Eyeworld

EW NEWS & OPINION 12 June 2015 V I S I O N INDICATIONS AND IMPORTANT SAFET Y INFORMATION Rx Only ATTENTION: Reference the Directions for Use for a complete listing of Indications and Important Safety Information. INDICATIONS: The TECNIS® 1-Piece lens is indicated for the visual correction of aphakia in adult patients in whom a cataractous lens has been removed by extracapsular cataract extraction. These devices are intended to be placed in the capsular bag. WARNINGS: Physicians considering lens implantation should weigh the potential risk/ benefit ratio for any conditions described in the TECNIS® 1-Piece IOL Directions for Use that could increase complications or impact patient outcomes. The TECNIS® 1-Piece IOL should not be placed in the ciliary sulcus. PRECAUTIONS: Do not reuse, resterilize, or autoclave. ADVERSE EVENTS: In 3.3% of patients, reported adverse events of cataract surgery with the TECNIS® 1-Piece IOL included macular edema. Other reported reactions occurring in less than 1% of patients were secondary surgical intervention (pars plana vitrectomy with membrane peel) and lens exchange (due to torn lens haptic). TECNIS is a trademark owned by or licensed to Abbott Laboratories, its subsidiaries or affiliates. © 2015 Abbott Medical Optics Inc. | www.AbbottMedicalOptics.com | PP2015CT0477 H.R. 2 continued from page 8 not the case. The bill preserves this option and also makes participa- tion in alternative payment models (APMs) voluntary. Those physicians who do choose to remain in fee-for- service must participate in the Merit- Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) program. MIPS will consol- idate and streamline the 3 current existing quality reporting programs: the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), EHR Meaningful Use, and the Value-Based Payment Modifier (VBPM). It will also add a section on clinical practice improve- ment activities. Complete details of the MIPS program will be developed over the coming years through the rulemak- ing process. Eligible professional organizations, such as ASCRS, and other stakeholders will have the option to identify and submit qual- ity measures to be considered for inclusion, as well as submit updates to current measures. With penalties for the existing quality reporting programs set to sunset in 2019 as a result of the new law, payments to eligible profes- sionals will be adjusted based on performance in MIPS starting in 2019. MIPS will use 4 categories to assess the performance of eligible professionals: quality, resource use, meaningful use, and clinical practice improvement activities. Under the MIPS assessment, participants will receive a composite score ranging from 0 to 100 based on their perfor- mance in those 4 categories. These scores will be compared to a perfor- mance threshold determined by the mean or median of all the composite performance scores from all MIPS eligible professionals. Physicians will then either receive a bonus pay- ment, no payment adjustment, or a penalty, depending on the pre-set performance thresholds. A key factor to remember is that MACRA provides an opportunity for incentives, whereas physicians were only facing penalties with the exist- ing quality reporting programs. Moving ahead Again, though MACRA was not the exact bill that ASCRS would have written, it does accomplish many important goals, specifically stop- ping the threat of annual cuts to Medicare physician payments due to the SGR, and ending the threat of the transition of 10- and 90-day global codes to 0-day codes by CMS. It also allows for future legislative reforms, and ASCRS will continue to advocate for these. ASCRS would like to thank those who participated in the polit- ical process and "got in the game" to ensure that action was taken on these important issues. Phone calls, emails, and visits to Capitol Hill all made a difference in helping to facilitate and achieve the aforemen- tioned successes that are crucial to the continued financially stable practice of ophthalmology. Our advocacy efforts in the near future need to be focused on convincing Congress and CMS to mitigate the potential negative financial effects that implement- ing ICD-10 may have on medical practices. Subsequently, we need to advocate for better EHR usability and interoperability, as well as for less burdensome ways to measure quality so that physicians can pay more attention to patients and less to computers. However, quality reporting is not going to disappear since it had its inception with the Bush administration and now has bipartisan support. Forging a better healthcare system for patients and physicians will require our contin- ued advocacy efforts, so for the sake of our profession, please remain engaged! EW Contact information Bakewell: eyemanaz@aol.com

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