health Emergency (PHE), bill with:
- Place of Service (POS) equal to what it would have been had the service been furnished in-person
- Modifier 95, indicating that the service rendered was actually performed via telehealth.
As a reminder, CMS is not requiring the CR modifier on telehealth services. However, consistent with current rules for telehealth services, there are two scenarios where modifiers are required on Medicare telehealth professional claims:
- Furnished as part of a federal telemedicine demonstration project in Alaska and Hawaii using asynchronous (store and forward) technology, use GQ modifier
- Furnished for diagnosis and treatment of an acute stroke, use G0 modifier
There are no billing changes for institutional claims; critical access hospital method II claims should continue to bill with modifier GT
|
Affiliate Association News
|
-
You should STILL register for the 2020 COA VIRTUAL Conference: Focusing On The Future Together, on April 23-24. COA will proceed with a virtual Conference, though the face-to-face conference in Orlando is cancelled. COA Conferences help community oncology physicians, pharmacy leaders and business representatives connect the dots across specialties, with a special focus on what is relevant for independent community oncology practices. When practices come together to discuss the important initiatives on a national stage, it drives progress in a way that is truly beneficial to patients. Learn more and register at www.COAConferencing.org.
- Join Physicians' Education Resource
®, LLC
, to their
11th Annual
International Symposium on Ovarian Cancer and Other Gynecologic Malignancies®
a 1-day, educational and scientific LIVE-WEBCAST on May 2, 2020 the meeting will focus on key clinical topics in the management of ovarian cancer, as well as endometrial, uterine, and cervical malignancies.
For more information and to register go to
gotoper.com/go/IOG20A
-
ASH is accepting nominations through May 31 for the 2020 ASH Advocacy Leadership Institute taking place September 22-23, in Washington, DC.
This two-day workshop provides an opportunity for ASH members (who are U.S. citizens) with an interest in health policy and advocacy and a desire to become involved in ASH advocacy activities, to gain a better understanding of the Society and learn about legislation and health policy affecting hematology research and practice. Self-nominations are welcome, and individuals may nominate more than one colleague. For more information and to submit a nomination, visit the ASH website.
- National Cancer Survivors Day® is Sunday, June 7, 2020. Get a jumpstart on planning your NCSD 2020 event by registering it (free of charge) with the National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation at ncsd.org/register. Visit their website at www.ncsd.org. To assist you, NCSD national supporter Coping with Cancer® magazine has put together a list of resources specifically for cancer survivors and caregivers. Follow this link to learn about Coronavirus and Cancer: A list of resources for cancer survivors.
- The International Lung Cancer Congress
will held their 21st Annual meeting on July 23-25, 2020 at the Hyatt in Huntington Beach, and is exclusively extending FREE registrations to MOASC members. This meeting will provide current, practical information on the management of lung cancer, as well as a look at the novel agents and strategies with the potential to shape the future of lung cancer therapy. Leading international and national experts will provide perspectives on how to apply the latest data on targeted agents, immunotherapy, surgery, and radiation oncology in the clinic. To register and to view the invitation click HERE.
- Cedars-Sinai 3rd Annual Gastrointestinal Tumor Conference is on Saturday, September 12, 2020. Concise and comprehensive updates on the most recent research and advances in immunotherapy for gastrointestinal cancers, will be presented. A stellar faculty has been assembled to share developments in precision medicine, research, and immunotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of cancers of the pancreas, liver, and gastric/esophagus. For more information and to register go to: cedars.cloud-cme.com/gicancercme
-
NCCN has published updated guidelines at
|
Industry News
- Celgene Corporation
announced that the
Food and Drug Administration approved Luspatercept-aamt (REBLOZYL) for the treatment of anemia failing an erythropoiesis stimulating agent and requiring 2 or more red blood cell (RBC) units over 8 weeks in adult patients with very low- to intermediate-risk myelodysplastic syndromes with ring sideroblasts (MDS-RS) or with myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm with ring sideroblasts and thrombocytosis (MDS/MPN-RS-T). More Information go to
https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-information-approved-drugs/fda-approves-luspatercept-aamt-anemia-adults-mds
|
|
|
MOASC CALENDAR
(Davis, New Dates:
March 11-12, 2021)
|
|
|
|
|
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 material contained in the
California Oncology Weekly
is intended as general information for 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 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
|
|
| |
|
