CRA Webinar: The Effects of Changes of insurance on Patients and Practices
Join us for a 1-hour webinar for an overview of how changes of insurance may impact patients and practices. We'll talk about how to help patients avoid interruptions in their treatment and how to discuss insurance options with them. Additionally, we'll cover how practices are affected by changes of insurance. We encourage you to invite your practice managers and billers to attend as well.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 21st at 6:00pm PST
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Speaker: Andrea Zlatkus/Vice-President, NORM (National Organization of Rheumatology Managers)
CRA Webinar: Telemedicine for Rheumatology
Join us for a 1-hour webinar to learn more about telemedicine, the pros and cons, and how it can be used in rheumatology practice.
At the end of the webinar you will be able to:
- Define what is Tele-Rheumatology
- Why it is an important innovation in patient care
- What are the virtues and limitations of Tele-Rheumatology
- How you might incorporate it into your practice
WHEN: Wednesday, August 17th at 6:00pm PST
Speaker: Daniel A. Albert, MD, Professor of Medicine, of Pediatrics and of The Dartmouth Institute Section Chief, Rheumatology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Dr. Albert's research career has focused on the broad area of health services research and specifically decision analysis and cost effectiveness analysis, as well as clinical epidemiology. His interest in these areas began as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He has held faculty appointments at the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and in The Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. At Dartmouth, he also has an appointment in The Dartmouth Institute (TDI) for Health Care Policy & Clinical Practice and collaborate with a number of different individuals in that institute as well as mentor MPH students both in the decision analysis course, and serve as a thesis advisor. Dr. Albert mentors trainees in the Leadership and Preventive Medicine Residency Program which is also a MPH degree granting program at Dartmouth which a number of Rheumatology fellows have participated in. Nationally, he's served on study sections for multidisciplinary arthritis centers and has served on the faculty at the Multipurpose Arthritis Center at Northwestern University.
CRA Webinar: PQRS for Rheumatology 2016 Don’t Allow Your Practice to Fall Prey to a minimum 2% up to maximum 6% PQRS Penalty in 2018!
Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) is a Medicare quality reporting program that uses a combination of payment incentives and adjustments to promote reporting of quality information. Eligible professionals who furnish services to Medicare Part B Fee-for-Service beneficiaries are subject to a payment adjustment between 2-6% to all of their billed Medicare services in calendar year 2018 if they do not report PQRS correctly in 2016.
Join us for a 1-hour webinar to learn more about PQRS, how to report correctly to avoid a penalty in 2018 and how this will impact your practice's bottom line
WHEN: Wednesday, July 27th at 6:00pm PST
Speaker Bio: Katherine Becker, JD, LLM, CHC, CHPC, CPC Associate Consultant/Acevedo Consulting
Katherine Becker is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School and received her LLM in healthcare law from the Loyola University Chicago. She has experience working in the courts, lobbying as well as private practice. She had the honor of serving as a Judicial Intern for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, where she researched and participated in drafting opinions. Her experience includes analyzing the effect of new legal developments on clients’ business interests; experience which she uses to help Acevedo Consulting’s clients in navigating the compliance risks inherent in health care reform. Katherine uses her background in health care and law to assist clients in developing and maintaining compliance and HIPAA programs. She also assists clients with Medicare and Medicaid enrollment, as well as state licensing with the Agency for Health Care Administration Katherine also advises clients on participation in incentive programs such as PQRS and Meaningful Use. Katherine also works with Accountable Care Organizations offering guidance as they develop and maintain compliance for participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program.
Katherine is certified in Healthcare Compliance (CHC) and Healthcare Privacy Compliance through the Health Care Compliance Association and a certified Professional Coder (CPC) through the AAPC.
CRA Webinar: GRAPPA Guidelines for Psoriatic Arthritis & California Legislation Updates
Join us for a 1-hour webinar for updates on "GRAPPA Guidelines for Psoriatic Arthritis & California Legislation" presented by Celgene's Shelly Baugh, Regional Medical Liaison Managed Care and Sedrick Spencer, Director, Government Relations
CRA Webinar: Preparing for Biosimilars in Rheumatology – Where Practice Meets Policy
We invite you to attend a 1-hour webinar presented by Jerry Clewell, PharmD, MBA - Director of Biotherapeutics within Abbvie’s Global Medical Affairs department.
WHEN: Wednesday, March 30, 2016; 6:00pm PST
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Clewell is a U.S. Scientific Director of Biotherapeutics within Abbvie’s Global Medical Affairs department. Following a number of years in clinical practice and teaching at the Medical University of South Carolina, he has spent the past 19 in industry with the past 10 years dedicated to immunology at Abbvie. He has published and spoken at national and international scientific congress on the topics of medication safety, biosimilars health policy, and the physiochemical attributes of complex biologics.
CRA Webinar: Overview of MACRA/MIPS
Join us as we discuss the new law, alternative payment models and the opportunities they present. Learn about changes coming soon to reimbursement and reporting activities for practicing rheumatologists throughout the state. The webinar will provide steps you can take to prepare yourself and your practice to meet the challenges ahead.
- Overview of Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015
- Repealing SGR and transforming the Medicare physician payment system from paying for volume to rewarding value
WHEN: Wednesday, February 24, 2016; 6:00pm PST
SPEAKERS: Caren Sykes & Jennifer Cunningham
Directors, Healthcare Policy & Advocacy - Janssen Pharmaceuticals
Medicare “Incident-to” Billing Guidelines

January 27, 2016 — What does incident-to really mean? How does incident-to relate to hospitals and physicians? What are the rules and regulations surrounding incident-to services? Paul W. Kim is the Chair of the Healthcare Group at Cole Schotz. With over 24 years of health law experience, he has a uniquely comprehensive understanding of the U.S. healthcare industry. He began his full-time career while attending evening law school by assisting indigent patients obtain public benefits at Legal Aid. He clerked at the Maryland State administrative hearings office, writing decisions for Administrative Law Judges. He worked in the general counsel's office of a national managed care organization and for the Maryland State Medicaid Agency at the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. Then, prior to entering private practice, he drafted regulations and policies for the Medicare Program at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services ("DHHS").
CRA Webinar: Healthcare Reform and the Rheumatologist
Dealing with PQRS & other Medicare payment reforms
December 9, 2015 — Are the 2015 PQRS requirements confusing and overwhelming you? Want to know how to report PQRS data and how to avoid the 2017 -2.0% payment adjustment? We invite you to attend a 1-hour webinar presented by Dr. Herbert S. B. Baraf.
Coordinated Care Initiative Overview
September 24, 2014 — CRA, in coordination with the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), provided a webinar presentation covering California's Coordinated Care Initiative and the program's two parts: Cal Medi-Connect and Managed Medi-Cal. The one-hour webinar covered the basics on the following: eligibility and enrollment, care coordination, continuity of care and how to continue seeing your patients, and Medicare doctors & MLTSS plans.
The recorded webinar will be posted online shortly.
Implementation of Uniform Prior Authorization Form
September 30, 2014 — CRA hosted a Johnson & Johnson-sponsored webinar on the implementation of the new uniform prescription drug prior authorization form, which went into effect for certain health insurers on October 1, 2014. Visit the CRA "Uniform Prior Authorization" issue page for more information on the form.
For your reference: "New Uniform Prescription Drug Prior Authorization Request Form and Notification Requirements for Health Plans in California" including background information, frequently asked questions, and form, courtesy of Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc.