Essential Information for AANP Members Wednesday, September 4, 2013 This Week's AANP News ◊ Deadline for “Early Bird” Registrant Drawing is Monday, September 9 ◊ 2014 National Conference Call for Abstracts - Deadline September 9, 2013 ® ◊ Million Hearts and AANP – Join Us for a Webinar ◊ Announcing Three New AANP Member Services ◊ Health Policy @ Work ◊ The 2014 AANP State Award for Excellence Now Accepting Nominations ◊ National NP Week – 2013 ◊ Stand Up and Be Counted!
Deadline for “Early Bird” Registrant Drawing is Monday, September 9 AANP 2013 Specialty & Leadership Conference October 3-6 The Early Bird Registrant Drawing deadline is approaching! Register now for the AANP 2013 Specialty & Leadership Conference and make a hotel reservation to stay for at least three (3) nights between October 2-6, 2013 at the conference hotel, the Paris Las Vegas Hotel. Registration and reservations must be made by Monday, September 9, 2013 to be eligible for the “Early Bird” drawing for valuable prizes. For details regarding the drawings’ specific eligibility requirements, go to: http://www.aanp.org/images/documents/conference/specialtyconfearlybirdsweepstakes.pdf To view the full selection of educational sessions, download the conference registration brochure. All sessions have limited seating and fill quickly, so be sure to register early for the best selection. AANP has arranged for a special conference rate of $159 per standard room (plus taxes). This rate will be honored for reservations that occur any nights, September 30 - October 8, 2013, based on availability with some restrictions. Your conference registration receipt will contain more detailed information. If you have questions or need assistance, contact conference@aanp.org or call (512) 442-4262, ext. 5238. Back to Top
AANP 2014 National Conference Call for Abstracts (Podiums and Posters) Deadline Monday, September 9, 2013 AANP is currently accepting abstracts for the AANP 2014 National Conference scheduled June 18-22, 2014 in Nashville, TN. The conference will cover the full range of clinical specialties, practice settings and experiential levels. Major abstract categories include clinical/practice and research. Abstract selections will be based on the quality and clarity of the abstract and relevance to the
contemporary NP practice environment. The content described in the abstract must be appropriate for a 30-minute podium presentation (including question and answer period) or a poster presentation. Abstracts must be submitted online by Monday, September 9, 2013. To learn more, go to the Call for Abstracts at http://www.aanp.org/images/documents/conference/2014callforabstracts.pdf Back to Top
Million Hearts® and AANP – Join Us for a Webinar The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) will be hosting an ® educational Million Hearts webinar titled “Nurse Practitioners and Million Hearts —Partnering to Achieve Blood Pressure Control for the Nation” on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 from 6:00pm to 7:30pm EDT. Designed for nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, physicians and pharmacists treating patients with hypertension, the program is approved for 1.0 contact hour of Continuing Education (CE) by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and was planned in accordance with AANP CE Standards and Policies and AANP Commercial Support Standards. Guest panelists will be Leslie Davis, PhD, RN, ANP-BC; Susan K. Laird, MSN, RN; Lenora Lorenzo, DNP, FNP, GNP, ADM, FAANP; Mary Ellen Roberts, DNP, RN, APN, FAANP, FAAN; Brett Snodgrass, MSN, APRN, FNP-C; and Janet Wright, MD, FACC. We look forward to your participation. RSVP HERE. Back to Top
Announcing Three New AANP Member Services The AANP Member|Advantages Program has added the following new services for our members. Online Shopping Mall Azigo is an online shopping mall where AANP members can earn cash back for shopping at favorite stores. Receive cash back from stores such as Kohl’s, Target, Nordstrom, Zappos, 1-800 Flowers and Sephora. And what's more, you will always have the peace of mind that you aren't missing out on a sale, because you have your own personal stream of offers. And to top it all off, Azigo allows you to stay organized by creating your own collection of brands. That way, you don't have to weed through offers from brands you could care less about. Happy shopping! Wyndham Hotel Group AANP members can save up to 20% off the best available rate at all participating properties. Choose from 15 different hotel brands and over 7,000 hotels worldwide. Make sure to reference Redeem Wyndham Rewards ID: 1000011067 Motel 6 Motel 6 has partnered with AANP to provide all AANP members a 10% discount at any of the 1,100+ pet-friendly Motel 6 locations in the U.S. and Canada. Motel 6 offers a clean, comfortable room and great service for the lowest price of any national chain, and the discount will help you save even more. To book your reservation, call 1-800-4-Motel 6, and use the code - CP570149 to receive the discount. You can also book online by clicking here. We'll leave the light on for you®.
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Health Policy @ Work 2014 NHSC SITE APPLICATION CYCLES OPENED, SEPTEMBER 3, 2013! Since 1972, the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) has been building healthy communities by connecting primary health care providers to areas of the United States with limited access to care. More than 40,000 primary care medical, dental, and mental and behavioral health professionals have served in the NHSC since its inception. This care is currently being provided at more than 14,000 NHSC-approved health care sites in urban, rural and frontier areas across the United States and its Territories. The NHSC opened its 2014 Site Application cycle, representing an opportunity for more eligible sites to apply to become approved NHSC sites. For information regarding Eligibility Requirements and an Applicant Checklist, please visit the NHSC website. In addition, the application cycle for all NHSC sites required to submit a 2014 recertification application also opens today. Both application cycles will remain open until November 1, 2013, 7:30pm ET. Click here for more information. HEALTHY AGING – IT’S A LIFESTYLE APPROACH September is Healthy Aging® Month, a national health observance designed to focus on the positive aspects of growing older. The main objective of Healthy Aging® Month is to encourage local level Healthy Aging® events that promote taking personal responsibility for one's health... be it physically, socially, mentally or financially. CMS encourages health care professionals to talk with their patients about steps they can take to adopt a healthy lifestyle, including utilizing appropriate Medicare-covered preventive services. Medicare provides payment for many services that can help maintain your patient’s optimal level of health and contribute to a higher quality of life. Some of the preventive services covered under Medicare Part B include: • Alcohol Misuse Screening and Behavioral Counseling Interventions in Primary Care • Annual Wellness Visit (Providing Personalized Prevention Plan Services) • Cardiovascular Disease Screening • Depression Screening in Adults • Diabetes Screening • Initial Preventive Physical Examination (IPPE) (also commonly referred to as the “Welcome to Medicare” Preventive Visit) • Intensive Behavioral Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease • Intensive Behavioral Therapy for Obesity • Tobacco-Use Cessation Counseling Please refer to the references listed below for a full listing of preventive services covered by Medicare. For more information visit: • MLN Preventive Services Educational Products for Health Professionals • CMS Prevention General Information Website ® • Health Aging Month website “TRANSITIONAL CARE MANAGEMENT SERVICES” FACT SHEET — RELEASED The “Transitional Care Management Services” Fact Sheet (ICN 908628) was released and is now available in hard copy format. This fact sheet is designed to provide education on Transitional Care Management (TCM) services. It includes the requirements for TCM services, health care professionals who may furnish TCM services, TCM services settings, components included in TCM, billing TCM services, and Frequently Asked Questions. To access a new or revised product available for order in hard copy format, go to MLN Products and click on “MLN Product Ordering Page” under “Related Links” at the bottom of the web page. OPPORTUNITY FOR PROVIDER INPUT ON THE INPATIENT REHABILITATION FACILITY QUALITY REPORTING PROGRAM CMS is seeking input from providers related to the implementation of the new Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) established in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as The Affordable Care Act, Section 3004. Therefore, Health Care Innovation Services, (HCIS), is seeking the voluntary assistance of providers to participate in a brief interview on behalf of CMS to help us better understand the burdens imposed on providers, how providers ensure accuracy of data, how the QRP has impacted patient services and outcomes, and what CMS can do in the future to improve the program and processes. This process and the information gathered will provide valuable information for CMS as we continue to develop this program and will be essential to guiding the development of the QRP. This partnership will continue to facilitate an important process in which provider input is shared with CMS, so that we are able to identify strengths, weaknesses, priorities, and how the program might be improved. Interviews will be conducted over the telephone, and any reports or supplemental documents submitted to CMS will not link specific answers to any specific individuals/providers. If you are interested in participating, please contact Pat Hanson at phanson@hcareis.com. LEARN HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2013 PQRS-MEDICARE EHR INCENTIVE PILOT CMS has released a new fact sheet on how to participate in the 2013 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Pilot Program. The PQRS-Medicare EHR Incentive Pilot Program allows eligible professionals to meet the clinical quality measure (CQM) reporting requirements for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program while reporting for the PQRS program by submitting their CQM data electronically. Click here for more information.
SUBMIT SUGGESTIONS FOR ADVANCED DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING PROGRAM CMS is looking at revising the Advanced Diagnostic Imaging (ADI) program to potentially incorporate health and safety standards through Conditions for Coverage. CMS has created a public mailbox to receive suggestions related to potential improvements of the current ADI program. Potential improvement topics could include personnel qualifications, infection control practices, quality improvement programs, image quality, patient safety, evidence-based research, etc. You may send your ideas to ADISuggestions@cms.hhs.gov, and you will receive a response confirming that your message has been received. Please feel free to share the mailbox address with any other interested parties. U.S. PREVENTIVE SERVICES TASK FORCE PUBLISHES FINAL RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT On September 3, 2013, the USPSTF published a final recommendation statement on screening for peripheral artery disease and cardiovascular disease risk assessment with ankle brachial index in adults. A fact sheet that explains the final recommendation statement in plain language is available here. The final recommendation can also be found in the online edition of Annals of Internal Medicine. In addition, the Task Force has posted the final evidence report for this topic, which summarizes the studies the Task Force reviewed. ICD-10: IMPLEMENTATION FOR PHYSICIANS, PARTIAL CODE FREEZE, AND MS-DRG CONVERSION PROJECT ™ Are you ready to transition to ICD-10 on October 1, 2014? In this MLN Connects video on the CMS YouTube Channel, Pat Brooks and Dr. Daniel Duvall from the Hospital and Ambulatory Policy Group of the Center for Medicare discuss the transition to ICD-10 for medical diagnosis and inpatient procedure coding which includes: • Hints for a smooth transition to ICD-10 in physician offices • ICD-10 Implementation and preparation strategies • Partial freeze prior to ICD-10 implementation • Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Grouper (MS-DRG) Conversion Project at CMS Back to Top
The 2014 AANP State Award for Excellence Now Accepting Nominations The 2014 AANP State Award for Excellence Call for Nominations is now open. Founded in 1991, the AANP State Award for NP Excellence recognizes an NP in each state who demonstrates excellence in clinical practice. In 1993, the AANP State Award for NP Advocate was added to recognize the efforts of individuals who have made a significant contribution toward increasing the awareness and acceptance of NPs. NPs are also eligible for the advocate award for non-clinical initiatives related to leadership, policy, politics, research, education, or community affairs. The awards are presented during the year in each state. All awardees are recognized at the AANP National Conference in June. Nominations will be accepted August 19 – October 21, 2013. For more information and to begin the nomination process, click here. Back to Top
National NP Week – 2013 National NP Week will be held November 10 – 16, 2013. AANP is preparing a resource guide for your use in planning activities and promotions in your community – the guide will be available on our website in mid-September. One important element for NP Week is obtaining a proclamation from an elected city, state or national official. Please click here to download the template that can be used in securing a proclamation honoring the NP role. Because this takes time to do, especially if you would like to schedule a public signing of the proclamation, we are providing this in advance of the resource guide. Stay tuned and check aanp.org in September for more information. Back to Top
Stand Up and Be Counted! Currently, 12,553 nurse practitioners have completed the AANP National Nurse Practitioner Practice Site Census. California, Texas, and Florida lead in the number of completed online forms with 893, 841, and 697 respectively. Is your state being represented accurately? Please log in to take AANP’s National NP Practice Site Census at https://census.aanp.org/other. If you do not have an AANP log in, please get in touch with Michelle Cook or Lydia Riley at research@aanp.org and they will send you instructions on how
you can participate.