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| Current Birmingham Medical News |
CMS Audits by Private Companies Arrive in Alabama
A new form of auditing by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has arrived on Alabama's doorstep. The process began in 2003, when The Medicare Modernization Act created a demonstration program in three states for audits to be conducted by independent, non-governmental companies.
Jane Ehrhardt |
Are You RAC Ready? Preparing for a RAC Audit
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") recently released its RAC Review Phase-In Strategy advising health care providers of the dates RACs are expected to begin rolling-out audits in various parts of the country. In Alabama, automated reviews could begin as early as this month, with complex reviews (i.e., those involving RAC requests for medical records) starting in late 2009.
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Nursing Schools Warn that Ease in Nurse Shortage Is an Illusion
"What we're seeing is a kind of phenomena related to the economy," says Debbie Faulk, PhD, CNE, president of the Alabama State Nurses Association (ASNA) and associate professor at Auburn School of Nursing in Montgomery. Faulk's talking about the need for nurses slowing since spring, when only last year nurses had been so highly sought after that signing bonuses came with job offers.
Jane Ehrhardt |
Nursing's Advanced Practitioners Frustrated with Alabama's Regulations
There's an appetite among Alabama nurses for advanced degrees and progressive medical responsibilities. In the last three years, applications for advanced practice programs at UAB's School of Nursing have grown by 300%. Ranked in the top 10% of this nation's nursing schools by US News and World Reports in 2007, UAB currently has enrolled almost 700 advanced practitioners — 55 PhDs, 140 Doctors of Nursing Practice (DNP), and 500 masters' degrees.
Jane Ehrhardt |
Pediatric Palliative Medicine Focuses on All Aspects of Patient Care
When a child has a terminal disease, it impacts the entire family as each member struggles to cope with the heartbreaking situation. Palliative care can help children and their families receive quality care that focuses on the unique physical, emotional and spiritual needs during a life-threatening illness.
Ann B. DeBellis |
Rural Pediatrics in Talladega
There's a three-doc pediatric shop in Talladega that faces some unusual situations compared to the average Birmingham practice. First, they're rural. Second, about 65 percent of their patients are on Medicaid. And third, they serve the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind.
Jane Ehrhardt |
Howard Houser Helped Build the UAB School of Health Professions
In the early '60s, when Howard Houser headed south with all his possessions packed in a VW Beetle, he was starting a journey that would take him around the world. With a new wall in Berlin and the Cuban Missile Crisis heating up the cold war, Houser was bound for Montgomery to do his bit for the Air Force by putting what he'd learned about hospital and health administration at Hobart College to work as an advisor in Medical Services School.
LAURA FREEMAN |
Charitable Giving Should Be Planned Giving
There can be large tax savings through a properly planned program of charitable giving. Although a contribution may be motivated by philanthropic reasons, one must, as a good steward of resources, take the tax considerations into account when making a contribution. Charitable giving can be divided into two general categories. First, there are donations that are made on a regular basis and involve relatively small amounts. Second, there are large extraordinary donations often associated with income or estate planning. Different considerations apply to each type of donation.
Gerard J. Kassouf, CPA |
Free Standing Emergency Rooms: When Do They Make Sense?
Free standing emergency rooms are a relatively new and controversial development in the healthcare delivery system. Although there are a number of these facilities in certain areas of the United States, Alabama does not now have any free standing emergency rooms. This situation may change in the near future, and many healthcare observers are concerned that our state may see a proliferation of these facilities in the next decade or so.
Colin Luke |
Literary Examiner
A review of "Almost Home" by Christine Gleason, MD.
TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER |
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