October Ebrief 2020

Edition: October 2020

Table of Contents

Letter from the Editor

On Sept. 18, 2020 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the final rule for an advanced alternative payment model (APM) for radiation oncology, “Specialty Care Models to Improve Quality of Care and Reduce Expenditures (CMS-5527)” Click here to view the full document.

The RO Model has a five-year performance period that begins on January 1, 2021 and runs through December 31, 2025. Florida is one of the geographic areas required to participate in the RO Model. The model tests whether bundled, prospective, site neutral, modality agnostic, episode-based payment of care, reduces Medicare expenditures while preserving or enhancing the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries.

The report identified three key reasons why radiation therapy is ready for payment and service delivery reform: the lack of site neutrality for payments; incentives that encourage volume of services over the value of services; and coding and payment challenges. Access the RO Model Fact Sheet Click Here

Astro has issued a detailed summary of the final rule on Sept 18. Click Here

ASTRO’s recommendation was that the initial CMS launch of this untested model would be voluntary and transition to a mandatory model that includes opt-out for low-volume practices and hardship exemptions. This recommendation was not adopted in the final model which requires mandatory participation of the participants selected representing 30% of all radiation oncology episodes including the state of Florida. Despite recommendations to allow providers at least 6 months to prepare for implementation the final rule allows providers three and a half months. This has raised concern in placing significant burden on those practices already enduring the challenges due to the Covd-19 pandemic. Click Here In addition, analysis of the model appears to oversample rural radiation oncology practices as 20% of the zip codes selected serve rural populations. This could potentially devastate practices that have already suffered decline in revenue and volume secondary to the COVID-19 pandemic. This could further widen health care disparities of our vulnerable populations.

Click here to view ASTRO’s response to CMS announcement of APM for radiation oncology:

The ACR strongly supports ASTRO’s statement and will be partnering in advocacy efforts urging CMS and Congress to significantly delay the start date of the RO Model. To read the ACR initial summary on the RO model Click here

GET READY TO VOTE

Voting is the best way to make sure the voice of radiology community is heard in your country. Make sure you know the voting procedures and deadlines for Florida. This link provided important dates and links so you can make sure you are registered and ready to vote in this election season.

Voter registration deadline is Oct 5, 2020. Absentee/Mail in voting ballot deadline Oct. 24, 2020. Register to Vote Click here

Laura Vallow, M.D.
Secretary, FRS
Vallow.Laura@mayo.edu

Meet Your 2020 – 2021 FRS Executive Committee

President
Douglas Hornsby, MD

President-Elect
Rajendra Kedar, MD, FACR

Treasurer
Chintan Desai, MD

Secretary
Laura Vallow, MD

FRS President’s Message

CALL TO ACTION

The Presidency is a learning process. It is essential to retain past presidents and Legacy Members of the FRS. A general thank-you is in order for all that have reached out with questions and especially those with answers to these questions. I found the best resource is not just from the ACR but from our FRS institutional memory.

Lorraine is our common point of contact and knows many of the answers and our history. There are many questions for which I have to educate myself to find answers. It is the Legacy Members who over the decades have seen the evolution of our specialty of radiology and medicine in general. They “know the ropes.” It is one thing to have the infrastructure, but it doesn’t work without the instruction book. To mix my metaphors, It is like having a high-powered computer but not knowing the one click to get the desired result. There is only so much that hard work and reading can accomplish. I highly endorse the step-wise progression of officers. Previous experience is our best guide. Legacy Members know who to call, what to say and what final button to push for the best results. Even more important, they know what has not worked in the past and why it didn’t work.

Time sensitive items need to be addressed.

1- The Phase 3 Distribution of Provider relief fund is now available. Twenty billion in new funds are available. The deadline for completion of the application is November 6th.

2- Payment cuts: Please read and reply to the ACR initiative to educate yourself and mitigate the impact of pending legislation to cut radiology imbursements by 11%. I recommended registering for the ACR Virtual Town Hall meeting October 29th from 8 to 9 PM eastern time to discuss Medicare cuts which are expected to begin January 1, 2021.

3- Make your voice heard. Please see the attachment inserted in the E-brief for registering for this virtual town hall meeting.

4- There is reduced pricing for RLI. The LEADERSHIP ESSENTIALS is now free for members.

5- Designed for residents and fellows – A program to “KICKSTART YOUR CAREERS” is open. Registration closes October 23rd. The prices are markedly reduced for members in training and this year the minimal fee will be paid for a limited number of residents and fellows in Florida.

I will be reaching out to Florida Training Programs to participate in this RLI program. If you know a resident or fellow wanting to advance their careers either in academics or private practice, please contact me through Lorraine at the FRS office.

I look forward to your calls. Please be safe as we continue through the Pandemic.

Doug Hornsby, MD
President, FRS
doughornsby@msn.com

Past President
Patricia Mergo, MD, FACR

Legal Counsel
Michael M. Raskin, M.D., J.D., FACR

FRBMA President’s Message

Why Imaging Centers are like the Airline Industry

Thirteen years ago, we developed the Providing Excellent Patient Satisfaction Initiative (PEPSI). One of the components was to prioritize customer service skills over healthcare experience for all non-clinical new hires. Our logic was we could teach you to do the job but we can’t effectively change your personality. To accomplish this, we decided that supervisors and HR would screen and interview candidates and the two to three best of those would have a final interview with me. I was only evaluating customer service and I would make my recommendation.

Most candidates are pretty nervous as they never had to interview with the CEO but I did the best I could to put them at ease. After I learned a bit about them, I would ask them a question…why is our imaging business like the airline industry? The candidate typically doesn’t know where I’m going. I try to help by asking them what’s most important in choosing an airline. The answers I then get are price, convenience and service in that order.

I now tell them that I have asked this question hundreds of times and no one has ever said good pilots and safe planes. I asked if that was important and they agreed but they didn’t feel either would be meaningfully different or they couldn’t evaluate. If we knew one airline had better pilots and safer planes, I think we would all choose them. That’s the connection. Both the airline industry and imaging centers most important attributes are not part of the consumer equation. In our industry, the radiologist is the pilot and our imaging equipment is the plane. And just like the airline industry, almost no one evaluates us our most important attributes, radiologists and equipment.

I go through all this to make one point. We have the reputation we have because of people like you. Every patient contact, every patient experience impacts our reputation and will impact our business. My goal is to elevate the perceived importance of the candidate’s role. Not just my perception but, more importantly, their perception.

One last thought on this. Practices where the physicians have direct patient contact have the advantage of having the doctor to patient relationship. Patients are less likely to switch providers because of poor customer service. We target these employers less as we have found that our best candidates come from companies that have high customer service priorities.

PEPSI is one of our core management principles. Next month the article will be “It’s Not All about Work” where I will discuss our second core principle.

John Detelich, CPA, MBA, CEO
President, FRBMA
jdetelich@radassociates.com

Legislative Update

It is a beautiful fall day in Tallahassee and it is hard to believe we are 34 days away from the elections. Like many of you, I am ready for this election cycle to be over. On the good news-front it appears the number of Covid cases are dropping.

Things are still very fluid on if the Capitol will be open to the public during committee meetings and Session due to Covid. At this moment, in time it is still closed to the public.

Organizational Session is traditionally scheduled for November but at this time there is no information on this time-honored event.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions regarding candidates on your ballot at alisondudley@dudleyandassociates.com.

Stay well and safe!

Thanks,
Alison Dudley, FRS Lobbyist
AlisonDudley@dudleyandassociates.com

SUBMIT AN ARTICLE

FRS Educational Foundation

Qualified Charitable Contributions

As fall approaches, keep in mind the FRS foundation still values and relies on your charitable support of Florida’s Radiology and Radiation Oncology residents as part of our ongoing educational mission. As many of you may be aware, the CARES Act was passed by Congress in response to the pandemic and waives the required minimum distributions (RMDs) for all types of retirement plans for 2020.

Many of our members have previously used Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD) as a means to donate to the FRS Foundation and this remains an option for 2020 despite the waiver for RMD and still holds tax advantages even if one takes a standard deduction. The QCD allows IRA owners over age 70 ½ to directly transfer up to $100,000 annually from an IRA to a qualified charity tax free, is excluded from income and allows you to get a tax break even if you are claiming the standard deduction. Individual circumstances may obviously vary and we advise you check with your accountant to explore individual benefits of using a QCD for your charitable contribution.

We hope that you will consider the benefits of a QCD and help the FRS Foundation continue to grow and prosper through your generous contributions.

Jeffrey Stone, M.D., FACR
President, FRS Educational Foundation

Upcoming ACR Virtual Town Hall

Dear FRS Chapter Members,

The ACR will be hosting a Virtual Town Hall on October 29 from 8-9 pm ET to discuss the Medicare payment cuts that are expected to begin on Jan. 1, 2021. Please consider including the message below in an email, an upcoming newsletter or on your chapter website to encourage members to attend.

Register for ACR Town Hall to Address Medicare Cuts
Be sure to attend the ACR Virtual Town Hall on Oct. 29 from 8–9pm ET to discuss the Medicare payment cuts that are expected to begin on Jan. 1, 2021. Find out about ACR efforts to counter these cuts and how you can make your voice heard. Register now»

Thanks,

Katie Kuhn, CAE
Manager, Chapter & Member Engagement
American College of Radiology
1891 Preston White Drive
Reston, VA 20191-4326
Tel: 800-227-5463, ext 5785
Fax: 703-262-9319
kkuhn@acr.org

Job Board
	Available Positions Spectrum Healthcare Resource

Job Posting Opportunities

Florida Radiological Society is pleased to introduce the opportunity for interested parties to advertise for potential jobs in our monthly FRS Ebrief bulletin.

Advertisement pricing is as follows:

Ebrief Job Posting pricing:
3 months ($100 monthly)
6 months ($90 monthly)
12 months ($80 monthly)

Please contact Lorraine Roger, our Society Administrator for further information on how to advertise in our monthly publication.

ph (813) 806-1070
fx (813) 806-1071
email lroger@flrad.org

We feel that this will provide a valuable service to both our members and our Florida community of Radiology.

Thank you for your interest!
Patricia Mergo, MD

Become a PAC Member Today

Attention FRBMA Members! Please support the cause. We encourage you to be PAC members and supporters; you do not have to belong to the FRS. Donations can be made online through our PAC website www.FLRADPAC.org. Thank you for your donation.

It is critical that we support both our Florida PAC and RADPAC in order to bolster our voice in Tallahassee and Washington, respectively. Please join FRS lobbyist Alison Dudley in her special appeal for all Florida radiologists to become Florida PAC members. If you would like to help FRS defend radiology against untoward legislation and introduce bills that have a positive impact on our practices, we need your financial support to re-elect our friends in the state House and Senate. The FRS can also show you simplified ways on how to sign up your radiology group. Contact Lorraine Roger at lroger@flrad.org or contact Alison Dudley at alisondudley@dudleyandassociates.com for more information.

Telephone (813) 806-1070 • Fax (813) 806-1071
5620 W. Sligh Avenue • Tampa, Florida 33634

The E-Brief is an exclusive member benefit of Florida Radiological Society, delivering monthly member, chapter and industry news. Please do not reply to this automatic e-mail. For comments or questions about the E-Brief, please contact lroger@flrad.org.

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