Third Annual Renal Week Highlights
Registration is now available online at http://www.asn-online.org for ASN's Third Annual Renal Week Highlights Meetings, taking place this winter in a city near you! Expert faculty will summarize, critique, and put into perspective key presentations from Renal Week 2005 in Philadelphia. These “Renal Week Highlights” programs are perfect for those who could not attend Renal Week and for those November participants who were unable to attend these key presentations.
Join us in the city nearest you:
-
Chicago, IL, February 11 to 12, 2006
-
Washington, DC, February 18 to 19, 2006
-
Los Angeles, CA, February 25 to 26, 2006
-
Seattle, WA, March 4 to 5, 2006
-
New York, NY, March 11 to 12, 2006
-
Houston, TX, March 18 to 19, 2006
-
Toronto, Canada, March 25 to 26, 2006
Membership—Time to Renew!
ASN enjoyed a record membership year in 2005! The Society’s leadership and staff extend their thanks to all those who remained ASN members or joined as new members in 2005.
During 2005, ASN launched a new clinical journal (CJASN), entered into an arrangement with the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), under which completion of NephSAP examinations will be accepted as partial fulfillment of certain maintenance of certification requirements, added a Continuing Medical Education (CME) transcript feature to the Society’s website, and provided over $2.3 million in grants to support basic and clinical research. ASN also stepped up efforts to garner additional National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding of kidney disease research, an increasingly important Society activity in these times of significant federal budget constraints. With your support in 2006, these programs and others can be sustained and enhanced.
In December, all ASN members should have received a 2006 renewal invoice with a US postage-paid return envelope. If you have not received your membership renewal invoice for 2006, please email us at email{at}asn-online.org. Please remember to renew promptly to avoid the inconvenience of having access to ASN journals or other benefits interrupted!
CME Credits
ASN now provides an online record of CME credits. The ASN online transcript service allows you to review credit information and print a summary. All participants in our continuing medical education activities, including nonmembers, have access to their awarded category 1 credits by logging into the ASN website with their user ID and last name. For ASN members, the user ID is your ASN Membership Identification Number. The user ID is available by contacting the ASN at email{at}asn-online.org.
Please note: The online transcripts module has replaced mailed certificates and should be used as the sole means of obtaining a record of your CME credits.
Renal Week Credits
Forms are being processed in the order in which they were received, beginning with forms that were submitted onsite in Philadelphia, forms mailed by the December 2, 2005 deadline, and finally, forms that were mailed after December 2, 2005. Credits for the postgraduate education courses will be posted, followed by the annual meeting credits. All credits will be posted no later than February 28, 2006.
ASN Publications Update
ASN's publications program made great strides in 2005, the first year in which the program was fully managed by the Society rather than by contract with a publishing firm. Developments in ASN's publications program include the following:
JASN remains the most-cited nephrology journal, with the highest impact factor of 52 journals in urology and nephrology ranked by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI). In addition, surveys conducted by an independent market research firm show that JASN is the most frequently read of the major nephrology journals.
ASN's new clinical journal, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), became a reality with the mid-October launch of that journal’s website and the production and mailing of the January 2006 (first) issue.
As mentioned above, ASN has entered into an agreement with ABIM, under which successful completion of the examinations in issues of NephSAP will be accepted for Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credits. The details of this agreement have been published in this month’s issue of NephSAP.
ASN members will receive all three publications as a benefit of dues. Of course, those who prefer to access these publications on the web may do so by logging in to the ASN website (http://www.asn-online.org) with your ASN User ID and Last Name and then clicking on the cover of the one of the publications.
New FASN Applications Available
Now available on the ASN website is a new, simplified application for Fellow of the American Society of Nephrology (FASN) status. The FASN designation honors members of the Society who have distinguished themselves through excellence in practice or research. FASN status represents recognition by the Society of outstanding credentials, high professional achievement, commitment to the field, and demonstrated scholarship.
There are two distinct pathways to FASN status: the Clinical Pathway and the Investigator Pathway. The application process requires just five straightforward steps. Point your browser to http://www.asn-online.org, click on “Membership Services,” and then on “FASN” to download the new application brochure.
ASN Grant Deadlines for 2006
-
ASN-ASP Junior Development Grant in Geriatric Nephrology (Due March 10, 2006)
-
ASN-AST John Merrill Grant in Transplantation (Due March 10, 2006)
-
Carl W. Gottschalk Research Scholar Grant (Due March 10, 2006)
-
KUFA-ASN Research Grant (Due March 10, 2006)
-
Halpin Foundation-ASN Research Grant (Due March 10, 2006)
-
New Directions Grant for Established Investigators (Due March 10, 2006)
-
Student Scholar Grant (Due February 9, 2006)
-
M. James Scherbenske Grant (Quarterly Deadlines: March 15, 2006; June 15, 2006; November 15, 2006)
ASN Awards Nomination Deadline: Tuesday, January 31, 2006
The deadline for all ASN awards nominations is Tuesday, January 31, 2006. Nomination letters should be faxed to 202-659-0599 or emailed to sowens{at}asn-online.org. Please see descriptions included below about each award.
Note:
Beginning in 2006, awards nomination letters will be limited to a total of 3 letters per candidate. Additional letters will not be considered.
The John P. Peters Award.
The John P. Peters Award recognizes individuals who have made substantial research contributions to the discipline of nephrology and have sustained achievements in one or more domains of academic medicine including clinical care, education and leadership.
The Belding H. Scribner Award.
The Belding H. Scriber Award is presented annually to one or more individuals who have made outstanding contributions that have a direct impact on the care of patients with renal disorders or have substantially changed the clinical practice of nephrology.
The Homer W. Smith Award.
The Homer W. Smith Award is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions that fundamentally affect the science of nephrology, broadly defined, but not limited to, the pathobiology, cellular, and molecular mechanisms and genetic influences on the functions and diseases of the kidney.
The Young Investigator Award.
The Young Investigator Award is presented annually to an individual with an outstanding record of achievement and creativity in basic or patient-oriented research related to the functions and diseases of the kidney. This award is cosponsored by the Council on the Kidney of the American Heart Association and is limited to individuals who are less than 41 yr of age on the first day of the ASN meeting at which the award is presented.
Policy and Public Affairs Update
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Announces New Strategy for Anemia Management
After a prolonged delay, CMS announced in November a national strategy for monitoring claims for the drugs Epogen® and Aranesp® for anemia management in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and who are dialyzed in renal facilities. ASN submitted comments independently, as well as collectively with the entire renal community, on the proposed policy revision.
The monitoring policy examines dosing levels of Epogen or Aranesp that are in line with the hematocrit/hemoglobin “target ranges” identified in the drug labeling approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Current industry guidelines for kidney disease call for maintaining the hematocrit level within a narrow target range of 33 to 36%. However, because many factors such as nutritional status, infection, and bleeding may cause the hematocrit to fluctuate, it is not easy to help patients remain within this narrow range. Some patients are above the target in one month and below it in another.
Under the new monitoring policy, CMS will initiate monitoring if the hematocrit reaches 39.0% (hemoglobin 13.0 g/dl). If the ESRD facility has reduced the dosage by 25% in the month where the starting hematocrit is above 39.0% (hemoglobin 13.0 g/dl), the facility must report this by using the modifier “GS” on the claim form. If the facility has not reduced the dosage, and there is no medical documentation to support the higher dosage, CMS will reduce payment to the level it would have been had the facility reduced dosage by 25%. In these circumstances, CMS will give the individual or entity the appropriate notice and an opportunity to appeal the determination under the existing appeals regulations.
The CMS monitoring policy also puts in place an edit for maximum dosage of Epogen and Aranesp in a single month. The maximum level for Epogen is 500,000 IU/month. For Aranesp, the maximum is 1500 μg/month.
“We are optimistic that this claims policy is going to meet our needs and the needs of Medicare beneficiaries,” said Barry Straube, MD, a nephrologist who is acting as the CMS Chief Medical Officer and also serving as the Acting Director of the CMS Office of Clinical Standards and Quality. The new monitoring policy will become effective for services rendered on or after April 1, 2006. More information may be found at https://www.cms.hhs.gov/coverage/8b5.pdf.
Demonstration Sites Selected for Beneficiaries with ESRD
CMS has selected two organizations to participate in a new demonstration that attempts to increase the opportunity for Medicare beneficiaries with ESRD to join managed care plans.
This demonstration has been designed to test the effectiveness of disease management models to increase quality of care for ESRD patients while ensuring that this care is provided more effectively and efficiently. CMS hopes to determine the benefits of disease management and care coordination for ESRD patients.
Medicare Advantage organizations and dialysis providers are partnering to offer health plans to beneficiaries with ESRD. The health plans will provide all Medicare-covered benefits with an emphasis on disease management and care coordination. Participating organizations were selected through a competitive process.
In the first year of the demonstration, the Medicare Advantage plans will be offered in four states (California, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Massachusetts) by DaVita and Fresenius, along with the Medicare Advantage partners. Coverage for enrolled beneficiaries began in November 2005.
An important aspect of this demonstration is the emphasis on quality improvement and pay-for-performance. CMS will reserve 5% of the capitation payment rates for incentive payments related to quality improvement. Participating organizations will receive payment for improvement on past performance and performing above the national averages for quality measures related to dialysis.
Further information on the CMS ESRD Disease Management Demonstration is available online at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/researchers/demos/esrd_demo.asp.
United States Senate Passes Health IT Bill to Encourage Electronic Record Use
By unanimous consent, the US Senate approved the proposed Wired for Health Care Quality Act (S. 1418), designed to encourage healthcare providers to adopt information technology (IT) and thus improve health care quality.
Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) stated that the bill’s passage “brings us closer to enabling all Americans the freedom and security of going to the doctor’s office or hospital and presenting an electronic card or identification tag that holds all patient data, insurance, and medical history records.” Proponents of the bill also stressed that this technology would improve patient care by reducing medical errors and allowing for more efficient record keeping, thereby helping save lives.
The legislation would create a public/private American Health Information Collaboration panel, which would be charged with making health IT recommendations to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) within a year of the bill’s enactment. The federal government would then have 60 days to act on the recommendations. DHHS has formed its own such panel, the American Health Information Community.
The bill also would provide grants to hospitals, group practices, and other healthcare providers to further the adoption of health IT; provide grants to health profession centers and academic health centers to incorporate health IT into clinical education; and establish a quality measurement system to reward healthcare providers who improve the quality of care that patients receive.
In October 2005, the leaders of two House healthcare panels introduced their own health IT legislation (H.R. 4157), the proposed Health Information Technology Promotion Act of 2005. The bill would codify the Bush administration’s national coordinator office for IT, create statutory safe harbors to allow hospitals and other providers to provide physicians with health IT software and hardware, and require DHHS to develop a health IT strategic plan. The House bill was introduced by House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairwoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT) and House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chairman Nathan Deal (R-GA).
- © 2006 American Society of Nephrology