California
Oncology
Weekly
"Where California Oncologists Go For Answers!"
A collaborative publication of the
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc.
and the
Association of Northern California Oncologists, Inc
.
National Small Business Week is May 5-11. For more than 50 years, the week has recognized the important contributions of America's entrepreneurs and small business owners.
|
|
|
|
|
- Partner with Amgen on their Breakaway from Cancer initiative! California News
- This Saturday, May 11! Attend the 4th Annual UCI Health Hematology Symposium MOASC News
- This Thursday, May 9! Celebrate thesecondopinion anniversary with an informational and educational luncheon. ANCO News
|
|
|
- The California Department of Managed Health Care's Law & Regulations web page was created to make it easier for you to find and navigate through the laws and regulations, relating to health care service plans in California that the Department administers. This web page also lists the issues on which the Department is researching and would like to receive comments. Some newly effective regulations that may be of interest are:
Average Contracted Rate Methodology & Default Rate
Details
Prescription Drug Prior Authorization or Step Therapy Exception Request Form
Details
Prescription Drug Prior Authorization Form Process
Details
- Read the California Medical Association's (CMA) Annual Report for 2018 at
- MOASC & ANCO Members are invited to please join Californians Allied for Patient Protection (CAPP) for an evening reception in honor of Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel on Thursday, May 16th from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM. The reception will be held at Woodland Hills Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (6325 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Suite 435, Woodland Hills, CA 91367). Please click here to view the invitation. We ask that you share the invitation with your members and encourage them to attend. Please RSVP to Kristina Gelabert (kgelabert@micra.org). Thank you for your continued support of CAPP.
- Last week, Amgen launched its Breakaway Challenge campaign to turn physical activity into support for fighting disease. "For a six-week period starting May 1 through June 12, 2019, Amgen will donate $1 dollar for every Breakaway Challenge mile completed by initiative participants, up to $400,000. The donations will be evenly distributed among the eight nonprofits." Many have partnered with Amgen on their Breakaway from Cancer initiative as part of the Amgen Tour of California bike race.
Read More »
|
|
|
Announcements:
Open Payments: Review and Dispute Data by May 15; Proposed Rules on Interoperability: Comment Period Extended to June 3; Quality Payment Program: MIPS 2019 Call for Measures/Activities Ends July 1; New Medicare Card: Transition Period Ends in 8 Months; Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program: Submit a Measure Proposal by May 28.
Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Database File Record Layout CR11191
explains the revised field descriptions for some of the fields on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Database (MPFSDB) file record layout. Read the complete update
Documentation of Evaluation and Management Services of Teaching Physicians CR11171
represents a change in policy of documentation for teaching physicians providing evaluation and management (E/M) services. Read the complete update
Events:
Quality Payment Program: Advanced APMs Webinar (May 9)
Publications:
Medicare Billing: CMS Form CMS-1500 and the 837 Professional-Reminder
* MolDX: Inivata, InVisionFirst, Liquid Biopsy for Patients with Lung Cancer Final LCD-Effective June 3, 2019
* MolDX: myPath Melanoma Assay Final LCD-Effective June 3, 2019
* IVR Enhancements Coming Soon
* Educational Events-May 2019
* Medicare B News JE April 2019 Bulletin-Now Available
* EDISS Medical Documentation Exchange Survey
Forthcoming Noridian JEMAC meetings/webinars/workshops include:
* Using the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) Webinar (May 21)
* Duplicate Claims Webinar (May 22)
* Modifier 59, NCCI and MUEs Webinar (May 28)
* Submitting Your Enrollment Online-Part 1 Webinar (I&A; May 29)
* Using the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) Webinar (June 13)
* Medicare Part A/B Revalidation Webinar (July 24)
* Submitting Your Enrollment Online-Part 2 Webinar (PECOS; June 26)
* Telehealth/Telemedicine Enrollment Only Webinar (July 10)
* Revocation, Caps and Appeals Webinar (August 7)
* Submitting Your Enrollment Online-Part 1 (I&A) Webinar (August 21)
|
|
|
- This Saturday, May 11,
join
MOASC Members at the 4thAnnual UCI Health Hematology Symposium
from 7:30am to 4:20pm. The symposium will feature regional and national experts bringing you state-of-the-art updates on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors, Myeloproliferative Neoplasms, AML, Bleeding Disorders, Transfusion Medicine and others. For more information go to
http://www.medicine.uci.edu/hem-symposium/index.asp. To register click HERE. The UC Irvine School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 6.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
- SAVE-THE-DATE for MOASC's Spotlight On Oncology, August 17, 2019 in Huntington Beach. Through a restricted grant from MOASC, selected oncology fellows and faculty from the University of California, Irvine (UCI), present the premier topics from their attendance at the 2019 Annual ASCO meeting. The presentations promote collegial discourse among colleagues along with networking in an informal setting. Contact the MOASC Office for more information at
moasc@moasc.org.
- MOASC Member, City of Hope CME presents: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Cancer Symposium on October 10-13, 2019 @ Waldorf Astoria, Las Vegas, Nevada. This intensive program will provide participants with an enhanced ability to interpret and apply best treatment options into their individual cancer practices. For more information click
HERE. To register go to: https://cme.cityofhope.org/eventinfo_10946.html
|
|
|
-
ANCO is organizing a series of Hematologic Malignancies Updates in 2019 on May 18 in Menlo Park,
September 14 in Sacramento, and November 16 in San Francisco. These Updates are supported by AstraZeneca, Celgene, Janssen Oncology, Pharmacyclics, and Takeda Oncology. Register online no later than May 10 at
http://www.anco-online.org/2Q2019HemeMaligUpdates.pdf
- SAVE THE DATE: ANCO's ASCO Highlights 2019 will take place on Saturday, August 17 at The Claremont Resort in Berkeley. Watch for an official announcement in June!
- thesecondopinion has been serving the California cancer community for 50 years by providing free, comprehensive second opinions to cancer patients and their families. They will celebrate the anniversary with an informational and educational luncheon on Thursday, May 9, that will feature a presentation by Charles Graeber, author of The Breakthrough: Immunotherapy and the Race to Cure Cancer. For more information, visit www.thesecondopinion.org or call (415) 775-9956.
- ANCO is now on Twitter; follow @ANCO News.
|
National News
- Awareness about harassment is important for everyone - employee and employer alike - not only to safeguard a comfortable workplace environment but also because harassment is a legal issue. Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, (ADEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, (ADA). Harassment is unwelcome conduct based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. Harassment becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive.
Click Here to read the article that also provides hyperlinks for additional Resources for Employers.
- Forty-four percent of more than 250 physicians polled said electronic health records have negatively affected patient care due to increased paperwork, system failures and a lack of interoperability. However, 44% also noted EHRs gave them and other team members better access to patient records.
|
CMS News
- U.S. physicians have until May 15 to review and dispute Open Payments data before it is made public on June 30. Review of the data is voluntary, but strongly encouraged to help improve the accuracy of the reported data. Learn more about Open Payments Review and Dispute
here
.
- CMS Administrator Seema Verma says the agency has "arcane and outmoded regulations" for coverage, coding and payments that create unpredictability for medical technology innovators. She outlined plans to change those policies at the Medical Device Manufacturers Association conference, with the goal of speeding the approval process. Adm. Verma said requests for Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System codes for new technology will now be accepted twice a year and drug maker requests will be accepted four times a year. The agency also wants to end automatic non-coverage of technologies with category III Current Procedural Terminology codes, instead requiring that regional Medicare Administrative Contractors use the full local coverage determination for localized requests.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will present a Special Open Door Forum: Medicare Documentation Requirement Lookup Service, on Tuesday, May 14, 2019, 11:00-12:00pm Pacific Time. CMS, Center for Program Integrity will host a series of Special Open Door Forum (SODF) calls to educate the public about a new initiative underway to develop a Medicare Fee for Service (FFS) Documentation Requirement Lookup Service prototype. The goals of the Documentation Requirement Lookup Service prototype are to reduce provider burden, reduce improper payments and appeals, and improve "provider to payer" information exchange. Also, to allow physicians, suppliers, IT and Electronic Health Record (EHR) Developers and Vendors, and/or all other interested parties to provide feedback to CMS and inform how interested parties can get involved or track the progress of this initiative. The prototype will be made accessible to pilot participants and will allow providers to be able to discover i
f Medicare FFS requires prior authorization for a given item or service
at the time of service and within their EHR or practice management system.
Special Open Door Participation Instructions:
Participant Dial-In Number: 1-(800)-837-1935
Conference ID: 4457108
For more information and to access the slide presentation for the SODF, please visit our website: go.cms.gov/MedicareRequirementsLookup.
|
Affiliate Association News
- Learn how ASCO's CancerLinQ can help your practice become the cancer center of choice in your community by participating in the a forthcoming webinar. Learn more at
- Submit your research on improving the quality of cancer care by May 14.
The ASCO Quality Care Symposium, September 6-7 in San Diego, encompasses the latest strategies and methods for quantification of patient experience, provider efficiency, clinical outcomes, and quality and safety in the cancer care field. The Symposium will include a variety of sessions that will cover the latest science in precision and personalized medicine. Oral abstract presentations will feature the highest-quality science submitted to the Symposium and Poster Walks will allow for networking while exploring the presentation of the newest science. This meeting will bring leaders in quality improvement science together to participate in stimulating conversation with opportunities for networking among physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and others.
ASCO Quality Care Symposium
.
- Inland Empire Oncology Nursing Society is proud to announce the upcoming 5th Annual Education Fair for all medical professionals on May 18&19 at the Downtown Marriott in Riverside, CA. from 8:00am to 3:00pm. The Nursing Education agenda is geared toward oncology professionals - however the information is valuable in all aspects of nursing and care giving. Registration for ONS members is $55.00. Registration for NON-ONS members is $65.00. Your paid registration includes, breakfast, lunch, giveaways, parking and 5 CEU's.
- Data abstraction for ASCO's QOPI Round 1 will close on June 3. Round 1 final reports will be available approximately two weeks after the round closes. Learn more at
- ASCO's Oncology Practice Conference takes place in San Diego on September 5. Focused on the business of cancer care, this conference will address the needs of practice administration and operations, with timely and practice strategies for the challenges faced by all those involved in the business of cancer care. Learn more and register at
https://meetings.asco.org/opc/register
.
- Join ASH on September 6-7, 2019, at the Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park for the 2019 ASH Meeting on Hematologic Malignancies to gain knowledge that can help you make an immediate impact in your practice. The meeting will feature top experts in the field, comprehensive clinical content, the latest clinical research, and opportunities to interact with colleagues in an intimate, small group setting with no competing sessions. The program content will be structured as "How I Treat" presentations, which will highlight each speaker's evidence-based treatment approaches, present cutting-edge scientific data that can be translated into new strategies for diagnosis and treatment, and address what to do in cases where there is no data. For more details, or to register, please visit the
ASH Website
.
- NCCN has published the following updates at www.nccn.org: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (V1.2019), adolescent and young adult oncology (V1. 2019), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (V1.2019), B-cell lymphomas (V3.2019), distress management (V3.2019), palliative care (V2.2019).
|
|
|
- Genentech BioOncology informs ANCO and MOASC that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Kadc
y
la as adjuvant treatment of people with HER2-positive early breast cancer who have residual invasive disease after taxmen and Herceptin-based treatment given before surgery. Visit their
breast cancer page
on
gene.com
for more on Genentech's approach to breast cancer.
- Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc.
has informed MOASC & ANCO of the
recent approval of BALVERSA for the Treatment of Patients with Locally Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma with Certain FGFR Genetic Alterations. Please contact Jennifer Cunningham, Director, Healthcare Policy and Advocacy, Southern CA, Strategic Customer Group, so that she may follow up appropriately. JCunnin2@its.jnj.com, Cell: (610) 304-8447 | Fax: (619) 534-8004.
- Agios Pharmaceuticals informs ANCO and MOASC that the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved Tibsovo for newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a susceptible IDH1 mutation, as detected by an FDA-approved test, in patients who are at least 75 years old or who have comorbidities that preclude the use of intensive induction chemotherapy.
|
|
|
MOASC CALENDAR
|
(NCCN, San Francisco, September 27)
(NCCN, San Francisco, September 27-28)
|
|
|
|
|
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
Association of Northern California Oncologists
(ANCO) is an association of hematologists/oncologists dedicated to promoting high professional standards of cancer care by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas, data, and knowledge.
The material contained in the
California Oncology Weekly
is intended as general information for ANCO and 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 or ANCO 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
ANCO: P.O. Box 151109, San Rafael, CA 94915 | P (415) 472-3960 | F (415) 472-3961 | www.anco-online.org
|
|
| |
|
