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.
SPRING CME, FEBRUARY 26 & 27, 2010
Click on the button to register
on line.
Click on the link to open a printable brochure.
 Change
of Address, Email? Phone?
If you need to update your
member information, you can do so in the
members only area.
Thank you!
QUICK
NEWS JANUARY 13, 2010
From the new IAPA
President, Sarah Smalley, MMS, PA-C:
"On January 9 & 10,
2010,
the IAPA board of directors met in Springfield to discuss goals and
plans for the coming year. The Legislative Committee, Public Education Committee,
CME Committee, Bylaws & Policies and Procedures Committee and Membership Committee set goals for 2010. Action steps were created to complete
the goals.
A
few of the action steps necessary to complete the goals for the
Legislative Committee include passing three changes in the
Illinois Administrative Codes. We do this
through the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR). We
are also awaiting a draft of the rules on Schedule II privileges from
the Division of Professional Regulations. Those new rules
will be going through JCAR as well. IAPA is monitoring the
development of radiology rules for PAs.
The
Public Education Committee will be reviewing and updating the IAPA
brochure. Two new PA Programs in Illinois will be added to the
materials as well as updated privileges, prescriptive authority and
settings. Also, on the agenda of the Public Education is an
update on our IAPA logo and an update on the IAPA website. These
are major tasks but needed tasks in order to make our site usable and
functional.
The
CME Committee is working on three CME events in 2010. The Spring
CME will be held February 26 & 27, 2010 at the Dove Conference
Center, St. John's Hospital, Springfield, IL. The Fall CME will
be held in the Chicago area. Dates and location are to be
determined. The CME in Southern Illinois PA Chapter will also be
determined. This event is usually held in early September at the
John Logan Community College in Carterville, next to Carbondale.
The
Bylaws & Policies and Procedures Committee has the daunting task to
review the language of our organization's guidelines and make
recommendations to keep them current. This task should be done
every few years. This is the year!
The Membership
Committee is a concern to us all. Each and every PA in
Illinois should be a member of the Academy. It supports the
continuous work required to maintain our progress. Each member
can renewed their dues. Each member can ask the other PA in their
office, or in their area, if they are a member of the IAPA.
Remember, the IAPA is responsible for gaining prescriptive authority
and signature authority in Illinois. We are working to change the
ratio, add radiology rules, and amend the Medical Corporation
Act. But we need all PAs as members.
Overall,
I believe our board of directors is determined, generous, and very good
at multi-tasking in order to move the PA profession forward in
Illinois.
If
you have any questions or concerns, please email me, or any member of
the IAPA board. We are here to listen, to answer and to
act.
Let's
go have an exciting year.
- Sarah Smalley, MMS, PA-C"
JANUARY
12, 2010
SPRING
CME
February 26 & 27, 2010
Dove Conference Center, St. John's Hospital
Springfield, IL
10 hours of CME, plus a workshop
Stay tuned for details.
Registration will open January 18, 2010.
December
18, 2009
Results
of the IAPA Elections are announced:
President-Elect:
TBA
Secretary
Zorina Thomas, MMS, PA-C
Northern
Illinois PA Chapter Regional Director
Carmen Kaufman, MPAS, PA-C
North East Illinois PA Chapter Regional
Director
Dave Senf, MS, PA-C
East Central Illinois PA
Chapter Regiona Director
Joel Willis, MMS, PA-C
Delegate
for 2011-2012
Kevin Wilson, MPAS, PA-C
December 11, 2009
The IAPA
will close the 2010 Board of Directors Elections using e-voting on Dec.
19, 2009.
Please
access the ballot at https://vod.votenet.com/iapa
Your specific username and password from the IAPA website can be used.
Only Fellow Members are eligible to vote.
You may only vote once.
Voting is anonymous.
If you
experience any problems accessing the online voting booth or utilizing
the username/password, please contact the IAPA office at 800-975-9344.
November
19, 2009
The
IAPA has launched the 2010 Board of Directors Election Ballot.
VoteNet is the software company that specializes in the e-voting
technology. In the past, the IAPA has sent ballots out to each
Fellow voting member at a considerable cost in postage. IAPA
usually received about 1/3 of the ballots back. It is our hope
that member participation increases with voting made simple on
line. An email was sent to all eligible Fellow members telling
them how to access the site and vote at
http://vod.votnet.com/iapa. We have had reports that a few of the
emails were retrieved from the "spam" file. Voting is open until
December 18, 2009. It is
anonymous and members can only vote once.
October 15, 2009
IAPA
had 113 PAs attend the Fall CME at Midwestern University at Downers
Grove, IL.
Stephen Hanson, AAPA President, addressed the attendees at the noon
time lunch. He praised the Illinois Academy for their success at
the Illinois State Capitol. He reminded everyone that being a
member of the statewide organization can strengthen the PA profession
and provide a greater awareness for all the work that is being done.
The
IAPA Fall CME had high scoring lectures presented. First-time
attendees commented on how friendly the atmosphere was, and yet, there
was a high concentration of excellent Category I CME provided in such a
short period of time.
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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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