Articles related to Birmingham Medical News

A new option has arrived in Birmingham for people who suffer from chronic lower back pain.

"We do everything a little different now," Jennifer Perry, Norwood Clinic administrator, says. When Alabama shut down in March to slow the spread of COVID-19, the multi-specialty, 20-physician practice had to stop elective surgeries, ophthalmology visits, and even mammograms. Once the state reopened in May, they had to adapt to new restrictions.

At the beginning of 2020, the video-conferencing platform Zoom was seeing 200 million daily meeting participants on average. That was before Covid-19 struck. Now, with remote workers becoming the norm, Zoom and other virtual meeting tools have become as much a part of the workday as email.

About half of American workers have been forced to work from home by Covid-19, and it appears the shift may become the new norm. In April, nearly one in five CFOs surveyed by the Brookings Institution planned to keep at least 20 percent of their workforce working remotely.

The absorption of physician practices by hospitals and health systems has soared the past decade. According to the Physicians Advocacy Institute, hospital acquisition of practices has increased 128 percent since 2012, jumping from 35,700 to 80,000 practices over five years.

For most of her life, a young woman had been a medical mystery. At age five, her lower limbs began to show impairment. The cause eluded physicians.

For years, the conventional wisdom regarding full knee replacements has been to wait until the patient is 60 years old because of a preference to do a single surgery.

The weight equivalent of 13 African elephants, the 90-ton cyclotron for the UAB proton therapy initiative was lowered through the roof of the three-story facility in March and marks the beginning of the final stage before treatments can be offered next January.

"Each rising generation is appearing to be more allergic than the next," says John Anderson, MD, an allergist with Alabama Allergy.

"It's not just a weight loss clinic," says Liliya Slutsker, MD, about her practice in Trussville. "I want to treat obesity." Opened a year ago, Carrington Medical Spa and Weight Loss Clinic approaches the treatment of obesity with an in-depth, medical approach.

When pro football arrived in Birmingham this spring, they needed team physicians trained to treat the injuries from multi-hundred-pound men crashing into each other for hours at a time.

When a patient presents to the emergency room with cellulitis--a soft tissue infection--they often end up admitted to the hospital for an average stay of around 3.8 days.

It began in 2008 with two Chinese cardiologists--a man and a woman. They were the first to participate in a cardiovascular fellowship program between Chinese physicians and Princeton Baptist Medical Center. They stayed six months and the program took off.

Eight years ago, Ashley Tamucci, MD, an OBGYN at Brookwood Baptist Medical Center, was talking with an expectant mother who wanted to donate her umbilical cord blood (UCB) to a donor bank. This was new territory for Tamucci.

"The perception is that a Do Not Resuscitate order--at least for families and patients--translates as do not treat. That's a communication hurdle we have to overcome regularly," says Greg Ayers, MD, director of palliative medicine at Princeton and Brookwood Baptist Medical Centers.

Last month, a patient came into the Internal Medicine Specialists for his appointment. A middle-aged, average man, he'd been coming to the practice for several years. And he was a tinderbox.

"We have 17 providers, but only four phone operators, all because of our patient portal," says Clay Barnett, director of internal programs at Birmingham Internal Medicine Associates (BIMA). This tech allowed them to add four physicians in the last two years without the expense of hiring any additional phone support.

"The methodology was flawed to begin with," says Danne Howard, chief policy officer with Alabama Hospital Association (AlaHA), about Medicare's method for calculating the reimbursement rate for hospitals, especially rural facilities. "But it's become even worse."

The only surgical course for those suffering from moderate lumbar spinal stenosis used to be open back surgery. But two years ago, a new option entered the physician's arsenal.

"If they have an email address of smokeemup@gmail.com on their resume, I'm not going to call," says Jennifer Neal, administrator with Pulmonary and Sleep Associates in Birmingham. "Obviously you're not thinking."

The only surgical course for those suffering from moderate lumbar spinal stenosis used to be open back surgery. But two years ago, a new option entered the physician's arsenal.

Those who face aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD)--also known as Samter's Triad or aspirin sensitive asthma--may not know it for possibly decades, if ever.

"Biologics are wonderful for treating a specific patient," says Carol Smith, MD with Birmingham Allergy & Asthma Specialists.

U.S. businesses spent $90 billion on non-cash incentives for staff in 2015. Only 26 percent of businesses offered any non-cash options. "The biggest obstacle to finding incentives is just that everyone's motivator is different.

"People don't think about their deductible and when the time comes, we have to educate them about their insurance," says Lisa Warren, CEO at Andrews Sports Medicine.

A historic run of low medical malpractice premiums continues across the U.S., including in Alabama.

"The one thing doctors should be doing is making sure their patients have their address correct with Medicare," says Phillip Allen, billing service manager with MediSYS.

Without moving an inch, anyone in Alabama can now use their phone, computer or tablet to connect virtually to a physician or nurse practitioner in minutes any time of day or night through St. Vincent's OnDemand service for a nominal fee of $35.

"It's potentially revolutionary," says Luciano Costa, MD, PhD, about chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy -- a newly approved gene therapy for blood cancers.

"If this was a prostate cancer tool, 90 percent of surgeons would be using it," says Jeffrey Nix, MD, assistant professor in the UAB Department of Urology, about blue light cystoscopy in bladder cancer surgeries.

Last year, a medical practice lost over $30,000 in revenue from skipping a basic step in the billing process. "These are billing 101 mistakes," says Sae Evans, CPA, with Warren Averett.

The annual update in ICD-10 diagnostic coding went into effect this month with 363 new codes, 142 deleted codes, and 250 codes with revised definitions.

"The new changes in the 2018 reporting period are actually not terribly drastic," says Joni Wyatt, MHA, MHIA, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, with Kassouf & Co about the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

There are better things we could do for patient care than spending hours chasing down a prior authorization," says Jennifer Neal, administrator with Pulmonary and Sleep Associates in Birmingham.

Though the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for Medicare physicians does not take effect until 2019, UAB Medicine has already executed several successful campaigns to improve processes that will raise their MIPS rating.

Translating a brilliant idea into an effective FDA-approved treatment takes years of science, clinical trials and meticulous work.

On April 24, Greenway Health, a vendor providing cloud-based healthcare computer services to 75,000 customers, announced a ransomware attack on their system.

"Being in the cloud means you may have other companies using that same platform, because you're sharing a server," says Randy Rupp, security and compliance analyst with ICS Medtech.

Last month, a global cyber-attack of ransomware, called WannaCry, struck over 60 countries in one day.

"If providers utilize their IT to its fullest potential through an EHR, then they're going to be able to maximize their Medicare reimbursement in 2019," says Carrie Gulledge, director of EHR with MediSYS.

Around one-fourth of all American adults have a patent foramen ovale (PFO). Although present in all humans at birth, this small flap-like opening -- the foramen ovale -- in the wall between the right and left upper chambers of the heart, usually closes during infancy.

Around one-fourth of all American adults have a patent foramen ovale (PFO). Although present in all humans at birth, this small flap-like opening -- the foramen ovale -- in the wall between the right and left upper chambers of the heart, usually closes during infancy.

Within four years, pigs could be providing kidneys to humans in need, thanks to the revolutionary Xenotransplantation Program at UAB.

Many surgeons may not yet be aware of a new technique for breast cancer surgery that has recently emerged. The name - Hidden Scar surgery - describes the purpose.

Can stem cells mend a broken heart? Which approach to managing carotid stenosis is the best option to help which patients avoid a stroke?

"What the healthcare community hates about the Affordable Healthcare Act (ACA) is that our patients have very few choices and are not able to have the insurance they expect," says Chad Mathis, MD, an orthopedic surgeon in Pelham, Alabama.

A new UAB Women's Heart Health Clinic has opened at The Kirklin Clinic to address the concerns of women who face cardiac issues. Directed by UAB Cardiologist Salpy Pamboukian, MD, MSPH, the clinic will evaluate and manage women with an array of cardiac issues, while attending to treatment specifics that are more germane to women.

"The great thing about being part of Partnership for Patients is you have access to a lot of resources," says Vicki Britt, director of quality management at Pickens County Medical Center.

ARCpoint Health has unveiled a new software tool to enable primary care physicians to garner greater reimbursements and better manage labs.

For three years, Chilton County has been without a hospital, which at times, has been challenging for the community. For instance, last year, when a school bus crashed in Clanton, the children had to be driven 30 miles away to Shelby Baptist Medical Center in Alabaster. Fortunately, none of the injuries were life-threatening.

During last year's Alabama legislative session, Senator Trip Pittman introduced a proposal to rein in the costs of malpractice suits. Senate Bill 413 would have replaced the trial-based system with a no-blame, administrative one.

"This will fill an unmet need in mental health," says Tom Dooley, PhD, a Birmingham researcher with 13 patents for pharmaceutical and biotech developments to his name.

"We don't consider those who come here for rehabilitation as residents or patients, they're guests and we call them guests," says Landie Acker-Langley, admissions coordinator at the Aspire Physical Recovery Center at Cahaba River, a new short-term rehabilitation facility in Vestavia Hills.

Insurers have jumped ship on the health insurance marketplace in Alabama. Started in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the exchange has offered options by insurance carriers to all individuals and small businesses with 50 or fewer employees.

The Medical Association of the State of Alabama's (MASA) health insurance for members will rise 15 percent next year. "We didn't like 15 percent," says Mark Jackson, executive director. "But don't get me wrong, we felt fortunate that we were able to keep it at 15 percent."

Starting in 2019, Medicare's push toward value-based reimbursements will be within reach of the finish line. "It can sound terrifying," says Joni Wyatt, MHA, MHIA, CPHIMS, FHIMSS with Kassouf & Co. "But most practices have already done the work."

On September 8^th, Medicare announced two more ways to participate in the upcoming shift to the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). "There are four different payment programs now, since the release of the pick-you-pace model," says Carrie Gulledge, RHIA, director of EHR with MediSys. "They allow providers to test the waters with their toe or jump all in."

On the drawings for their new medical offices, it said "lab".

"In my mind, if you have experience in building medical labs, you know you need space to sit down and draw blood," says Danielle Brown, practice administrator for Advanced Surgeons.

"The challenge of this is not only building the center, but attracting users across the national community and for them to become aware of what we have to offer," says Marcas Bamman, PhD, director of the new REACT Center and MR3 Network Coordinating Center at UAB.

"There is always a eureka moment," says Hazim Mohammed, a software consultant with eClinicalWorks. He performs onsite trainings at healthcare facilities that use the eClinicalWorks electronic medical record (EMR) software.

"Patient Portals are continuing to evolve, like all medical software," says Jimmy Chapman, president of MedConnect, which makes the EHR distributed by MediSYS in Alabama. "Portals will change communication between physicians and patients."

Synergy Labs has just released new diagnostic software that helps physicians efficiently assess a patient's status in relation to psychological disorders, substance abuse risk, and pain levels. This digital tool, called Clarity, pools results from patient self-assessment tests and lab tests into a single screen to allow physicians an overall view for better evaluating diagnostic and treatment avenues.

"It's so easy to get it," says Curtis Woods with Integrated Solutions in Birmingham about ransomware. One specialist practice in Birmingham has been hit three times. Another local practice lost access to 400,000 files for more than a day from an attack.

"Wearable medical devices are not coming, they're here," says Russ Dorsey with Kassouf & Co.

"The big thing that drew me to this was the decrease in radiation," says Charles H. Clark III, MD, a neurosurgeon with Neurosurgical Associates in Birmingham, about the new robotic technology for surgical lumbar spinal fusions. "In the past, we used four to five minutes of fluoroscopy during the procedure. Now we're down to less than a minute."

“It’s getting old,” says Donald J. Jones, FACHE, administrator for Fayette Medical Center, about the looming Medicaid shortfall recently decided by the Alabama legislature. Every year the cycle repeats, he says, and every year, the state finds a way. “But it feels different this year. I’m concerned.”

“Instead of one option, you get 10 options here,” says Mustafa Ahmed, MD, medical director of the new Structural Heart and Valve Center at Princeton Baptist Medical Center.

“It’s wonderful to see the transformation in the patients’ faces when the dogs arrive,” says Pam Autrey, PhD, RN, and chief nursing officer at Medical West hospital, an affiliate of UAB. The dramatic change occurs in one of the most difficult populations to manage at a hospital, geriatric psych patients. 

A 55-year-old man with peripheral neuropathy taking three diabetes medications came to Farah Sultan, MD, a primary care physician in Birmingham, fed up and in pain. Within six weeks, his blood sugar had stabilized enough that he quit all his diabetes prescriptions along with his medications for blood pressure, pain, depression, and cholesterol.

Adult patients needed for UAB clinical trial

On the Health and Human Services website, a section posts every healthcare organization since 2009 whose patient data covering 500 or more individuals has been breached. Each page of this “Wall of Shame” lists 100 organizations. As of June 15, the list runs 1,249 pages long.

Institute of Medicine Announces New Name for CFS

In California, patients wait up to five years for initial appointments at a Stanford clinic that caters to chronic fatigue syndrome. “That’s how little supply there is for the demand,” says Jarred Younger, PhD, head of the new Neuroinflammation, Pain and Fatigue Lab at UAB. “No specialty has taken it on.”

"Compliance with HIPAA and HITECH is not about whether your IT is working, but if your patient data is at risk. It's kind of an invisible issue," says Thomas Kane with Keep IT Simple. "Unless you know what you're looking for, you could be non-compliant."

“At this time, $23 per square foot feels like you’re getting a deal in medical office space.

“There’s already a shortage, and it’s going to get worse,” says Jim Stroud, a CPA with the Warren Averett healthcare consulting group. According to local job listings, medical practices and hospitals are finding it hard to fill practice administrator openings.

“You have to wear so many hats,” says Jimmy Norman, practice administrator at University Orthopeadic Clinic (UOC) in Tuscaloosa.

A search for electronic cigarette stores in Birmingham quickly generates 30 listings on the Yellow Pages site.

Flu strains migrate across the world like flocks of birds. But they garner far more attention.

With just two Medicare exam codes, a physician raised her revenue by $45,320. “So many services that patients are eligible for, like preventative care visits, don’t get utilized by providers, and many are already performing the services,” says Julie Thompson, billing supervisor at MediSYS.

Like Walmart expanding into the grocery business, medical practices have begun branching into services that will up their revenue and deem them one-stop medical shops.

Five to ten percent of mild asthmatics will have a reaction to the most common and age-old remedy for inflammation—aspirin. In severe asthma patients, that amount more than doubles, reaching up to 25 percent.

“A thing that is a necessity here is considered a luxury for much of the world,” says Ashish Shah, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at UAB.

“I’ve been administering controlled substances since 1985,” says Dee Dee Gardner, DNP, CRNP, a nurse practitioner at Cullman Regional Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. “Now I can prescribe them.”

To meet Stage 2 of Meaningful Use of their electronic health records (EHR)—and earn another portion of the reimbursements—practices must begin to engage patients through online options.