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In this Issue:
- Save the Date! ACP AR Chapter Meeting 2024!
- ACP Arkansas proudly presents the American College of Physicians Awardees for 2023.
- ACP Arkansas proudly presents the American College of Physicians Poster Competition Awardees.
- AIMN Alert: Your Help Needed Urging Congress to Support Implementation of the G2211 Code and Halt the 3.4% Physician Payment Cuts
- ACP Leaders Advocate to Increase Investment in Primary Care
Keyur Vyas, MD, FACP, ACP Governor
Dear Colleagues,
Each December, I can't help but look back and wonder how quickly the past year has gone by. It has certainly been a momentous year for me, not least of which has been due to the opportunity to lead this great chapter. In April, attending the ACP national meeting in San Diego with many of you was an opportunity to learn about new advances, to connect with dedicated physicians from Arkansas and around the globe, and reflect on some of the challenges and opportunities for our patients and profession. At the end of the meeting, I took over the mantle of governor from Dr. Stacy Zimmerman. In addition, our own Dr. Omar Atiq, took over as president of the national ACP. I can think of no better physician for this role, leading and being a powerful voice for all Internal Medicine Physicians.
This fall, our chapter was awarded the Chapter Excellence Award at the Gold level. In September, we had a very successful Chapter Scientific Meeting in Little Rock filled with excellent sessions including updates on nephrology, obesity, delirium, addiction, and length of stay, as well as a thought-provoking discussion on Women in Medicine. Dr. Eric DelGiacco again gave a wonderful review of 10 impactful papers in Internal Medicine for this past year. During the meeting, our mentorship breakfast and lunch sessions gave great opportunities for our membership to connect and network.
In November, we held our annual AR Resident Day Virtual Meeting featuring oral clinical vignettes from Internal Medicine Residents across the state and crowned by a spirited Doctor's Dilemma Competition featuring teams from Mercy Fort Smith, UAMS, NEA Baptist, and White River Medical Center. The UAMS team of Sai Nikhila Ghanta, Bhavesh Mohan Lal, and Gomathy Nageshwaran won this year and will represent our chapter at the 2024 national meeting in Boston. The competition was lively and assured me that the future of Internal Medicine in Arkansas is bright.
As we near the end of 2023, I want to wish each of you a happy and healthy holiday season, filled with warmth, family, and friends. I look forward to the New Year and opportunities to connect with each of you in the coming year.
Keyur Vyas, MD FACP
Save the Date! ACP AR Chapter Meeting 2024!
Save the date for our Chapter Meeting and Resident and Student Competitions on September 13th, 2024.
ACP Arkansas proudly presents the American College of Physicians Awardees for 2023.
ACP AR Abernathy Laureate 2023
Eric Del Giacco, MD FACP
ACP AR Early Career Physician Award
Gilbert Roy Kamoga, MD, FACP
ACP AR Outstanding Women Physician Award
Alice P. Alexander, MD, FAAP, FACP
ACP Arkansas proudly presents the American College of Physicians Poster Competition Awardees.
1st Place Clinical Research Poster Resident
Mohammed Soliman- UAMS/Mercy-VHSO
1st Place Clinical Vignette Poster Resident
August Martin- UAMS/Mercy-VHSO
1st Place Quality Improvement-Patient Safety Poster
Daniel Shin-Unity Health White County Med Ctr
2nd Place Clinical Vignette Poster Resident
Safina Ali- UAMS/Mercy-VHSO
3rd Place Clinical Vignette Poster Resident-TIE
Rishan Jeyakumar-Mercy
1st Place Medical Student Poster Overall-Clinical Vignette
Nadia Safar-UAMS
2nd Place Medical Student Poster Overall-Clinical Research
Jordan Pilkington-UAMS
AIMN Alert: Your Help Needed Urging Congress to Support Implementation of the G2211 Code and Halt the 3.4% Physician Payment Cuts
ACP needs your help to urge your members of Congress to support the implementation of the new Medicare add-on code, G2211, included in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule, while also acting to prevent an across-the-board 3.4 percent cut to physician payment scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2024.
The 2024 MPFS final rule includes implementation of the G2211 code on January 1, 2024. Implementation of G2211 will allow physicians to account for services like chronic disease management tracking, review of consultative or diagnostic reports, medication monitoring, safety outside of patient visits, and physician input at assisted living or nursing homes.
While ACP is encouraged by the inclusion of the G2211 code in the MPFS final rule, we are concerned that the MPFS also includes an across-the-board 3.4 percent cut to physician payment due to reduction in the MPFS’ conversion factor for 2024.
Absent physician advocacy, physician payment is at risk in 2024. Please urge your members of Congress to support implementation of G2211 and stop the physician payment cut.
ACP Leaders Advocate to Increase Investment in Primary Care
In a new op-ed published in Medical Economics, ACP's Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Darilyn V. Moyer, MD, MACP, FRCP, FIDSA, FAMWA, FEFIM and Senior Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer Shari M. Erickson, MPH voice the necessity of creating a nationwide strategy to invest more in primary care. When communities have robust primary care systems in place, people stay healthier and live longer at less cost to our health care system overall.
The authors assert that primary care is in crisis and call on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide primary care services at a national scale by adopting a hybrid primary care payment model within Medical Shared Savings Program (MSSP) that empowers primary care by paying upfront for most primary care services. Hybrid payment allows primary care to continue to improve health and health equity while managing health care resources and technology effectively.