Dr. Adele Allen

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Columbians Celebrate Around the World





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Thank you for making the Fourth Annual Worldwide Networking Event

our biggest one yet!



This fall over 2,500 alumni celebrated the Columbia University global alumni community by taking part in happy hours, receptions, walking tours,

and faculty lectures in 69 cities around the world.



Check out the 90+ photos of your friends and classmates from the Worldwide Networking Events on the Columbia Alumni Association (CAA) Facebook page.



We look forward to seeing you soon on campus, at the Columbia Alumni Center,

online via the Alumni Directory, or at a regional club event near you!







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Congratulations CU Club of Israel!





Winner of the “Most School Spirit” group photo contest.



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For information about the CAA and other alumni benefits,

visit the Columbia Alumni Association Web site at

alumni.columbia.edu.



































This message was sent to e-mail address dradeleallen@yahoo.com.





Office of Alumni and Development

622 West 113th Street

MC 4525

New York, NY 10025

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

COLUMBIA ALLUMNI ASSOCIATION

Black Alumni Council of Columbia University

Homecoming 2010







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A Celebration of Culture



The Columbia Alumni Association and the Black Alumni Council of Columbia University cordially invite all Columbia University alumni, family, and friends to the 2010 Black Alumni Homecoming—a celebration of culture and achievements by black alumni at Columbia.



Our special guest is

Michele Moody-Adams,

dean of Columbia College, vice president for Undergraduate Education, Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor, and Joseph Straus Professor of Political Philosophy and Legal Theory in Columbia’s Philosophy Department.



RSVP today and receive Brooks Brothers gift card!

Alumni and guests Registration

CU Student Registration



Registration will close

at 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 21.



Please note: due to Columbia’s alcohol policy, only students 21 and over may attend.



Saturday, October 23

7:30–10:30 p.m.



Providence

311 West 57th Street

New York



Price:

$15 students ($30 at the door)

$30 BAC members

$40 alumni and guests

$50 at the door



Price includes a THREE-HOUR PREMIUM OPEN BAR, buffet dinner, music, and dancing—an $85 value!







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Questions?

For more information about this event, please contact us at

alumni-events@columbia.edu.



For more information about the BAC and how to become a member, please contact bac@columbia.edu.



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Visit the Black Alumni Council Web site at

columbiabac.org.



Visit the Columbia Alumni Association Web site at

alumni.columbia.edu.

NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

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Practice Management News

Bayer's A1CNow+® provides you with a fast and easy way of obtaining accurate A1C results in your office in 5 minutes. This enables you to communicate face-to-face with your patients about their diabetes control. The American Diabetes Association recommends people with diabetes have an A1C level of less than 7%.



2010 NMA Scientific Assembly Certificates of Credit Available Online



Registered attendees to the 2010 Scientific Assembly in Orlando, Florida may claim their CME certificates of credit online. Attendees may claim credit for the 2010 Scientific Assembly via the website for up to 180 days post activity.



All AMA PRA Category 1 credit hours will be awarded to the registrant based on:

Educational activity attendance

Completion of the online or “on-site” activity credit form

Completed evaluations



For additional information or clarification please contact the CME Office at: cme@nmanet.org



To obtain credit and complete the activity evaluations please:





Click Here

NMA News





NMA Launches Asthma and Allergy Rescue Project



The National Medical Association (NMA) has a new twelve month initiative with the Academy for Educational Development (AED) and a partnership with the National Asthma Control Initiative (NACI) to promote important messages around asthma control.



New information continues to suggest that asthma has the most devastating effect on African Americans. Asthma particularly impacts the health of African American women. In general literature, no real explanation has been given on why African American women with asthma have such poor outcomes. However, investigations published in the September 2008 issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association (Volume 100, No. 9), entitled, “A New Focus on Assessing and Treating Asthma Control in the African-American Community: A Call to Action" suggest that the effect is not genetic or environmental but more situational. Often African American women are responsible for the health of the whole family and neglect to take steps to help themselves. The Clear the Air Project while focusing on the six Guidelines Implementation Panel (GIP) messages will also strive to improve information dissemination and outcomes for African American women with asthma.



The NMA Asthma and Allergy Rescue Project encourages NMA physicians to discuss with their female asthmatic patients about the importance of taking care of themselves and utilizing an Asthma Action Plan.



To learn more about the NMA Asthma and Allergy Rescue Project





2011 Scientific Assembly Call for Abstracts



The National Medical Association is currently accepting abstract submissions for its Annual Scientific Assembly in Washington, DC, July 23 – 27, 2011. Abstracts -- from all medical specialties and disciplines -- related to topics of health disparities are welcome.



Abstracts are due no later than Monday, November 1, 2010 but are reviewed on a rolling basis and early submissions are strongly encouraged.



To submit an abstract, please complete the online form

Click Here





Apply for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars® program



Application Deadline: Feb. 28, 2011



Resident physicians are invited to apply for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Clinical Scholars program, which offers a master’s degree graduate-level study and research in a university-based, post residency training program. The program provides scholars with generous funding and involves two years of study with protected time for research.



The RWJF Clinical Scholars program fosters the development of physicians who will lead the transformation of Americans’ health and health care. These future leaders will conduct innovative research and work with communities, organizations, practitioners and policy-makers to address issues essential to the health and well-being of all Americans.



Program highlights include:

- leadership training;

- mentoring;

- protected research time;

- national networking;

- health policy, health services, and community-based research training; and

- financial support for research projects and professional travel.



Four participating institutions will be recruiting 20 scholars to begin their programs in July 2012: the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Michigan; the University of Pennsylvania; and Yale University. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will provide funding for the stipends and insurance for 10 of the Scholars through VA Medical Centers affiliated with these universities. The VA provides additional support through faculty time, clinical resources, and research databases.



To apply online or find more information visit www.rwjcsp.unc.edu. The deadline for all applications (and reference letters) is February 28, 2011.





Renew Early and Save!



Renew Your NMA Membership and Receive a $50 Discount – Discount expires February 1, 2011!



It’s time to renew your membership with the National Medical Association. Your membership is vital in our efforts to end health disparities and improve the quality of health care for minorities. With all of the important changes in health care – now more than ever, the NMA is dedicated to serving you and your professional goals. Don’t delay; take advantage of the $50 discount. Renew online today! Prefer to renew by phone? Contact Member Services at (202) 347-1895 ext. 220 or 224.









Click Here



Practice Management News





Remember Opportunity Cost When Taking the EHR Plunge

Physicians Practice (09/20/10) Essin, Daniel



Daniel Essin, MA, MD, FAAP, FCCP, believes the next technology cycle is on the horizon, which will have major implications for physician practices considering electronic health record (EHR) systems. He notes that organizations benefit more from technology when they buy it new, whereas those that purchase technology at the end of a cycle reap few benefits because it is nearing obsolescence. When making EHR purchases, Essin says physicians must consider opportunity cost and keep in mind that systems implemented now to take advantage of federal incentive payments likely are out of date and will need to be replaced soon. He adds that incentive payments might not be enough to cover a speedy purchase today and a replacement in the near future or the work flow inefficiencies that result from using obsolete technology.



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Selling Your Practice

ChiroEco.com (09/20/2010) Sencer, Marc H.



Today's market for healthcare practices is more favorable for buyers than sellers. Prior to placing a practice up for sale, physicians should examine their financial and emotional situation. This includes considering whether they would be able to maintain their lifestyle or planned post-retirement lifestyle without the practice's income stream. They should also examine if they would miss the challenges of running their own business and if they might want to stay on in a consulting capacity or as a hired doctor. It may be beneficial to help a practice as a paid consultant as it transitions to the new owner. If a practice's financials are shaky, it is best to delay the sale at least a year or more to strengthen the practice and eliminate such things as insufficient collections, declining revenues, dependency on only a few services for profit, and a lack of systems for key functions like collections and marketing. If ready to sell, it is prudent to get help from a medical practice broker, practice-management consultant, or healthcare attorney knowledgeable in practice sales. Various formulas can be used to determine the value of a practice, such as the value of tangible assets (equipment, furniture, etc.) plus the value of goodwill. Some factors that can boost the value of a practice include a modern office, new equipment, sufficient parking, revenue growth over the past three years, efficient collections with average days-in-collection less than 45, transferable insurance PPO and HMO contracts, and key staff willing to stay on.



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The Fading Art of the Physical Exam

National Public Radio (09/20/10) Knox, Richard



Many physicians are abbreviating physical exams or even skipping them altogether and relying on technology instead to determine a patient's state. Stanford Medical School professor Abraham Verghese is leading the charge to restore the physical exam to what he considers its rightful place and bring doctors' skills up to snuff. "I sometimes joke that if you come to our hospital missing a finger, no one will believe you until we get a CAT scan, an MRI and an orthopedic consult," Verghese says. "We just don't trust our senses."



At Stanford, they're trying to reverse the trend. The school's graduates and trainees have to master 25 different bedside exam skills, from palpating a spleen to testing ankle reflexes.



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Take These Steps to Protect the Value of Your Practice -- and the Dividends it Pays You

Modern Medicine (09/10/10) Bowers, Lois A.



Keith Borglum of Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Professional Management and Marketing says the value of owning a medical practice is dividends, or the practice owner's total income minus the fair market value of labor. However, Borglum says most practices were established so that physicians could earn a "decent" income and serve patients, not for the practice's value in dividends. He says changes in reimbursement, healthcare reform mandates, the primary care physician shortage, the move toward physician-hospital organization employment, tax changes, and economic conditions are among the factors that will impact dividends in the future. To boost dividends, Borglum says practices should improve coding to boost reimbursements; take steps to increase efficiency; add such ancillary services as ultrasound, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, and echocardiograms; and determine whether it makes more financial sense to hire another physician or a nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Physicians will realize the dividends of their practices when they sell or retire, and they would be wise to hire a new associate who works toward ownership over time to avoid having to specify values for goodwill, tangible assets, and accounts receivable. The new associate would earn 75 percent of actual earnings the first year, 80 percent the second year, 90 percent the third year, and be offered full partnership or ownership with no-buy-in or assets-only price for the practice during the fourth year. According to Borglum, "The net result is the equivalent of selling your practice with goodwill as if you had dividends in a proper transition."



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Doctors' Notes Go High-Tech

Wall Street Journal (09/15/10) Cummings, Jennifer



As the government continues to encourage healthcare professionals to switch to electronic records, more physicians are embracing speech-recognition products from Nuance Communications Inc. to facilitate the process. With Nuance's voice-recognition technology, doctors need only speak into a computer to have the recording automatically transcribed. Physicians then review the transcription or have a manual transcriptionist make revisions. Manual transcription can take several days, and Nuance's products can speed up the process. Friedman Billings Ramsey says the company's electronic transcription service costs five cents to 10 cents per line of text, versus 20 cents paid by hospitals for manual transcription. With estimates that U.S. and Canadian healthcare professionals transcribe approximately 40 billion lines of medical text annually, the technology can translate into significant cost savings.



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Beware: Medical Necessity Denials Are Costing You Money!

Physicians News Digest (09/14/10) Mallin, Dena K.



Medical necessity denials are on the rise, but rather than view them as unrecoverable balances, experts say physicians should understand how to correct and prevent them. Diagnosis codes can be denied because the diagnosis must be more specific, the payer does not reimburse for that type of visit, or documentation is missing. Payers abide by stricter guidelines these days, and codes are being deleted or replaced more frequently. When a medical necessity denial is received, billing staff should review the coding combination, determine whether it is current for the date in service, and familiarize themselves with the payer's policy for the code. Additionally, documentation should be examined by physicians to ensure it is sufficient for use by coders. These steps should become part of a follow-up program for medical necessity denials to improve collections.



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How to Adopt Electronic Medical Records Without Losing Physician Productivity

Becker's ASC Review (09/10) Edwards Jr., William



Federal stimulus incentives are encouraging physician practices to adopt electronic medical records (EMR) systems. This makes it important that practices deploy EMRs that do not hinder physicians' natural workflows. Ideally, an EMR system should automatically file records without human interaction. A solution called Entrada replaces medical transcription with a Web-based technology that serves as a platform for an EMR. Entrada can generate a "job list" for each physician via an HL7 interface to a GE Centricity scheduler and billing system. The job list is based on each physician's workflow preference. Doctors dictate relevant aspects of the patient encounter, which has already been marked with necessary demographic identifiers. The dictations are captured by a voice recognition engine that make them ready for correction by an editor. The final document is routed to the EMR to the appropriate location within the file.



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Data Risk Management: A Critical Part of Your Practice

MDNews.com (09/14/10) Grant, Nick



As physician practices collect, store, and share patient data online, liability issues have become complex. Data protection must be in place from the moment patients access the practice's website. Physicians must understand that professional liability insurance does not cover Internet exposures or loss of data due to lost or stolen computers, hacking, employee misuse, negligent release of data, or improper disposal of paper documents or computer equipment. Thus, they would be wise to purchase a breach response liability policy that defends them against financial loss, penalties, and defense costs if patient data is compromised. They should ensure that lawsuits associated with malicious activity tied to the data breach are covered by the policy.



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Scribes Are Doctors' Tech Support

Los Angeles Times (09/06/10) Meyer, Harris



Doctors are depending on scribes to record treatment plans and follow up on prescriptions, lab tests, and specialist consultations, especially as they move from paper charts to electronic medical records. Their productivity falls approximately 30 percent during the transition, but scribes can help maintain efficiency given that most are young and tech-savvy. These scribes often are college students working part-time while they study to be doctors, nurses, or other healthcare professionals, and they do not object to earning just $8 to $10 per hour because they believe the position is a career stepping stone. "I've seen hundreds of chest pain and abdominal pain patients, and I already know the things doctors think about," says Melissa Genove, chief medical scribe in Loma Linda University Medical Center's emergency department. Although some doctors are worried that college students cannot effectively chart patients with a few months' training and question why scribes are necessary to complete electronic records when the process was supposed to be simpler, most recognize the benefits of scribes. According to Dr. Robert Steele, chief of Loma Linda's emergency department, "The physicians were spending too much time documenting and not enough time with the patient. The solution was to take the doctors off the computer, put them at the bedside, and let the scribe do the transcription." Having to juggle the switch to electronic records while seeing more patients means emergency departments are taking advantage of scribes more often than other facilities.



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Investment in Staffing and Technology Makes a Lasting Impression on Patients

Modern Medicine (09/10/10) Bowers, Lois A.



Physicians must pay close attention to staff and technology to ensure the practice makes a good first impression on patients and improves the interactions between patients and providers that are crucial to success. A good personality is important, but staff also should be well versed in patient relations, customer service, and insurance claims processing. Physicians should keep in mind that practices do not have to be staffed entirely with RNs, continuing education is necessary for employees, and new technology cannot replace staff. Customer service should be a top priority, and patients should not be treated as an inconvenience, ignored at the front desk, or left on hold for a long time. Practices should follow the appointment schedule, make changes based on feedback from patient surveys, and use volunteers -- provided they are covered by the practice's general liability policy -- to keep patients company and move them from one area to another. For marketing purposes, the practice should have a friendly and knowledgeable receptionist on the front lines and inform existing patients about new services first. Technology can be used to increase the practice's efficiency and patient satisfaction, using an interactive kiosk in the waiting room to allow patients to verify and update information; handling prior authorizations online; verifying coverage and co-pay amounts in advance; and rolling out an interactive Web site so patients can fill out forms before their visit. Finally, office policies and procedures should be formalized and documented to better educate new staff and hold employees accountable for their actions.



Share FAiePLc1QRbVkFR27t_CXrRExI40CN00bGFtKtWo_lYZbeuWyBurwpoDI_B6enNMBoVP2_KMUjdrPEyOwCkEfEPFHMpfjSEdi7UwoGmxvOGlY7H_8XKfRgxAs9B2a9APFpyj1vD_bHym1t8aTUr3EoZbXgmnSaM-vNNf_2H2QyulfcDt6tGHgOiZ4ssiUrP9V61KTsyiKl7E5R cKPiS7nD1axUAdavE2h7kD6Vx73DKucnCX-u8HdD20pgc2stx9_GBGgaMBkR69TGFfyxx0w48Ghbhiq3dXwkTAv-olWEW-mL1QZmAo9uTmYKUIjuZ" title="share on LinkedIn">







Bridging the Doctor-Patient Gap

Post and Courier (SC) (09/05/2010) Dudley, Renee



In South Carolina, where there is a severe shortage of rural doctors, telemedicine increasingly is being used to reach patients in rural areas. The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston launched a trauma telemedicine initiative with $1 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Specialists at MUSC, one of the state's four highest-rated trauma centers, will field as many as 10 consultation calls per week as part of a research project to treat trauma and blood poisoning in four rural counties. "We can bring our expertise to a rural area to evaluate, stabilize and triage patients," says Dr. Dee Ford, a critical-care physician at MUSC. Meanwhile, telemedicine has enabled MUSC's Stroke Center to treat 700 patients in nearly a dozen hospitals. However, there are concerns about physician credentials, with doctors needing to be licensed at their base hospital and the rural hospital where patients are treated; billing and reimbursement for telemedicine procedures; and the start-up costs of telemedicine equipment and services, which, at around $80,000, can be out of reach for small medical centers. State Rep. Kristopher Crawford (R-Florence) is pushing for legislation to regulate telemedicine.



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A Simple Way to Cut Office Expenses

AAOS Now (09/10) Fisher, Steven E.



Almost $34,000 on average is spent on medical supplies by orthopaedic surgeons, with supply expenditures accounting for close to 3 percent of an office's total collections. However, orthopaedic surgeons and other specialists must take steps to save money as reimbursements decline and staff salaries, benefits, professional liability insurance, and occupancy costs rise. Members of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons can save money through the organization's partnership with eSurg, a medical supply provider. Among other things, eSurg offers over 100,000 national and private brand items; easy Web navigation; the ability to search keywords, item numbers, and manufacturer names; and easy reordering with an "Order From History" tool. Additionally, the company allows major capital equipment purchases and offers a Competitive Savings Analysis to determine whether the program will benefit particular practices.



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Abstract News © Copyright 2010 INFORMATION, INC.

Monday, October 4, 2010



Especially Open House

The Columbia Alumni Center is always open to all alumni of the University,
Monday through Saturday. But for two days this October, we will be especially open.



During this year’s Homecoming Weekend there are more reasons than ever to visit the Center:

♦ view a special athletics display

♦ get help with your alumni benefits

♦ enjoy complimentary refreshments

♦ add your story to the Columbia University

Close-Ups video project

♦ enter to win prizes including a cruise to Antarctica, a Columbia University Club
of New York membership, Miller Theatre tickets, and more.



Lastly, don’t miss out on a special opportunity to meet new basketball head coach
Kyle Smith and his staff on Thursday, October 21 between

7 and 8 p.m.



We’d love to see you, so come on home!



Questions? E-mail us at welcomecenter@columbia.edu

or call 212-851-7398.




Thursday, October 21

8:30 a.m.–8 p.m.



Friday, October 22

8:30 a.m.–8 p.m.





Columbia Alumni Center

622 W. 113th Street

Morningside Heights (between Broadway and Riverside Drive)