HCMA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP DINNER MEETING
Please plan to attend the Hillsborough County Medical Association General Membership Dinner Meeting to be held on Tuesday, May 22nd at 6pm, at the Wyndham Westshore in Tampa. Dr. Gene Balis will be installed as the 2007-2008 HCMA President and election results will be announced. Dr. Patrick Hutton, FMA President, will be the guest speaker and Mayor Pam Iorio will be the special guest. Please RSVP to the HCMA office at 813/253-0471 or mmiller@hcma.net.

LEGISLATIVE ALERT. VOTE NO ON SB 2022!
Senate Bill 2022 regarding the Pharmacy Immunization/Vaccination is being heard on Wednesday, March 21st. This bill allows pharmacists to administer all vaccinations and immunizations to patients.

Please contact members of the Senate Health Regulation Committee and let them know this is a huge scope of practice expansion for pharmacists. Pharmacists should NOT be administering vaccines and immunizations to patients as there are contraindications and adverse reactions that pharmacists are not trained to detect. Pharmacies are NOT the appropriate places for hands on treatment of patients.

Call Francie Plendl, FMA Director of Governmental Affairs, regarding any questions. (800-762-0233).

ARE YOUR DUES PAID?
Election Ballots for HCMA nominations will be received in April. 2007 HCMA dues must be paid to vote! If you are not sure if you have paid your dues, please contact the HCMA office (813.253.0471). You may now pay your annual dues online at www.hcma.net!

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES, AS OF 3/14/07
Below is a brief summary, provided by the FMA, of legislative activities this past week.
Dr. Altenburger and Dr. Booth testified before the House Health Innovation Committee against HB 543 by Representative Zapata that will allow pharmacists to give all immunizations. The bill passed by a 6-3 vote but we will be working hard to stop this bill from moving further through the legislative process.

Raymond Pomm, M.D., testified before Chairman Gayle Harrell's House Committee on Health Quality. Dr. Pomm is the medical director of the Professionals Resource Network and was in town to testify on HB 739 by Representative Holder. The bill will allow the Department of Health to contract for impairment services for medical students.

Dr. Hutton, Dr. DeGenarro, FMA EVP Sandy Mortham and FMA staff members Fred Whitson and Francie Plendl met with Senate President Ken Pruitt on the Medicaid issue. Dr. Hutton explained that the Medicaid program will see savings very quickly if physician reimbursement rates are raised to a level that would ensure access to quality physicians by Medicaid patients. President Pruitt agreed that the need is there and promised to keep the issue on his radar as the budget proceeds through the process.
 

The FMA testified in the Senate Health Regulation Committee in opposition to a bill that would allow ARNPs to certify causes of death and sign death certificates. The committee voted to table it indefinitely.
 

The Senate Health Regulation Committee approved SB 770 by Senator Atwater. The bill provides for the collection of physician workforce data through implementation of a short questionnaire that physicians will fill out when renewing their licenses. This year the questionnaire was voluntarily completed by 23,000 of the 25,000 renewing physicians. The House companion bill, HB 877 by Representative Homan, also moved forward this week.
 

The House Committee on Constitution and Civil Law passed HB 733 that does away with the Fabre doctrine. The FMA is strongly opposed to the bill as it makes it more difficult for physicians to defend themselves in medical liability cases. We will be working to stop it at the next committee in the House and to keep it from moving in the Senate.

60 DAYS UNTIL IMPLEMENTATION OF NPI - ARE YOU READY?
May 23, 2007 is the deadline for NPI implementation. Time is running out! Failure to prepare could result in a disruption in cash flow. To date, over 1.6 million providers have obtained an NPI. Physicians and other providers should have already obtained an NPI and be focusing on implementation and testing with health plans and clearinghouses. If you have not obtained your NPI by now you should do so immediately so that you can begin the implementation and testing process. CMS continues to urge physician providers to include legacy identifiers, as well as associated provider identifier type(s), on their NPI applications. This will help all health plans, including Medicare, to get ready for May 23, 2007. If reporting a Medicaid legacy number, include the associated State name. For more information on NPI, go to www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalProvIdentStand . Glenda Henderson with the FMA will also be at the 2007 MediSun, May 18 & 19 at the TradeWinds Island Resort in St. Pete Beach, to speak about your NPI number. Don't miss this opportunity!


IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE REVISED FORM CMS-1500
In July 2006, the Form CMS-1500 (12-90) was revised by the National Uniform Claim Committee (NUCC) predominantly for the purpose of accommodating the National Provider Indentifier (NPI). Since this time, the industry has prepared for the implementation of the revised CMS-1500 (08-05). In September 2006, Medicare announced that it would implement the revised Form CMS-1500 (08-05) on January 1, 2007, with dual acceptability of both versions until March 31, 2007. Medicare further announced that beginning April 1, 2007, the only acceptable version of the form would be Form CMS-1500 (08-05) and that the prior version, CMS-1500 (12-90), would be rejected.

It has recently come to the attention of CMS that there are incorrectly formatted versions of the revised form being sold to print vendors, specifically the Government Printing Office (GPO). After reviewing the situation, the GPO has determined that the source files they received from the NUCC's authorized forms designer were improperly formatted. This resulted in the sale of both printed forms and negatives which do not comply with the form specifications.

Given the circumstances, CMS has decided to extend the acceptance period of the Form CMS-1500 (12-90) version beyond the original April 1, 2007, deadline while this situation is resolved. Medicare contractors will be directed to continue to accept the Form CMS-1500 (12-90) until notified by CMS to cease. At present, CMS is targeting June 1, 2007, as the date. In addition, during the interim contractors will be directed to return, not manually key, any Form CMS-1500 (08-05) forms received which are not printed to specification. By returning the incorrectly formatted claim form back to you, CMS is able to make you aware of the situation which will allow you to begin communications with your form supplier.

The following will help you to properly identify which form is which. The old version of the form contains "Approved OMB-0938-0008 FROM CMS-1500 (12-90)" on the bottom of the form signifying the version is from December 1990. The revised version contains "Approved OMB-0938-0999 FORM CMS-1500 (08-05)" on the bottom, signifying the August 2005 version. The best way to identify if your CMS-1500 (08-05) version forms are correct is by looking at the upper right hand corner. On properly formatted forms, there will be approximately a 1/4'" gap between the tip of the red arrow above the vertically stacked word "CARRIER" and the top edge of the paper. If the tip of the red arrow is touching or close to touching the top edge of the paper, then the claim form is not printed to specifications.

FLORIDA OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES SEEKS VOLUNTEERS
The 2007 Legislative Session begins Tuesday, March 6, 2007, and the Florida Office of Legislative Services is looking for physicians to participate in the legislature's Doctor of the Day program. The legislature needs two physicians for each day of the legislative session, one for the House of Representatives and one for the Senate. If you are interested in serving as a Doctor of the Day, please contact Althea Houston with the Florida Office of Legislative Services at 850.488.6803. The 2007 Legislative Session is scheduled to adjourn Friday, May 4, 2007.


CAIR FLIGHT GEARING UP FOR "CAIR FAIR 2007" MARCH 24TH!
CAIR Flight is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization of pilots and volunteers who are dedicated to providing free transportation to and from treatment facilities for those with medical needs who are financially distressed or unable to travel on public transportation.

CAIR Flight is gearing up for the CAIR FAIR 2007 at Vanderberg Airport on Saturday, March 24th, from 10am to 4pm, to raise public awareness of this charitable airlift resource. There will also be family-friendly activities, door prizes, airplane rides, silent auctions, and more. Please contact the CAIR Flight office at 813/864-4860 or visit them on the web at www.cairflight.org.

MARCH 30TH IS DOCTOR'S DAY!
The HCMA Alliance would like to invite you and your spouse/guest to the annual Doctor's Day party at the residence of Dr. and Mrs. Scott Kelley. Come and enjoy the live music, dinner and drinks! Tiffany & Co. will be providing souvenirs in honor of the physicians. Complimentary valet parking will also be available. RSVP to the HCMA office at 813/253-0471 or mmiller@hcma.net.

27TH ANNUAL MEDICAL COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE
Provided by the American Medical Association and scheduled for April 12th - 14th at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. The conference will feature various speakers to expand your communication skills and training in emerging technology, media savvy interview skills, public relations and networking. Visit www.ama-assn.org/go/mcc2007 for updates on conference speaker and courses, or email mccinfo@ama-assn.org for more information.

JUDEO CHRISTIAN HEALTH CLINIC'S ANNUAL TESTIMONIAL DINNER
Gayle Sierens Martin will be honored with the 2007 Humanitarian Award at the annual Judeo Christian Health Clinic's Testimonial Dinner, scheduled for Thursday, April 19th, at Higgins Hall. Tickets and Sponsorship levels are available. Please contact the JCHC office at 813/870-0395 or www.judeochristianhealthclinic.org for more information.

PAINT YOUR HEART OUT, TAMPA! VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
The HCMA Paint Team is still in need of a few more volunteers. If you and/or your staff are willing to lend a hand for the Saturday, April 21st, event, please contact Melissa at the HCMA office, 813/253-0471.

2007 MEDISUN --TRADEWINDS ISLAND RESORT
Last year's program for office managers and support staff was a great success! The educational symposium, supported by Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota County Medical Associations, will be held on May 18th & 19th. Topics will include; Billing Fraud & Abuse, NPI Numbers, Effective Communication & Patient Satisfaction, Electronic Medical Records, Practice Management & Cost Containment, Disaster Recovery Planning, and Risk Management. Call the Hillsborough County Medical Association office at 813/253-0471 for more information or to register. Reservations made after April 18th will depend on availability.don't delay!

HCMA FOUNDATION CHARITY GOLF CLASSIC
Mark your calendar! The HCMA Foundation has scheduled this year's event for Thursday, October 4th, at the Tournament Players Club in Lutz.

HILLSBOROUGH EDUCATION FOUNDATION'S "TEACHING TOOLS FOR HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOLS" PROGRAM NEEDS DONATIONS
Teaching Tools for Hillsborough Schools' mission is to ensure students in Hillsborough County have the basic tools for learning by providing, at no cost, the community's surplus supplies and merchandise to teachers and school children in need. The program was started to help fill the gap between what supplies at-risk students have versus what's needed for them to succeed. They operate a Free Store for teachers, which currently serves 75 of the highest need Title-I schools in the district by allowing eligible teachers from these schools to come "shop" for free monthly at our store. There are approximately 1,800 teachers eligible to shop monthly, reaching 50,000 at-risk students annually. The program provides the supplies via donated items; most of the product in the store comes from surplus in the community. For example, they get surplus office supplies from businesses when they change offices, logos or shut down. The program also uses outdated letterhead from offices or leftover show bags from the Tampa Convention Center, which is where they recently held the annual Teacher of the Year event. These examples represent a small percentage of the products in the store; there are more than 200 different quality items in the store. The other way we have product is through supply drives of basic items, such as pencils, folders, pens, glue sticks, crayons, composition notebooks, markers and much more! With our school district being the 8th largest in the country and teachers spending an average of $1,000 of their own money each year to help provide for at-risk students, the need for this program will only continue to increase. If you would like more information or to donate items, please visit www.educationfoundation.com.

UPDATES FOR THE HCMA DIRECTORY
Please copy and keep with your 2007 HCMA Membership Directory for reference.
We are very sorry for any inconvenience and confusion these errors may have caused.

Rosenberg, David - PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY (not pediatric endocrinology)
3003 W. M.L.King Jr. Blvd.
3rd FL-MAB
Tampa, 33607
American University of Caribbean, Montserrat 1984
Ph: 813-870-1995
Fax: 813-892-4219
Cert PD '88, PD '94, PDP '94, PDP '02, PD '03

Saeed, Farrukh - Gastroenterology
Medical School: Rawalpindi Medical College, Pakistan 1981

Schaller, James - Psychiatry
Medical School:


Brady, Patrick (Gastroenterology)
Office address, phone, & fax
12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., MDC Box 82
Tampa, FL 33612
Ph: 813-974-2034
Fax: 813-974-5333

Cousin, Alan (Diagnostic Radiology)
Office address, phone, & fax
10010 N. Dale Mabry Highway
Suite 150
Tampa, 33618
Ph: 813-964-8439
Fax: 813-960-3197

Huhta, James (Pediatric Cardiology)
Office address, phone, & fax
880 Sixth Street South, Suite 280
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Ph: 727-553-1251
Fax: 727-821-2461

Marquez, Benjamin (Family Practice)
Phone & fax number
Ph: 813-634-6880
Fax: 813-634-6833