California Oncology Weekly
"An Oncologists’ Source for Timely Information"
A publication of the
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc.
February 9, 2021
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Nominate your Excellence award candidate MOASC News
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Gov. Newsom’s surprising choice of Blue Shield to lead Covid vaccination effort California News
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Tomorrow, UCSF Grand Round Series, Best of Year, Part 1 Affiliate Association News/ANCO News
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MOASC board member, Ravi Patel, MD is a trusted voice in the Southern California oncology community. Dr. Patel regularly shares his knowledge on cancer treatment with KGET News. In this video, Dr. Patel shares the latest advancements in oncology.
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The February 26 deadline for nominations is quickly approaching!
Help us recognize our outstanding physicians, practices and staff, for their dedication to providing quality cancer care during the pandemic.
Please provide a brief summary of why you are nominating this individual or team and why they should be considered for one of the following awards:
Excellence in Leadership
Excellence in Healthcare
Awardees will be announced during the virtual MOASC Annual Oncology Summit, Saturday, March 27, 2021. Thank you.
Consider applying for an appointed leadership position on the MOASC Board of Directors. Volunteers are integral to MOASC remaining a leading voice of oncology throughout California. We encourage volunteerism at all levels. The life cycle of a volunteer often starts with small tasks and virtual participation and leads to serving on committees and in leadership positions representing MOASC nationally. Becoming involved in your professional association offers benefits for both members and their profession. The accomplishments of MOASC volunteers are recognized throughout the year, including articles in California Oncology Weekly and recognition at MOASC’s annual conference.
Dedicated, strategic, and innovative members are invited to apply to be considered for five appointed roles, including MOASC Board of Directors, Officers, Regional Representative and more.
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MOASC Job Board
Medical Oncologist in the San Gabriel valley is looking for part-time employment. Attached please find their CV for your review. Thank you in advance for your consideration of this experienced candidate.
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Los Angeles oncology practice seeks temporary, part time RN, Monday & Tuesday, 9am-5pm, for 3 to 3.5 months. Must have experience in mixing and administering chemotherapeutic treatments in clinic. Thank you very much for your consideration.
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MOASC Programs - Save the Dates - All Times are Pacific
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MOASC presents Spotlight On Hematology, February 20. Selected fellows and faculty, from the University of California, Irvine, will present the premier topics from their attendance at the 2020 Annual ASH Meeting. Through virtual conferencing, the presentations will promote collegial discourse among colleagues and networking among attendees.
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MJH Life Sciences brings more southern California CBPP programs to you.
Program 1: Feb. 23rd, with Dr. Ezra Cohen (University of California San Diego Moores Cancer Center)
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Program 2: May 11th, with Dr. David Quinn (USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Hospital and Clinics).
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Program 3: May 13th, with Dr. Joseph Mikhael (Translational Genomics Research Institute, City of Hope Cancer Center)
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MOASC will, once again, be partnering with Dr Neil Love and his CME organization, Research To Practice (RTP), for a daylong, live (now virtual) educational event to take place on Saturday, May 15, 2021. Similar in format to RTP’s Year in Review live series, the virtual webinar will follow a multi-tumor approach with 14 expert clinical investigators reviewing current management strategies and recent advances in breast cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and lymphomas, gastrointestinal cancers, genitourinary cancers, gynecologic cancers, lung cancer and multiple myeloma. In lieu of traditional didactic lectures, the participating clinical investigator panelists will review recent data as well as review cases provided by MOASC clinicians. More information regarding this session will be announced in the coming weeks including a link to register. In preparation for this event, Dr Neil Love and RTP would like to invite MOASC community oncologists to participate in a case-based recorded 60-minute Zoom interview with Dr Neil Love, which will be utilized during the live activity.
We look forward to a great program!
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Have you checked out the event tab on our Facebook & Twitter page? Keep up to date with #MOASC events by “liking” us on our Facebook page. We post easy-to-share events about the latest news in #oncology.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom’s surprising choice of Blue Shield to lead the state’s covid vaccination effort raised questions about the role politics played in the decision, and whether the insurer is up to the task.
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California's Department of Health Care Services proposed to permanently adopt some telehealth policies enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as coverage parity for care provided via telehealth and in person. However, the department is not recommending that coverage of audio-only visits at federally qualified health centers or rural health centers be reimbursed at a prospective payment system rate.
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Noridian News
Evaluation and Management - 99202-99215 and Related Services Webinar - February 25, 2021. This event includes: 2021 Change Summary, Office and Outpatient Services, Time Component, Medical Decision Making, and Resources.
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National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) - Modifier 59 Reminder
This is a reminder that modifier 59 should only be used if no other suitable modifier is available. Evaluate other modifiers, such as RT/LT to identify right and left, FA, F1-F9 to identify fingers, TA, T1-T9 to identify toes and E1-E4 to identify eyelids. Also check repeat modifiers (76, 77 or 91) to avoid duplicate denial.
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HCPCS Code G2211 Is a Bundled Service And Not Separately Paid
Medicare Administrative Contractors are denying separate payment for HCPCS code G2211 ("Visit complexity inherent to evaluation and management associated with medical care services that serve as the continuing focal point for all needed health care services and/or with medical care services that are part of ongoing care related to a patient’s single, serious condition or a complex condition.
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CMS News
At the end of 2020, CMS issued updated guidance on the thresholds that require an Applicable Manufacturer or Group Purchasing Organization to report under the Sunshine Act.
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The dramatic rise in telehealth adoption during the pandemic may have also led to missed chronic care management and preventive care alerts, though has helped patients get health care outside conventional settings, a study in JMIR Medical Informatics found. The workflow for telehealth and in-office visits differ, and remote patient monitoring as well as patient-reported data entered through the portal could make up for data missing from telehealth platforms.
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The CDC has released COVID-19 resources for businesses and organizations that employ essential workers, and the kit includes letter templates and fact sheets about COVID-19 vaccines, a slide deck for informational meetings, stickers for employees who have received a vaccine, vaccination posters and fliers, and language that can be used in social media posts.
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People with low health literacy are more likely than those with high health literacy to seek aggressive, curative treatment at the end of life instead of hospice care, researchers reported in the American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine. People who do not understand their own health condition or treatment options, or who do not understand how palliative and hospice care work, may not be able to make informed decisions about end-of-life care, the researchers found.
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NewsGuard is offering a free internet browser plug-in that indicates whether search engine results and social media posts are reliable sources of health information. NewsGuard identified 405 websites based in the US, UK, France, Germany and Italy that actively push misinformation about COVID-19, and identified what it called "super-spreader" accounts posting misinformation about vaccines on social platforms.
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Affiliate Association News |
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ANCO News
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center Grand Round Series Best of Year Part 1, will kick off on February 10th from 5:30pm-7:00pm. Presentations will include Radiotherapy for Management of Metastatic Disease, Current and Future Strategies for Treatment of Glioblastoma, and Robotic Surgery in Bladder Cancer.
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21st Multidisciplinary Management of Cancers meeting to be held March 12-14, 2021. The 2021 program represents a collaborative effort of expert clinicians from the Stanford Cancer Institute, University of California, Davis, University of California, San Francisco, and the Association of Northern California Oncologists. The program will be held virtually.
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The MolinaCares Accord Provides Behavioral Health Resources for Primary Care Physicians to Support Molina Members Amid COVID-19: MolinaCares recently announced a new collaboration with the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) focused on evidence-based continuing medical education resources to help primary care clinicians address the mental health needs of their patients. Together, they will educate and equip more primary care physicians with tools to address the mental health needs of their patients. This includes best practices on treating depression, anxiety, and ADHD and empowering health care professionals to identify and support those who may be suffering silently.
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ASCO News
Submit your abstracts by February 17, 2021! The ASCO Annual Meeting is scheduled for June 4-8, 2021.
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Incorporating changes from CPT®, HCPCS, and ICD-10 CM, along with last minute effects of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, ASCO has released updated information on Evaluation & Management, and other changes to codes common to oncology practices and centers.
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In January, ASCO’s PracticeNET program produced a study of the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule, effective January 1, 2021. Aggregating data from 28 PracticeNET member practices of varying size, structure, specialty mix, service mix, and geographic location, the study found that practices could expect an increase in Medicare allowable rates from 3.8% to as high as 27% in some cases. These increases are only applicable to the calendar year 2021 and will be reversed as of January 1, 2022 unless further action is taken.
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ASCO’s Oncology Clinician Well-Being Task Force’s leadership and members recently hosted a webinar on well-being and burnout. Hear about ASCO’s plans to address this issue
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COA News
See Community Oncology from a New Perspective at the 2021 Community Oncology Conference! The Free-Virtual conference is April 8 & 9, 2021. With the power of the internet, data and knowledge are readily available. What’s harder to find are the outside perspectives like the ones you’ll find at the Community Oncology Conference. The COA Conference is so much more than just best-in-class educational programs. As a practice administrator, you are always in search of other administrators with whom to work through new care and resource models. Not only does the Conference offer unmatched opportunities to hear from key players in our field, but more importantly, the content is focused on the needs of independent, community oncology practices. Learn about social determinants of health and how other practices are incorporating this data into their workflow. Economic and racial differences greatly affect how we provide care and patient outcomes, get a deeper understanding of how we can address our community’s needs.
There’s something for every member of community oncology, which is why you can bring a large contingent from your practice.
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Pfizer Oncology invites MOASC members to their upcoming webinar on the Treatment of Relapsed/Refractory ALL on February 27, 2021. Topics will include:
Current treatment options in R/R ALL; Multidisciplinary team (MDT) evaluation of an HSCT-eligible patient case; Analyses from the phase 3 trial of a potential treatment option, including the impact of MRD and HSCT.
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Bristol Myers Squibb announced that the FDA has approved Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel; liso-cel), a CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified (including DLBCL arising from indolent lymphoma), high-grade B-cell lymphoma, primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma, and follicular lymphoma grade 3B.
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AstraZeneca cordially invites MOASC Members to their upcoming Enhertu Advanced Gastric Broadcast Presentation. The program will discover a new indication for Enhertu and how it may help certain patients with unmet need. On March 4, 2021 at 6:30PM EST and 8:30PM EST.
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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.
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