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index.htm
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Welcome to the Illinois Academy of Physician
Assistants! To join the IAPA over the website, click the
IAPA Membership Application on the left sidebar. Or to print out
a hard copy, click here.
QUICK NEWS
IAPA
Reinstates toll free number..
As
of January 30, 2008, IAPA will be providing the toll free number
to members at 800-975-9344.
IAPA
Goals for 2008
"The
IAPA board of directors met in January to discuss the goals and
activities of the organization. Our top priority is to provide
information to members and non-members regarding the critical state of
laws outlining privileges of the PA profession in Illinois.
Without better funding and greater support from the PAs practicing in
Illinois, the laws for PAs will only stay the same. PAs are
falling behind the APNs in expanding practice privileges. Funds to hire
a lobbyist exceed $48,000 a year. IAPA needs every practicing PA
in Illinois to join our organization in order to hire a full-time
lobbyist. Dues are $150 annually, or .43 cents a day, to be
member of the IAPA. Join now if you are not a member. If you were a member, please pay
your dues on-line right now. If you are a member, we thank you
for your conitnued support. We need your support in order
to protect and expand our PA profession!" Kathy Dodd, PA-C,
President 2008.
Presented below are the 2008 goals of the IAPA.
a.
Membership Committee - James
Kell, chair,
Dave Senf, Joel Willis, Elana Min, and the Regional Directors
1. Recruit
membership to 600 Fellow Members
2. Host
a Regional Directors Workshop
3. For prospective
membership, send a
newsletter, postcards, develop a webpage for prospects and send
alumni
letters to the programs to send to their alumni.
b.
Public Education Committee - Sharon Blattner, Kris Healy, Joel Willis
1. Website - formatting
a newsletter and
emails with more graphics and style.
2. Interactive
interactive database fields
linked to the computer database to link current information.
3. Articles on the
website on Hire to Hire
a PA and more.
4. Visit the PA
Programs.
5. Brochure to be
finalized and
printed.
6. Display to be
finalized and printed
finding Illinois
photos.
7. SIPAC presented a
$3,000 donation to
further develop the IAPA website for 2008.
Many thanks to SIPAC for
their generous contributions.
c.
Legislative Committee - Ann Browning,
chair, Sharon Blattner, Kathy Dodd, Sherie Turner, Karen Chamness and
Kris
Healy
1. Investigate,
interview, hire a
lobbyist.
2. Write a letter to
AAPA asking for a
$25,000 grant to assist with the search for a lobbyist.
3. Introduce language
for Schedule II
privileges.
4. Introduce language
for the Emergency
Disaster privileges.
5. Introduce language
to change the
definition of the PA Advisory Committee in the PA Practice Act.
6. Continue ground work
on privileges to
a. Become shareholders
in a Medical
Practice by amending the Medical Corporations Act.
b. Gain privileges
performing x-rays by
amending the Nuclear Safety Act.
c. Expanding the
supervisory ratio from
1:2 to at least 1:4 or removing it completely.
d.
PAC Committee will continue to make
contributions during this election year.
Ann Browning, chair, Kathy Dodd,
Randall Wilcoxen.
LEGISLATIVE
NEWS
January 10, 2008
The IAPA
would like to hire a lobbying firm to assist our efforts in expanding
practice privileges for PAs.
There are three items on the agenda for 2008:
1) Adding Emergency Disaster language in the PA Practice Act of
1987 giving PAs the authority to practice without a supervising
physician in an emergency disaster situation.
2) Amending the language in the PA Practice Act of 1987 granting
authority to the PA Advisory Committee.
3) Prescriptive privileges for Schedule II
Controlled Substances.
In order to afford a lobbying firm, IAPA needs to recruit 160 more
Fellow Members. Please be sure you pay your dues, and please be
sure that all PAs you know are members of the IAPA. We need your
financial help now.
December 31, 2007
The Governor signed
HB 1284 on December 31, 2007 at around 3:15 pm.
Public Act . . . . . . . . . 95-0703
Thank you for all your calls to the
Governor's Office.
MEDICARE
REIMBURSEMENT ISSUES
Preview
the AAPA
presentation of Medicare Reimbursement at: http://www.aapa.org/sparks/fast/menu.html
1)
Does the
supervising physician need to be on site in order for the hospital to
bill under the
physician's name?
In hospitals, billing under the physician when both the PA and
physician deliver care to the same patient on the same day does not
require that the physician be on site when the PA delivers his/her
portion of care. Medicare does require that the physician
personally perform some portion of
the evaluation and management service (face-to-face with the patient)
during
that calendar day. This is known as a shared visit.
However, if
the physician never treats the patient on that calendar day then the
PA’s services can only be reimbursed at 85%. Procedures and
consultations can’t be billed as a shared visit. That same policy
does not really work in the office setting.
2) Does the supervising
physician need to sign each chart for Medicare patients?
Medicare generally has no requirement that the physician ever co-sign
a PA’s chart. State law or the policies of hospitals may have
that
requirement, but not Medicare. Medicare’s Condition of
Participation
do require that a physician co-sign a PA’s chart when the PA has
performed
a hospital admission H&P or a pre-surgical H&P.
3) What's the new rule for
PAs to see a patient with a new condition?
PAs
can always see and treat new patients in the office or hospital as long
as the claim is submitted under the PA’s name and Medicare provider
number (paid at 85%). If the office is trying to bill Medicare under
the physician’s name at 100% (“incident to”) then PA’s can’t treat new
patients.
4) Shouldn't a PA
have his own UPIN number and bill under their own UPIN number?
Every
PA should have a Medicare PIN. The UPIN is issued after the PIN
and is not used for day-to –day billing. The PIN is used for
billing. A PA in a pediactric practice could argue that there is
no need to get a PIN. They should understand that not every
patient covered by Medicare is elderly. Younger patients with
kidney disease and other conditions can also be covered by Medicare. To apply,
contact your area Medicare Services Office and ask for form CMS855.
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REGIONS
The
IAPA has six regions that represent PAs in different parts of the
state. Each region has their own director who arranges CME and other
meetings for their membership. These meetings are great opportunities
for PAs to network with other practicing PAs in the state and another
opportunity to obtain CME credit. Make sure you check out our regional
pages by clicking here or on the
regions button on the left side of the page!
CME
The
meeting will be held at Midwestern University in Downers Grove, IL, in
2006. Stay tuned for details.. Information on hotels in the area
will be arriving via mail soon. You can register for the Fall CME by
contacting Sharon Blattner, PA-C. Her contact information is available here. In addition, there are great CME
opportunities through your IAPA regional chapter. Click here to learn more.
MEMBERSHIP
RENEWAL
It's
that time of year when some members have lost their renewal forms. If
you haven't had a chance to renew your membership or you lost your
renewal form click here to print out a
form and send it to the office. Stay tuned to the website to complete
this entire transaction online.
MEMBERSHIP
Click
here if you are interested in
becoming a member or learning more about the benefits of membership!
PROSPECTIVE
PA STUDENTS
If
you are a
prospective PA student you will be interested to know that we now have
a
pre-PA membership category. Membership dues are $10.00 and you will
make a
big impression on your PA interviews when they find out your are
already involved
in the Illinois Academy of Physician Assistants. Click here to print out a form for your
membership and get involved in your profession!
WEBSITE
There
are some great changes coming our way!
- Online
membership forms and credit card payment options
- Online
registration and payment for CME events
- Email
notification on important news items for members
- Frequently
asked
questions section for members
These
changes and more will be coming to your website soon. Take a look
around to learn more.
LEGISLATIVE
SUPERVISION
RATIO
We
were unable to get the legislature to consider this important addition
to the PA Practice Act, but our legislative team is preparing for next
year and they will need your help to get the members of the legislature
to understand how important this issue it to provide access to many
underserved areas of Illinois!.
DISASTER
TEAMS
In
addition, we will be working on an Emergency Supervision Bill which
will allow PAs to serve on emergency response teams. The PAs would be
able to lend their services in the event of a state or national
emergency by helping out with disaster teams. This was also held up in
the legislature, but we hope to get our state representatives to
understand how vital this is to serving our state and local
communities. Currently, members of
emergency response teams like the Illinois Medical Emergency Response
Team (IMERT) cannot participate in actual disasters. These
organizations need PAs to help, yet the current practice act won't
allow our participation. We need the legislature to act now to prepare
for the future.
SUNSET
PROVISION
The
legislature enacts a sunset provision in all the professions in
Illinois. This allows them to review the profession to ensure their
existence is necessary. The PA Practice act (PAPA) will be coming due
for renewal in 2007,
which means the academy will be working diligently to ensure that the
renewal goes smoothly. For more information on our legislative efforts
click here.
WHAT
CAN I DO?
Your
legislators need to be aware of the importance of passing these bills.
These bills allow PAs to provide much needed healthcare to those who
are in need of access to care. The access is prevalent in medically
underserved areas and potentially a problem during a state or national
disaster or emergency. Please write a letter to your state legislator
to inform them about PAs roles in healthcare. Click here
to find your local legislator.
Meet the IAPA Board! |
 Change
of Address?
If you need to update your member information, you can do so in the
members only area.
If you need your username and password please click here. Thank you!
Site
updated 05-22-2006
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