UPDATE: Meeting Recap

Thanks to all who have visited OMIC’s exhibit at Hawaiian Eye 2012! We’ve recorded more than 300 visits to the OMIC Insurance Center booth making this one of the most successful meetings ever. Interesting facts we’ve noted from the courses:

Cataract Surgery No Longer #1 Performed Procedure. Kevin Corcoran announced that intravitreal injections have taken over the top spot as the most commonly performed ophthalmic procedure. Expected trends include increased scrutiny by CMS, falling reimbursements, and increased malpractice claims. OMIC has recorded claims activity arising from lack of procedure specific consent documentation. See here for OMIC consent forms for various drugs used for intravitreal injections.

Growth Rate for U.S. Seniors Exploding Next 10 Years. John Pinto reported a 50% growth rate means 20 million more seniors within patient population by 2025. This is good news for the business of ophthalmology in that seniors spend 10 times as much on eye care compared to younger patients. Older patients also present increased malpractice concerns, especially with regard to informed consent. See here for OMIC case studies and recommendations for geriatric patients.

Billing Fraud and Abuse Claim Concerns For Premium Lens Implants. Alan Reider, JD, reminded audience that services billed must be clinically necessary and not just to generate an additional fee. There is increased scrutiny and new directives by CMS to uncover ophthalmic billing errors and fraud and abuse under the “whistleblower provision” of the False Claims Act. An employee who participated in “wrongful” billing could stand to gain as a whistleblower who receives 15% to 25% of the recovery. OMIC insureds are automatically provided with a $50,000 coverage benefit for many regulatory defense costs for legal expenses, fines, and penalties (where allowed by law) to defend against allegations of fraud, abuse, and billing errors by Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial health plans, including RAC audits. It also responds to alleged violations of HIPAA Privacy laws and EMTALA, DEA, Stark Act, Red Flag, HITECH, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley regulations. Go here for more information on this coverage benefit.

Surgery Checklists For Optimizing Postsurgical Outcomes. Time-outs and surgical briefings were discussed during this year’s meeting as the techniques for risk management move from university and facility settings into smaller private practices. OMIC’s Digest discusses several ophthalmic procedures here.

Defending Corneal Crosslinking? Recently, the FDA granted orphan drug designation to VibeX™ (riboflavin ophthalmic solution) for use with the Avedro KXL system (UVA irradiation) for corneal cross-linking for the treatment of keratoconus and for the treatment of corneal ectasia following refractive surgery. Orphan drug designation allows a product’s sponsor to market the drug for the treatment of specified rare diseases or conditions. See OMIC’s statement about the defensibility of this procedure here.

Hawaiian Sunsets are Best in the World. This is view from Grand Wailea Resort Sunday Jan 15, 2012.

Maui Sunset – First Day Closes on Very Successful Meeting (Hawaiian Style)

Introduction

Aloha! We hope all Hawaiian Eye attendees made it safe and sound to the beautiful Grand Wailea Hotel on the island of Maui. OMIC’s Exhibit at this year’s Hawaiian Eye Meeting is easy to find. We are located across from the entrance to the Comprehensive/Ophthalmologist meeting rooms 4 and 5. See OMIC.com for resources related to issues in the news and common Hawaiian Eye course topics.

• Analyses of Malpractice Claims Related to Premium IOLs. Read the Interesting Findings here.
• Better Protection From Refractive Lawsuits. See Recommended Guidelines and Consent Forms here.
• Glaucoma Surgery Recommendations and Consent Forms. See here.
• New OMIC Patient Consent Documents (including one for FDA approved EYLEA)
• OMIC’s Risk Management Recommendation Guide for Endophthalmitis and TASS. See here.

Also stop by to see us for:

• On-site Premium Quote or Coverage Check-up
• 2012 Policyholder Dividend Information
• Risk Management Course Schedules and Discount Information
• State and Subspecialty Educational Alliance Discounts
• Patient Phone Call Record Pads
• OMIC 25th Anniversary Pens and Chocolates!

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Six reasons OMIC is the best choice for ophthalmologists in America.

Best at defending claims.

An ophthalmologist pays nearly half a million dollars in premiums over the course of a career. Premium paid is directly related to a carrier’s claims experience. OMIC has a higher win rate taking tough cases to trial, full consent to settle (no hammer) clause, and access to the best experts. OMIC pays 25% less per claim than other carriers. As a result, OMIC has consistently maintained lower base rates than multispecialty carriers in the U.S.