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November Imaging Insights Newsletter

PET & the Power of Advocacy: Takeaways from the 2020 Fee Schedule

The 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), released Nov. 1, 2019, reversed a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposal that would have reduced patients' access to PET services and disrupted cardiology practices. The final PFS reveals that CMS heard the concerns voiced by ASNC, its members and other organizations. 


Save the Date: ASNC2020 Will Be Held Sept. 24-27 in Washington, D.C. 

ASNC2020 Chair Terrence Ruddy, MD, FASNC, of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, and Co-chair Piotr Slomka, PhD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, have a vision for the Society's 25th Annual Scientific Session.


Registration Now Open: Webinar Highlights Key Recommendations in Cardiac Amyloidosis Expert Consensus Document

PET & the Power of Advocacy: Takeaways from the 2020 Fee Schedule

The 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), released Nov. 1, 2019, reversed a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposal that would have reduced patients' access to PET services and disrupted cardiology practices. The final PFS reveals that CMS heard the concerns voiced by ASNC, its members and other organizations. Here are key takeaways from the final rule: 
·         As ASNC requested, CMS will not finalize its proposal that, if enacted, would have resulted in payment reductions as high as 80 percent for the technical components of PET services provided in the physician office. Instead, the PFS maintains contractor pricing for the technical component of these services while accurate data are collected and analyzed. 
·         As ASNC urged, CMS will update the new 2020 PET code family using the RUC-recommended physician work values and contractor technical component rates in early- to mid-December 2019. Those rates will be effective beginning Jan 1, 2020.
·         As ASNC members pointed out, CMS was assuming a 90 percent utilization rate for PET cameras. CMS instead adopted a 50 percent utilization rate. 
·         ASNC and its members helped convince more than 43 members of Congress to voice their concerns about the proposed cuts and ask CMS to work with medical societies to review the cost inputs. “This was the largest grassroots response by ASNC members in our Society's history,” says ASNC President Rob S.B. Beanlands, MD, MASNC. “We thank our members for their support and for responding to ASNC's calls to action.” 

Save the Date: ASNC2020 Will Be Held Sept. 24-27 in Washington, D.C. 

ASNC2020 Chair Terrence Ruddy, MD, FASNC, of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, and Co-chair Piotr Slomka, PhD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, have a vision for the Society's 25th Annual Scientific Session. From the helm of ASNC's diverse Program Committee, they're assembling an agenda oriented around “Using Technology to Improve Patient Care,” with a focus on how current and future technologies—and the vast amounts of data they produce—can be combined with clinicians' knowledge to optimize decision-making in nuclear cardiology. Mark your calendar for Sept. 24-27. ASNC looks forward to welcoming you to Washington, D.C. 

Registration Now Open: Webinar Highlights Key Recommendations in Cardiac Amyloidosis Expert Consensus Document

On Wednesday, Dec. 11, ASNC will host “Whom to Evaluate for Cardiac Amyloidosis: ASNC/Multi-societal Expert Consensus Recommendations,” a one-hour webinar featuring authors of the new ASNC/AHA/ASE/EANM/HFSA/ISA/SCMR/SNMMI Expert Consensus Recommendations for Multimodality Imaging in Cardiac Amyloidosis

Jamieson M. Bourque, MD, MHS, FASNC, ASNC President-elect Sharmila Dorbala, MD, MPH, FASNC, Rodney H. Falk, MD, Mathew S. Maurer, MD, and Brett W. Sperry, MD, will drill down to the essential concepts in the expert consensus document. They also will present a series of case studies illustrating how to apply the expert consensus imaging recommendations in the diagnosis, treatment and management of cardiac amyloidosis. The webinar will be held from 12:00 to 1:00 PM (Eastern Standard time). 

THANK YOU: ASNC thanks Pfizer for supporting this non-CME activity. 
 

New Requirements for MIPS 2019 PI Category; Deadline for Exception Approaching  

First, the bad news: Using Certified Electronic Health Record Technology (CEHRT) is a requirement for participation in the Promoting Interoperability (PI) category of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) in 2019. Eligible clinicians must be using products that are certified to the 2015 Edition criteria.

Now, the good news: Practices with specific obstacles may apply for a PI Hardship Exception that would exempt them from reporting for this category. What does it take to qualify for the exception? Less than you think. Your practice could qualify if it—
·         Has 15 or fewer clinicians in your Tax Identification Number or Virtual Group,
·         Owns decertified EHR technology,
·         Lacks control over the availability of CHERT,
·         Has insufficient internet connectivity, or
·         Faces extreme and uncontrollable circumstances due to natural disasters or financial distress.
·         To receive the exemption, you must apply by Dec. 31, 2019.

More good news: If your application is approved, you will not have to report for the PI category, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will reweigh this category so that PI's 25 percent valuation is added to the Quality category. The reallocation would be an advantage for some practices. 

Still more good news: The ImageGuide Registry is a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR), which means it can be used to fulfill the reporting requirements for all of the MIPS categories (including PI) in 2019. Small practices that receive a PI exception may fulfill MIPS reporting requirements through the ImageGuide Registry by reporting on only the Quality and Improvement Activities categories. 

If you are enrolled in ImageGuide and have questions about MIPS, ASNC staff are available to help. Contact Joe Reyes at jreyes@asnc.org or 703-459-2555, ext. 2563. Joe can help with ImageGuide enrollment, too.

Hot off the press! EANM 2019 Attendees Queue Up for New Practice Points on DPD/HMDP Imaging in Cardiac Amyloidosis


One of the hottest items at EANM 2019 was the just-released ASNC/EANM Cardiac Amyloidosis Practice Points: 99m Technetium-3, 3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylic acid (DPD) and 99mTechnetium hydroxymethylene diphosphonate (HMDP) Imaging for Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis. A complimentary membership benefit for ASNC and European Association of Nuclear Medicine members, the 12-page guide “allows for harmonization on indications, scan parameters and reporting of Tc-99m DPD/HMDP,” says EANM Writing Group Chair Hein Verberne, MD, PhD

The result is a tool that will help members of both organizations “perform high-quality imaging and improve outcomes of patients with ATTR-CA through image-guided management,” adds ASNC Writing Group Chair and President-elect Sharmila Dorbala, MD, MPH, FASNC

ASNC and EANM members, you can access the new Practice Points here

Not a member of ASNC yet? When you take advantage of the Society's streamlined application process today, you'll receive immediate access to all of ASNC's member benefits, including Practice Points. That's right—your 2020 membership starts right away, giving you up to six weeks of free access to ASNC's members-only resources.

ASNC In The News: 
 
Watch and tweet! In this video, Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology Editor Dave Fornell interviews Clyde Yancy, MD, about the takeaways from Dr. Yancy's ASNC2019 keynote address, “Addressing Cardiovascular Disparities: Are We Getting Closer to the Truth?” 

Read and share! Health Imaging covered the ASNC-led multi-societal expert consensus document for multimodality imaging in cardiac amyloidosis. Read the coverage here, and access the guideline via the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology or ASNC.org
 

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