MEETINGS
North region CSPR meeting: Friday, March 16th
9 am -3 pm at John Muir Hospital, Concord, CA
Meeting minutes
__________________________________________________________
Pulmonary Rehabilitation Reimbursement Challenges and Strategies for Survival – by Chris Garvey NP, Phil Porte and Richard Casaburi PhD, MD
READ more on the Blog page
North region CSPR meeting: Friday, March 16th
9 am -3 pm at John Muir Hospital, Concord, CA
Meeting minutes
__________________________________________________________
Pulmonary Rehabilitation Reimbursement Challenges and Strategies for Survival – by Chris Garvey NP, Phil Porte and Richard Casaburi PhD, MD
- Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) is the standard of care for improving physical function, symptoms, health-related quality of life and mood in persons with chronic lung disease.
- Inadequate reimbursement and limited availability hinder effective PR delivery
- A new COPD billing code introduced in 2010 established a bundled charge code which incorporated a fourfold increase in rehabilitation time and significant involvement of the PR medical director.
- The vast majority of US PR programs are undercharging for PR which has had a direct impact on inadequate and declining PR reimbursement.
- Improved reimbursement requires that pulmonary physicians, scientists and clinicians partner with PR providers to educate hospital financial leadership of the need to use PR charges that adequately reflect the cost of providing PR
READ more on the Blog page
Links of interest to clinicians, patients and family members
ASTHMA
GINA Global Initiative for Asthma a joint project of the NHLBI, NIH and World Health Organization.
NAECB National Asthma Educator Certification Board
NAEP National Asthma Education and Prevention Program.
COPD
Learn More Breathe Better The campaign is for men and women over age 45, especially those who smoke or have smoked, and those with risk associated with genetics or environmental exposures. In addition, the campaign aims to reach people who have been diagnosed with COPD as well as health care providers, particularly those in the primary care setting.
COPD Coalition Building a network of committed organizations and individuals to increase awareness of COPD and improve prevention, diagnosis, and care including COPD Congressional Caucus.
COPD-Alert A nonprofit, INTERNET-based SUPPORT and ADVOCACY group for COPD patients, caregivers, medical professionals, and all those who care
EFFORTS "Emphysema Foundation for Our Right to Survive" - more about COPD from folks who are living with it.
CDC MMWR Surveillance Report
ORGANIZATIONS
AACVPR American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
AANMA Asthma and Allergy Network Mothers of Asthmatics information packed website.
ACCP American College of Chest Physicians, Chest magazine on line. Check out the new patient information module "Living Well with COPD"
ALAC American Lung Association of California
Alpha 1 Association Support, education, advocacy and research information for those with Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.
ATS American Thoracic Society
AARC American Association of Respiratory Care
CSCR California Society for Cardiac Rehabilitation
CSRC California Society for Respiratory Care
California Thoracic Society Professional society dedicated to advancing respiratory and critical care medicine, the control of lung disease and the promotion of lung health in California
Canadian Lung Association Full of useful educational information, also in French!
NHLBI National Hearth, Lung and Blood Institute. Excellent information for clinicians and patients.
NLHEP National Lung Health Education Program dedicated to providing education to primary care physicians and patients about intervening early in COPD
PERF Pulmonary Education and Research Foundation. Help for those with chronic respiratory disease through education, research, and information
Pulmonary Fibrosis Association Online information and support for folks with pulmonary fibrosis.
Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Primary goal is to improve the quality of live for those with Pulmonary Fibrosis through support for research, referral to specialized centers and more.
Society of Thoracic Surgeons Includes LVRS and lung transplant information and patient discussion area.
SMOKING
National Cancer Institute Free help to quit smoking links
Smokefree.gov Smokefree.gov provides free, accurate, evidence-based information and professional assistance to help support the immediate and long-term needs of people trying to quit smoking.
GENERAL INFORMATION
AHRQ Agency for Healthcare Policy Research of the Department of Health and Human Services website. Information for clinicians, consumers and patients.
BlueSkyDrugs.com Discount prescription medications from Canada available on-line.
CanadaDrugsOnline.com Discount prescription medications from Canada available on-line.
Doctorsolve.com Discount prescription medications from Canada available on-line.
CDC Center for Disease Control media website with up to date links for flu and other disease related statistics and alerts.
Duke University Medical Center's Pulmonary Fibrosis Information
Excellent information regarding all types of pulmonary fibrosis. Information about enrolling in DUMC's study on Familial Pulmonary Fibrosis.
HealthCentral.com General health information and with Dr. Dean Edell's latest news.
Human Kinetics Publisher of Guidelines for Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programs, 4rd Ed.
Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins Publisher of ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription; click certification study tools
Medical Travel, Inc Travel agency specializing in travel for individuals with medical disabilities.
Medscape Respiratory Care Hot topics and journal article scans updated daily.
National Jewish Medical Center National Jewish Medical Center in Denver, CO. Nationally known center for diagnosis and treatment of asthma and other lung diseases.
Noridian Homepage Home page for Medicare Jurisdiction E MAC
Noridian-Respiratory Services LCD Link to current Respiratory Services LCD from Medicare JE MAC (helpful for G0237, G0238 & G0239 rules & dx codes)
PAD Link to PAD exercise toolkit
Portable Oxygen: A Users Perspective A collection of infomation from users, makers, distributers, service and other professionals who care about oxygen therapy.
Pulmonary Care Continuum Designs clinical guidance systems for the lifelong management of patients with chronic lung disease.
PulmonaryChannel.com Online medical resources to assist health care consumers.
GINA Global Initiative for Asthma a joint project of the NHLBI, NIH and World Health Organization.
NAECB National Asthma Educator Certification Board
NAEP National Asthma Education and Prevention Program.
COPD
Learn More Breathe Better The campaign is for men and women over age 45, especially those who smoke or have smoked, and those with risk associated with genetics or environmental exposures. In addition, the campaign aims to reach people who have been diagnosed with COPD as well as health care providers, particularly those in the primary care setting.
COPD Coalition Building a network of committed organizations and individuals to increase awareness of COPD and improve prevention, diagnosis, and care including COPD Congressional Caucus.
COPD-Alert A nonprofit, INTERNET-based SUPPORT and ADVOCACY group for COPD patients, caregivers, medical professionals, and all those who care
EFFORTS "Emphysema Foundation for Our Right to Survive" - more about COPD from folks who are living with it.
CDC MMWR Surveillance Report
ORGANIZATIONS
AACVPR American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
AANMA Asthma and Allergy Network Mothers of Asthmatics information packed website.
ACCP American College of Chest Physicians, Chest magazine on line. Check out the new patient information module "Living Well with COPD"
ALAC American Lung Association of California
Alpha 1 Association Support, education, advocacy and research information for those with Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.
ATS American Thoracic Society
AARC American Association of Respiratory Care
CSCR California Society for Cardiac Rehabilitation
CSRC California Society for Respiratory Care
California Thoracic Society Professional society dedicated to advancing respiratory and critical care medicine, the control of lung disease and the promotion of lung health in California
Canadian Lung Association Full of useful educational information, also in French!
NHLBI National Hearth, Lung and Blood Institute. Excellent information for clinicians and patients.
NLHEP National Lung Health Education Program dedicated to providing education to primary care physicians and patients about intervening early in COPD
PERF Pulmonary Education and Research Foundation. Help for those with chronic respiratory disease through education, research, and information
Pulmonary Fibrosis Association Online information and support for folks with pulmonary fibrosis.
Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Primary goal is to improve the quality of live for those with Pulmonary Fibrosis through support for research, referral to specialized centers and more.
Society of Thoracic Surgeons Includes LVRS and lung transplant information and patient discussion area.
SMOKING
National Cancer Institute Free help to quit smoking links
Smokefree.gov Smokefree.gov provides free, accurate, evidence-based information and professional assistance to help support the immediate and long-term needs of people trying to quit smoking.
GENERAL INFORMATION
AHRQ Agency for Healthcare Policy Research of the Department of Health and Human Services website. Information for clinicians, consumers and patients.
BlueSkyDrugs.com Discount prescription medications from Canada available on-line.
CanadaDrugsOnline.com Discount prescription medications from Canada available on-line.
Doctorsolve.com Discount prescription medications from Canada available on-line.
CDC Center for Disease Control media website with up to date links for flu and other disease related statistics and alerts.
Duke University Medical Center's Pulmonary Fibrosis Information
Excellent information regarding all types of pulmonary fibrosis. Information about enrolling in DUMC's study on Familial Pulmonary Fibrosis.
HealthCentral.com General health information and with Dr. Dean Edell's latest news.
Human Kinetics Publisher of Guidelines for Pulmonary Rehabilitation Programs, 4rd Ed.
Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins Publisher of ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription; click certification study tools
Medical Travel, Inc Travel agency specializing in travel for individuals with medical disabilities.
Medscape Respiratory Care Hot topics and journal article scans updated daily.
National Jewish Medical Center National Jewish Medical Center in Denver, CO. Nationally known center for diagnosis and treatment of asthma and other lung diseases.
Noridian Homepage Home page for Medicare Jurisdiction E MAC
Noridian-Respiratory Services LCD Link to current Respiratory Services LCD from Medicare JE MAC (helpful for G0237, G0238 & G0239 rules & dx codes)
PAD Link to PAD exercise toolkit
Portable Oxygen: A Users Perspective A collection of infomation from users, makers, distributers, service and other professionals who care about oxygen therapy.
Pulmonary Care Continuum Designs clinical guidance systems for the lifelong management of patients with chronic lung disease.
PulmonaryChannel.com Online medical resources to assist health care consumers.
