Monthly Archives: January 2020

Shenandoah Region-General Meeting Minutes November 2019

VCNP-Shenandoah Region

November 2019 Meeting Minutes

November 21, 2019

Members in attendance:  Maria Circosta, Barbara Call, Amy Graham, Chris Moore, Andrea Knopp, Kasey Saunders, Allison Chupp, Maretta Yoder, Vicky Sullivan, Mary Faith Dudley, Sharon Strang, Susan Adamson, Sarah Stowell 

NP Students in attendance:  Kymber Beers, Heather Codding, Cheryl Miller, Allison MonterroZo, Ashley Singleton, Emily Johnson, Crystal O’Connor, Sarah Gibson, Natalie Detrich

Meeting Location:  Taste of Thai Restaurant. Harrisonburg, VA.

Speaker:  Allison Chupp FNP discussed details regarding the start up and daily operations of her NP run health clinic, North Mountain Clinic in Broadway VA. 

Business Meeting:  

  1.  Future meetings were discussed.  Further details TBD. 

-Dates tentatively set for 2/20/20, 4/16/2020, 9/24/2020, and 11/19/2020

  • Maria Circosta shared information from the VCNP Board Meeting:

– Lynchburg and Charlottesville CME opportunities.

– Education regarding dangers of vaping.

– Further discussion about opioids and prescribing practices. 

-There was extensive discussion regarding autonomous practice.  There is frustration with the low number of NP’s in Virginia obtaining their license to practice independently- only 15% of eligible NP’s have obtained the licensure.  Eligible nurse practitioners are encouraged to apply for this license.  VCNP is willing to help members through the attestation process if needed.  VCNP is looking into targeting AANP members residing in Virginia for membership.

     -There was discussion about adding a student liaison to the board as a non-voting member,

       but details regarding their role and length of term need to be finalized. 

The meeting was then adjourned.

Respectively submitted.

Maretta Yoder, Secretary

CMS Final Rule: NP and PA Preceptor Documentation Updates – Success!

Susanne J. Phillips, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC

Posted By: Susanne J. Phillips, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC on practicingclinicians.com |November 29, 2019

To access original post visit: https://practicingclinicians.com/the-exchange/cms-final-rule-np-and-pa-preceptor-documentation-updates–success-

On November 1, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule, which will positively affect the NP and PA preceptor documentation burden. For those of you providing clinical teaching rotations for advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) and/or PA students, you may be aware that in March 2018 CMS reduced the documentation burden for physician preceptors. This change authorized teaching physicians to verify and sign student documentation components of evaluation and management (E/M) services rather than have to re-document the work themselves. Unfortunately, this created unintended consequences for APRN and PA preceptors and the students they supervise.

In an era where productivity in patient care has been a major driver of reimbursement, the 2018 rule caused many practices to abruptly discontinue precepting APRN and PA students—creating a crisis in NP and PA education. As a result, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), the American Academy of PAs (AAPA), nursing, and physician stakeholders worked diligently to mobilize their constituencies and to request changes to the 2020 final rule. Through lobbying efforts and regulatory comments, CMS revised the language, thereby creating documentation requirement parity among all clinician preceptors.

Effective January 1, 2020, APRN and PA preceptors may review and verify medical record documentation entered by other licensed health care providers and members of the health care team, as well as student APRNs and PAs. This update will ultimately improve patient access to high-quality health care.

There are additional changes affecting APRN and PA providers including, but not limited to, updates to Medicare telehealth service reimbursement, E/M services documentation and reimbursement, physician supervision requirements for PAs, and payment for transitional care management services. Click the links in the references below for additional information.

References