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The Sentinel: January 2017

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Successful Defense of Surgical Judgment

Closed Claim Review  |  Dan Himmelberg, JD

Mr. Gamgee1 was a 70 year-old male who was a smoker and slightly overweight.  He had a history of back pain and of a skin cancer removed 20 years before.  His hypertension had been treated over many years with various medications but was not well controlled. He presented to the Emergency Depart...

SVMIC's New Education Center

Company News  |  Meghan Clark, MA

You may recall completing the 2015 Policyholder Survey we conducted in the spring of 2015 that assessed your opinions on a variety of topics. The results of the survey provided a clear mandate for SVMIC to raise the bar in our online educational offerings for physicians and staff. To satisfy this mandate, a c...

Meaningful Use: 2016 Reporting & Potential Relief from Penalties

Practice Management  |  Elizabeth Woodcock, MBA, FACMPE, CPC

Although 2016 has come to a close, the time is now to report for the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. As confirmed in November, the reporting period is any 90 consecutive days during 2016. The criteria were drastically reduced from prior years, so it may be an opportune time to report even if...

Patient Access & Charging for Medical Records

Practice Management

Providing patients with copies of their medical record is not a new concept for medical practices. However, processes in place for doing so may need some significant updates based on guidance issued by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2016. In this guidance, which is based on 45...

Film-Based Imaging Reimbursement Cut (January 2017)

Practice Management  |  Elizabeth Woodcock, MBA, FACMPE, CPC

If you rely on film-based imaging in your practice, Medicare reimbursement will change when you bill for an x-ray. Film-based imaging services billed globally, or when billing the technical component only, must be submitted with a modifier FX. The new modifier, required as of January 1, 2017, triggers a reduc...

Risk Pearls: January 2017

Risk Matters  |  Julie Loomis, RN, JD

The term “culture” in your medical practice shouldn’t only mean a lab test to identify microorganisms. Even if you’re not aware of it, there is an environmental culture within your practice that affects productivity, staff performance and patient safety. Culture is a system of shared v...

An Analysis of Pathology Closed Claims

Specialty Spotlight  |  Carolyn Akland, MBA, RN, CPHQ, LNCC

A review of SVMIC pathology claims from 2007 – 2016, where a monetary loss was paid on behalf of an insured, reveals the top two diagnoses involved to be:  Cervical Cancer and Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The vast majority of the claims involved a misread, which resulted in cancer advancement an...

Enhancements Added to SVMIC Cybersecurity Insurance

Understanding Underwriting

Cybersecurity Insurance Coverage with a limit of $50,000 was first added to SVMIC’s physician and practice entity policies as of January 1, 2015.  This supplemental insurance was added at no additional charge and covers privacy breach response costs; cyber extortion expenses; security and privacy l...

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