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Health
Alert: Fungal Meningitis Outbreak
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), the Mexican Ministry of Health, and U.S. state and
local health departments are responding to a multinational outbreak
of fungal meningitis among patients who had procedures under epidural
anesthesia in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Officials have
identified two clinics associated with the outbreak: River Side
Surgical Center and Clinica K-3. Continue reading
Physician-Led
Results: Vaccine Protections
Texas physicians started this
year's legislative session with a simple strategy on vaccines: defend
existing protections and push for a long-overdue technological
upgrade to ImmTrac2, the state's vaccination registry. While the
latter goal was overshadowed by efforts to undermine existing vaccine
laws, TMA successfully fenced off nearly 40 bills that threatened to
erode access to routine childhood vaccinations or damage the state's robust
vaccine infrastructure. Read more
CMS to Deny
Incomplete Claims on Discarded Drugs Starting in October
Starting October 2, the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will kick back
certain claims involving discarded or unused drugs if practices fail
to implement a new billing and coding policy the payer has been
phasing in since the beginning of the year. Previously, CMS only
required use of the “JW” modifier to list any amount of discarded
drug, including zero. As of July 1, CMS will require a separate,
payable claim using the new “JZ” modifier when no amount of drug was
discarded or used. Read more
How Extreme Heat
Can Kill and How You Can Stay Safe
High temperatures are not just uncomfortable, they are bad for your health – and
can even be deadly. Of all the natural disasters, extreme heat is the
No. 1 killer, studies show, killing more people than hurricanes and
tornadoes combined. With the ongoing climate crisis, high
temperatures are expected to get worse, and heat waves will last
longer, affecting parts of the country that aren’t used to them. Most
heat-related deaths and health problems are avoidable. Continue reading
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