Dear Tim, I need your help...

Dear Tim,

I need your help.

We are trying to spread the word about Medifest Jacksonville on September 12-13. Could you please forward the email below to your contacts? I appreciate your help!

Registration will be open until Wednesday, September 5 close of business.

First Coast Service Options (FCSO), your Medicare contractor in Florida, invites you to register today for our premiere Medicare educational conference, Medifest, on September 12-13, 2012, at the Jacksonville Marriot in Jacksonville, FL.

Medifest brings together Medicare experts, providers, and vendors to learn about what's trending now in Medicare and how to lower your risk of payment recoupment and claim submission errors through improved billing practices.

We are excited to return to Jacksonville this year, and it is a direct result of your feedback! This year's event offers 24 data-driven workshops and seminars geared to the needs of our providers in northeast Florida.

Our classes include:

• Provider Enrollment and PECOs web
• Avoiding roadblocks in billing Medicare secondary payer
• Learning about First Coast's exclusive online provider resources on our education and training websites
• Improving compliance with medical documentation requirements
• Applying correctly global surgery modifiers
• Learning the "ins and outs" of billing cost outlier claims (Part A)
• Selecting the proper evaluation and management code
• Understanding the Medicare appeals process
• ICD-10 transition
• Claims resources and resolutions, and much more!

Click here for a full list of course schedules.

Get the Medifest 2012 Jacksonville brochure to learn more about Medifest, including registration fees, review ourbrochure.

Register today: Register for Medifest through your account at FCSO'straining website and select the "Medifest" page.

Don't have an account? No worries. Providers can request a free account today by visiting the site and selecting "Request a New Account" in the Login section.

Once you request an account, we will send you an email within a few days with the temporary password.

Our goal is to build a stronger Medicare community through education, so please join us for just one day or both!

Thanks!

Julie Stiles
Training Administrator First Coast Service Options, Inc.
When Experience Counts and Quality Matters

Tim Richardson Running for Secretary of the Florida Physical Therapy Association

Statement: I would be honored to serve my fellow physical therapists as Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Florida Physical Therapy Association (FPTA).

The FPTA Board of Directors is a responsibility I take very seriously since the FPTA is the largest organization representing physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in the State of Florida.

I believe our voice is strongest when we speak, not from our own self-interest, but from the perspective of our patients. I believe we should ask ourselves, when developing FPTA policy:

"What can I do, as an FPTA member, that can improve my ability to provide care or the ability of my patients to access my services?"

***

Online voting for FPTA offices began on Tuesday, August 14 at 9:00 am and will close on Friday, September 14 at 8:30 pm. FPTA will use the emails on file with APTA for contacting members regarding elections and voting procedures.

During the FPTA Annual Conference in Orlando, candidates will have the opportunity to speak during the Chapter Caucus.  Additionally, the Nominating Committee has scheduled a "Meet the Candidates: session during the Exhibit Reception. Members will have the opportunity to chat with candidates and ask any questions they feel necessary.

Biography: Tim Richardson graduated from the University of Florida in 1992 with a Bachelor's in Health Science (Physical Therapy).

Tim received Manual Therapy Certification from the University of St. Augustine in 2001. Since 1996 he has owned and managed private physical therapy clinics in Manatee County, Florida.

Tim is returning from a one-year sabbatical in Spain where he provided cash-based musculoskeletal and vestibular physical therapy services to Spanish-speaking people.

Tim just recently (June 2012) was elected to the North Central Florida Health Information Management Systems Society (HiMSS) Health Information Exchange Committee, which advises the HiMSS Board of Directors.

He is also a founding member of the Florida Physical Therapists in Private Practice (FLPTPP), serves on their Board of Directors and serves as their Legislative Chair.

Tim is serving his third year on the Florida Physical Therapy Association (FPTA) Government Affairs Committee and has served on the Web Site Task Force responsible for the FPTA logo. Tim also serves on the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Orthopedic Section Practice Committee and the Health Policy & Admin Section Technology Special Interest Group.

Tim advises the Florida Medicare Administrative Contractor, First Coast Service Options Inc., as a member of the Provider Outreach and Education Advisory Group.

Contact Information:
email: TimRichPT@MedicalArtsRehab.com
LinkedIn profile: http://linkd.in/zPc0EH
Twitter handle: https://twitter.com/#!/timrichpt
Skype name: TimRichPT
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/timrichpt

Thank you for your consideration.

Remember, in a democracy its not "Majority Rules", but the majority of people WHO VOTE that make the rules.

Legislative Meeting Kicks Off FLPTPP 2012

The Florida Physical Therapists' in Private Practice (FLPTPP) Legislative Committee Meeting kicks off the 2nd Annual FLPTPP Conference today, August 17th, 2012, at the:

Hilton Orlando Resort, Lake Buena Vista 1751, Hotel Plaza Blvd, Lake Buena Vista, Florida

I-4 corridor to the FLPTPP meeting in Orlando

The FLPTPP is hosting Phil Moe, South Dakota's Chief Delegate and Board of Directors' member.

As many readers of this blog are aware, South Dakota is one of three states that have recently enacted patient protection legislation to prevent insurance companies from charging patients excessively high copayments for physical therapy.

Phil will describe the legislative strategy his state association used to achieve their legislative success. The meeting starts at 5pm in the Hilton Palm 3 conference room.

On-site registration for the conference is available.

Picking Physical Therapists' Pockets...

Physical therapists in private practice (and other settings) should understand where most our dollars come from.

In Florida, with our large elderly population, about half of my practice income is Medicare reimbursement.

That reimbursement is getting smaller - not due to budget cuts - but due to the activities of specialist physicians.

We haven't had an actual Medicare reimbursement cut since 2002.

Despite the media hoopla about the effect of the (Un)Sustainable Growth Rate on the Medicare Physicians' Fee Schedule, the Congress of the United States has failed to implement budget balancing reforms on Medicare reimbursement.

Year	Projected Update to the SGR	Actual Update to the SGR
2002	-4.8%	-4.8
2003	-4.4%	1.4%
2004	-4.5%	1.5%
2005	-3.3%	1.5%
2006	-4.4%	0.2%
2007	-5.0%	0%
2008	-10.1%	0.5%
2009	-10.6%	1.1%
2010	-21.3%	0%
2011	-27.4%	0%

So why has my relative income continued to decline?

The Relative value Update Committee (RUC) of the American Medical Association each year recommends changes to Medicare reimbursements that reward specialty physicians yet penalize general medicine and preventative services.

Specialists are picking physical therapists' pocket and most physical therapists don't even know it!

The media and our own professional political advocacy would have us focus most of our attention on the SGR. However, the RUC is, according to Dr. Brian Klepper...

"...the greatest obstacle to turning around our healthcare system and our economy."

Dr. Klepper details the scope and scale of this problem in his August 2012 blogpost The Most Powerful Health Care Group You’ve Never Heard Of

Dr. Klepper has also formed the advocacy group called Replace the RUC to generate public awareness of this shadowy politcal group.

Who thinks physical therapy codes are under-valued relative to certain other medical procedures?

Which codes? Which procedures?

Thanks for commenting.

Physical Therapy and Health Information Technology

Physical therapy shown at 1:42.

Why Physical Therapists Should Make Diagnoses

"Physical therapy is not a subspecialty of the medical profession and physical therapists are not medical doctors; we are a separate profession that provides a unique service that physicians are unable and untrained to provide."

Letter to the American Medical Association from John Barnes
CEO, American Physical Therapy Association

12/22/2009

Private Practice Physical Therapists' Continuing Education

Click the image to get continuing education for Private Practice Physical Therapists:

See you in Orlando!

Free Giveaways at 2012 Florida Private Practice Conference

The Florida Physical Therapists in Private Practice (FLPTPP) 2012 conference is almost twice as big as last years!

But, there's still room for more!

Sign up by clicking the image.