Call to Action: Urge your representatives to support the "Restoring the Patient's Voice Act (HR. 2279)!"
We need your help! A bill that ACG has heavily advocated for in the past has just been re-introduced in the new Congress. Representatives Raul Ruiz (D-CA) and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) have re-introduced the "Restoring the Patient's Voice Act" (HR.2279), which would allow for exemptions to be made to the Step Therapy protocol to remove the current barriers in allowing patients to gain access to the medication they need at a faster pace. Step Therapy entails the “fail first” drug therapy requirements, in which patients are forced by insurers to try and fail with one or more medications before the cost of the medication their doctor originally prescribed will be covered.
Please urge your representatives to cosponsor this important bill!
Click here to take action now!
New! ACG Practice Management Toolbox Article: Adding a Diagnostic Lab to your Practice: Does it Make Sense for your Practice?
New this week to the ACG Practice Management Toolbox is an article brought to you by Abraham Khan, MD, FACG and Craig Womeldorph, DO, FACG of the ACG Practice Management Committee in the Quality Enhancement category. There have been significant advancements in gastrointestinal (GI) motility and function testing in the past two decades. Historically, diagnostic studies were available only in high volume tertiary referral and academic settings. However, recent improvements of the various technologies have provided more standardized approaches to the performance and interpretation of the diagnostic examinations, allowing for easier incorporation and use into one's practice. In “Adding a Diagnostic Lab to your Practice: Does it Make Sense for your Practice?,” the authors provide a general guide for practices interested in acquiring GI motility and function testing technology.
What is the Practice Management toolbox?
Gastroenterologists in private practice find themselves working in a time of unprecedented transformation. Pressures are high as they make important management decisions that profoundly affect their business future, their private lives, and their ability to provide care to patients. The ACG Practice Management Committee has a mission to bring practicing colleagues together to explore solutions to overcome management challenges, to improve operations, enhance productivity, and support physician leadership. It was in this spirit that the Practice Management Toolbox was created.
The Toolbox is a series of short articles, written by practicing gastroenterologists, that provide members with easily accessible information to improve their practices. Each article covers an issue important to private practice gastroenterologists and physician-lead clinical practices. They include a brief introduction, a topic overview, specific suggestions, helpful examples and a list of resources or references. Each month a new edition of the Toolbox will be released and will then remain available here along with all previous editions. The Practice Management Committee is confident this series will a provide valuable resource for members striving to optimize their practices.
