Hello From the President
As I sit here I can hardly believe that summer is already half over. For us here in SW MN it has been hot and dry (no rain). Not a good time for our farmers. Hopefully some relief will come soon.
CLMA 2002 was awesome! The programs were great and the networking wonderful. Kari Nornes and I had the opportunity to attend the Presidents Council Meeting. The leadership of our organization presented six imperatives that they will use this year to enhance and expand CLMA:
- Improve CLMA infrastructure to allow better response to member needs;
- Conduct intensive ongoing market research to identify the needs of the laboratory professionals;
- Expand membership - offer different types of membership;
- Education - the right programs for members;
- Collaboration - CLMA/COLA/CAP;
- Advocacy - position association as firm advocate of clinical laboratory profession and industry. Also on the planning board is a membership recruitment kit. Our chapter provided numerous pieces of information that will be used in the kit.
In addition to Kari and me, there were nine other attendees from the Siouxland Chapter. They included: John Dunham, Buena Vista Co. Hospital in Storm Lake, IA; Steve Walhoff, Orange City Health System, Orange City, IA; Jill Hanley and Diane Dell, Avera St. Lukes in Aberdeen; Larry Weaver & his wife, Mike and Kathy Maass, Avera McKennan Hospital, Sioux Falls; Deb Pieper, Heart Hospital, Sioux Falls; Meredith Johnston, Spencer Medical Center, Spencer, IA; and Brad Northburg, Sioux Valley Memorial Hospital, Cherokee, IA. Also attending - and we hope will be a new member - was Marge Wilson, the new Laboratory Director from Rapid City Regional Hospital. If you see her at SDAHO, say Hello.
Some attendee comments received after the meeting are included below.
Deb Piper: I enjoyed the CLMA meeting this year in New Orleans. I appreciate the opportunity to network with laboratory managers around the country. I was able to come away from the sessions I attended with a little more knowledge or a different perspective on topics presented.
Steve Walhoff: The CLMA/ASCP conference was a great educational experience for me. It is really neat to get together with so many others that share the same interests, goals, and struggles that we have as Medical Technologists, I highly encourage everyone who can to attend next year in Salt Lake City, UT.
See the Web site for additional CLMA/ASCP comments.
I agree with Steve & Deb. The meeting was great and the general session speakers provided me with much needed inspiration. Next year "you all should come." Twila
CLMA Award Nominee
Each year every chapter has the opportunity to nominate three members for a Chapter Award given out by National CLMA. This year our nominee was Judy Richards. Judy is the Laboratory Surveyor for the Department of Licensure and Certification for the State of South Dakota. Judy will be retiring this year and we wish her the very best. For all of her contributions to the advancement of 'Quality Laboratories' in the State of South Dakota we say, "Thank you Judy!"
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors met on May 23, 2002, after the Spring Meeting. Board meeting minutes are found on the Web site: CLMA-Siouxland.org. We are looking for volunteers to assist in any of the areas listed under our strategic plan. If you would like to volunteer please contact Twila Henning at:
507-372-7902 or henningt@frontiernet.net.
Election of Officers
Attached to this newsletter is the ballot for election of officers for 2003. The nominees are:
- Brian Ballard, Yankton Med Clinic, Yankton, SD.
- Rick Pudwill, CLM, Sioux Falls, SD.
- Kathy Winter, Osceola Comm. Hospital, Sibley, IA.
- Larry Weaver, Avera McKennan Hospital, Sioux Falls, SD (incumbent)
- Wanda Dally, Douglas County Hospital, Armour, SD (incumbent)
- Deb Piper, Heart Hospital of South Dakota, Sioux Falls, SD.
A big thank you to Jill Hanley and Wanda Daly for serving on the nominating committee and putting together this slate of candidates. Be sure to complete your ballot and return it to Twila Henning by August 24, 2002.
New National Web Site
National CLMA has a new Web site available July 24, 2002. The new site is designed to make it easier for members to access information and to move from one area to another. Check it out. If you have any feedback, please send it to Frank Schafer at CLMA.
Siouxland Website
CLMA-Siouxland.org is the Web site for Siouxland CLMA. If you have not checked it out recently, please do. We welcome any suggestions for enhancements to the site. Please forward them to Karen Jepperson at 605-328-5474, jeppersk@siouxvalley.org; or to Bill Hofer at 605-328-5458, hoferb@siouxvalley.org. The Web site will now be your resource for meeting minutes, agendas for upcoming meetings, and regulatory updates.
NCD Update
The last phase of the Negotiated Rulemaking rules are set to go into effect in November. On June 26, 2002, CMS issued memorandum AB-02-087 indicating that they are in the process of developing a software package tol be utilized by all contractors for editing the 23 NCDs. This software package will not be ready until January 1, 2003. Contractors have been given an extension for editing the NCDs until that date. The memorandum also provides a directive that contractors are expected to eliminate or make consistent any LMRPs for those 23 tests with the new NCDs by the effective date of November 25, 2002. In addition, laboratories are expected to comply with the November 25, 2002 effective date. If a laboratory should be denied payment because the contractor did not have the correct edits in place, they will be able to request an adjustment of payment after January 1, 2003. If a laboratory is paid for a service because the edits were not in place, the laboratory would be expected to return those moneys. Failure to do so could be construed as fraud. Some laboratories may wish to hold all claims with one or more of the 23 tests until after the contractor has the edits in place.
CMS plans in the near future to publish an additional memorandum to contractors formally implementing the NCDs. Contractors are expected to review the CPT® and ICD codes to make sure they are correct and make corrections as needed. Laboratories should also review the codes and notify the contractor and CMS of any incorrect information.
CAC News
The last Noridian Part SD B CAC meeting was held on June 8, 2002, in Rapid City, SD. Two issues of concern to laboratories were addressed. First, CMS has issued a directive that from July 1, 2002, through September 30, 2002, no paper bulletins will be issued. Providers are to access the bulletin information from the Internet. Right now the directive is for this limited time; however, there is speculation that the paper bulletins could be eliminated permanently.
The second issue requiring attention is the Urinalysis Draft policy. This policy includes CPT® codes for routine urinalysis and other urinalysis testing, plus includes the CPT codes listed at the end of this paragraph. The ICD-9s covered in this policy would not justify the codes listed, especially the pregnancy test and the urine volume measurement. The laboratory CAC representative, Twila Henning, voiced concerns at the meeting regarding these codes, but additional comments submitted to Noridian would be helpful in assuring that these CPT codes are eliminated from the policy. Work together with your physicians to draft a letter to Noridian. Be sure to submit supporting documentation why the codes listed would not be adequate to cover these CPT codes. Submit comments by 8/15/02 to:
