Year: 2018
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NIH’s All of Us Research Program Kicks Off in Birmingham on May 6
On May 6, the National Institutes of Health will open national enrollment for the All of Us Research Program, a momentous effort to advance individualized prevention, treatment and care for people of all backgrounds. People ages 18 and older, regardless of health status, will be able to enroll. The official launch date will be marked…
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Meet Our New Board Members
Dr. Hernando D. Carter of Birmingham was elected as At-Large Place No. 3. He is a board-certified internal medicine physician with experience in hospital medicine, primary care, long-term care and palliative care with a special interest in the care of the geriatric patient. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama School of Medicine…
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CMS Rebrands Meaningful Use to Highlight New Changes
As part of the annual Medicare payment update proposal, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid along with the Trump Administration plan to rebrand Meaningful Use to reduce burdens and unnecessary regulations while emphasizing data sharing across providers. The new Meaningful Use program, now called “Promoting Interoperability,” aims to reduce reporting measures and initiate a stronger push…
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Navigate the New Medicare ID Transition in 9 Steps
Due to a legislative mandate in MACRA passed in 2015, Medicare will no longer use social security numbers to identify individuals. Instead, a new randomly generated Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) will be assigned to all 58 million Medicare recipients. New Medicare ID cards containing the MBI are currently being sent to recipients. “It is a…
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Successful Take Back Alabama Week Ends with Opioid Summit
REVISED APRIL 27, 2018 ─ The Medical Association’s Take Back Alabama Week kicked off this week with a press conference at Walgreens in Birmingham on Monday, April 23. Representatives from AmerisourceBergen, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Pfizer, Prime Therapeutics and Walgreens joined Attorney General Steve Marshall and Birmingham physician Gregory Ayers to announce…
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Jefferson Underwood III, M.D., Named President for 2018-2019
MONTGOMERY – Long-time Montgomery physician and Association member Jefferson Underwood III, M.D., was recently named President of the Board of Censors of the Medical Association of the State of Alabama. Dr. Underwood is the first African-American male to serve as President of the Association. He previously served the Association as President-Elect, Secretary-Treasurer and Vice President.…
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Alabama SB39: Another Shot in the Opioid Battle
On March 28, 2018, Alabama Senate Bill 39 was sent to Governor Ivey’s desk for signature. SB39 introduces stiffer penalties related to fentanyl possession and distribution. It amounts to a local effort forming part of a nationwide, multi-pronged response to the opioid epidemic that has plagued the country in recent years. While this bill is…
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Burnout Proof – Healing the Healers with Debbie Booher Kolb, M.D.
MADISON — According to a recent study by the Cleveland Clinic, more than one-third of physicians are in a silent battle with professional burnout. Physicians dealing with mental, emotional and physical exhaustion become less able to provide quality care to their patients and find themselves leaving the medical profession altogether…or worse. It’s the “or worse”…
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Phishing Schemes Can Paralyze Your Medical Practice
“Phishing” occurs when emails are sent to individuals or entities in an attempt to fraudulently gain access to personal information or introduce malware into the computer system. These emails are often disguised to look familiar to the recipient. The perpetrator may disguise their communication to appear to be from a colleague, family member or friend.…