June 14, 2007

The FMA E-News is emailed to all members of the Florida Medical Association semimonthly. The FMA, located in Tallahassee, Fla., serves as an advocate for physicians and their patients to promote the public health, to ensure high standards in medical education and ethics, and to enhance the quality and availability of health care.

Information From CMS on Release of NPI Data
On May 30, 2007, CMS published the National Provider Identifier (NPI) Data Dissemination Notice in the Federal Register. This notice establishes the data available from the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), and addresses the following:
  • Who has access to the data?
  • Who may receive data from the system?
  • The processes for requesting and receiving data.
  • The conditions for data disclosure.

For a copy of the Federal Register publication, click here. To read the AMA response to the FR publication, click here.

 
EMR Florida
The Florida Medical Foundation, a subsidiary of the FMA, announces the launch of EMR Florida. EMR Florida is funded by a grant from the Physicians' Foundation for Health Systems Excellence. The purpose of the grant is to accelerate the adoption of electronic medical records (EMR) through educational programs and distribution of information. Phase I focuses on rural communities and Phase II expands throughout the state. A link to the EMR Florida Web site (emrflorida.org) will be available on the FMA's Web site later this month. The EMR Web site will offer basic information for physicians who are thinking of purchasing an EMR but have taken little or no action to do so. It will include:
  • A form to submit questions pertaining to EMR adoption.
  • An interactive self-evaluation guide for physicians to determine readiness for EMR adoption. (If you would like a paper copy of the self-evaluation guide, please e-mail Emily Fritz, Project Director, at efritz@medone.org,or Rachael Alaniz, Grant Coordinator, at ralaniz@medone.org.)
  • A worksheet to help calculate the cost of pulling paper charts.

Additionally, several EMR seminars are being planned. Be sure to attend the session at the FMA's Annual Meeting: "EMR: So Easy A Doctor Can Do It."

 

Physicians Art Show Submission Deadline - June 30

The deadline for submitting your artwork is June 30. Don't miss out on this opportunity to display your work and contribute to medical student scholarships. Please complete the following application: http://www.fmaonline.org/annualexpo/art_form.pdf.

The FMA Physicians Art Show is an excellent opportunity to showcase our talented physician artists! Works of art created by physicians will be displayed in a special area of the 2007 Florida Medical Expo Exhibition Hall. Submitted artwork will be judged by a Physician Art Committee and prizes will be awarded for "Best of Show," second place, and third place in each category. The show is open to the following art forms: Clay, wood, stone, bronze, paintings, drawings, photography, ceramics, mosaics, jewelry – or any other medium.

The FMA Foundation's Silent Auction is also taking place in the Exhibition Hall. Custom artwork can be donated to the Foundation. This is a Tax Deductible contribution that provides funding for our Medical Student's Scholarship Program.

For additional information contact Cindy Miller at cmiller@medone.org.

 
Member Spotlight

The FMA would like to congradulate Rao Musunuru, M.D., a longtime member and practicing cardiologist who was recently honored by the American Heart Association with the "2007 National Volunteer Advocate of the Year" award. The award was presented to Dr. Musunuru in Washington, D.C., on American Heart Association's National Lobby Day. He received the award for his outstanding and long lasting advocacy efforts to reduce disability and death from cardiovascular diseases, both at the state and national levels.

 

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