Practice Management Tip of the Month: Taking Care of Yourself During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This is a stressful time. You’re doing your best to keep your patients, staff, family and yourself safe and healthy. You’re using new tools, like telemedicine, in day to day practice. You’re working to ensure the economic impact of the pandemic on your practice and your staff is limited.
During this difficult time, it’s important to remember to take care of yourself, so that you can take care of others.
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Read the article “Clinician Wellness During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Extraordinary Times and Unusual Challenges for the Allergist/Immunologist” for specific strategies during this uncertain time.
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Watch a new video from the AAAAI wellness group.
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•Consider using a mindfulness or meditation app regularly. Some options are:
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•Art of Living – Online Happiness Program for Healthcare Workers
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•Headspace
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•Ten Percent Happier
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Check out the AAAAI physician wellness toolkit for a broader array of ideas and resources.
Visit the AAAAI COVID-19 resources page regularly for updated information to help you and your practice navigate the quickly changing situation and to access the aforementioned resources.
The Practice Management Tip of the Month is a feature that appears in Practice Matters, the AAAAI’s semimonthly newsletter with information and resources tailored for the practicing allergist. If you are an AAAAI member and have not been receiving Practice Matters, contact practicematters@aaaai.org.
Read This Featured Coding Question from Practice Matters
Question: Can I Bill for Telephone Encounters?
Answer: Yes, provided the visit is with an established patient, parent or guardian not originating from a related E/M service provided within the previous seven days nor leading to an E/M service or procedure within the next 24 hours or soonest available appointment. Refer to payer websites to confirm insurance coverage; if this is not a covered service, the provider should notify the patient, who then may be responsible for payment. Some insurers may require or waive patient co-payments. Review payer policies to verify coverage benefits.
Use codes 99441-99443 for telephone evaluation and management service by a physician or other qualified healthcare professional.
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99441 – [Telephone evaluation and management service by a physician or other qualified healthcare professional who may report evaluation and management services provided to an established patient, parent, or guardian not originating from a related E/M service provided within the previous seven days nor leading to an E/M service or procedure within the next 24 hours or soonest available appointment; Five-10 minutes of medical discussion.]
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99442 – 11-20 minutes
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99443 – 21 minutes or more
If you have a coding question of your own, send it to coding@aaaai.org. A coding question is also featured in every issue of Practice Matters.
Resources for A/I Clinicians During the COVID-19 Pandemic
As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads across the globe, we recognize the importance of our roles as healthcare providers, particularly to patients known for asthma, other allergic conditions, or immune deficiencies who may be at a higher risk of experiencing severe symptoms from the disease. The same way that you are committed to your patients, practices, and communities, we at the AAAAI remain committed to providing you with resources that will help you navigate this difficult period. That is why we launched a dedicated page for Resources for A/I Clinicians during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Over the past several months we’ve been continually adding resources. Just some of the resources you will find include:
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Special Article: COVID-19: Pandemic Contingency Planning for the Allergy and Immunology Clinic
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COVID-19 podcast episodes
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Patient resources, including infographics
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Ask the Expert questions about COVID-19
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Coding information for COVID-19
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Telemedicine resources
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A special Virtual Journal Club Webinar recording, which discusses two COVID-19 papers meant to address concerns in your practice
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Physician wellness resources
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And much more
You can access this resource page at education.aaaai.org/resources-for-a-i-clinicians/covid-19.
Your Guide to the 2020 AAAAI Virtual Annual Meeting
Get A/I Education Originally Scheduled for the 2020 Annual Meeting
The decision to cancel the 2020 AAAAI Annual Meeting was a difficult one, but it was also ultimately the right one. Many people were looking forward to this year’s event, and we’ve been hard at work putting together a virtual option that highlights some of the amazing work done by our speakers and researchers this year. While we understand it isn’t quite the same as attending a live event, we hope this year’s Virtual Annual Meeting sparks thought, discussion, and practice changes just as our live event does every year.
Here is a guide to help you easily navigate our 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting and find the education you’re most interested in.
The AAAAI Virtual Poster Hall
The authors of all posters, oral abstract presentations, and case reports originally scheduled for the 2020 AAAAI Annual Meeting were invited to submit their work to be featured in the Virtual Poster Hall.* The posters and oral abstracts are displayed based on their slotting in the Annual Meeting program.
The posters are organized into several broad categories: Oral Abstracts by Topic, Featured Posters, Poster Sessions and Case Reports. Oral abstracts have been uploaded as video presentations so the talks can be viewed, while the rest of the poster hall features PDFs of uploaded posters that would have been displayed during the live event.
Each virtual poster or oral session includes a link to a discussion board where you can post questions for the abstract authors. When posting a question or comment, please include the number of the presentation in the subject line so the author(s) can easily locate comments pertinent to them.
*Please be aware that not all authors have chosen to submit a poster or oral presentation. Access to this content requires logging in.
Keynote, Plenaries & Additional Sessions
The plenary and keynote sessions are all available online for you to access, free of charge. These sessions give you a great look at the theme of this year’s Annual Meeting and we’re very excited the speakers were able to put together these recordings, allowing you to access these expert talks.
A number of additional sessions are still in production and will be made available online over the coming months. Sessions released online will not only cover the theme of biologics, but other important topics that members deal with daily in practice including asthma, food allergy and more.
Some of the online sessions that will be available include:
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Bright Horizons For Food Allergy: Vaccines, Biologics and More
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An Update on the Efficacy and Safety of Subcutaneous and Sublingual Allergen Immunotherapy
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Hereditary Angioedema: Triumphs of Medical Progress
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Emerging Concepts in Childhood Asthma Exacerbations
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Cellular Partners of Mast Cells and Basophils in Homeostasis and Allergic Disease
You can find a full list of 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting sessions, including pricing for special sessions, by visiting the AAAAI Continuing Education Center at education.aaaai.org.
Earn CME Credit with Select AAAAI Podcast Episodes
The AAAAI is excited to offer free CME credit for members who listen to select episodes of our podcast, Conversations from the World of Allergy. To obtain credit when listening to an eligible podcast:
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Listen to the podcast episode.
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Register for the activity at education.aaaai.org/podcasts.
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Review the CME and Disclosure information.
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Complete all required components.
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Complete the brief assessment. You must achieve a score of 70% or higher to claim credit.
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Complete the activity evaluation.
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Claim your credits. Enter only the number of credits earned based on your participation in the activity.
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Print or save your certificate.
The list of episodes is available at aaaai.org. Look for the Podcasts link under the Education & Training area. Episodes offering CME credit will be identified with a CME icon and CME language in the podcast description.
Lay Organizations.
The AAAAI places a high value on its relationships with patient advocacy organizations in support of our mutual concern for the needs of people with allergy, asthma and immunologic disease and their families. In particular, the AAAAI has an ongoing relationship with a group of organizations with whom we partner on various projects as needs and opportunities arise. We encourage you to visit these organizations’ websites for more information on their initiatives and missions.
Allergy & Asthma Network
American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED)
Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA)
Alaska Chapter: aafaalaska.com
California Chapter: aafa-ca.com
Greater Kansas City Chapter: aafakc.org
Maryland/Washington DC Chapter: aafa-md.org
Michigan Chapter: aafamich.org
New England Chapter: asthmaandallergies.org
Texas Chapter: aafatexas.org
St. Louis Chapter: aafastl.org
Campaign Urging Research for Eosinophilic Disease (CURED)
Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Connection Team (FAACT)
Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE)
Immune Deficiency Foundation (IDF)
International FPIES Association
The Mastocytosis Society (TMS)
US Hereditary Angioedema Association (HAEA)
You Can Now Use Our Internet Point-of-Care Activity to Earn MOC
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way we see patients and conduct research. Additionally, many live meetings have been cancelled, which may leave you looking for alternative means of earning CME credit. The AAAAI continues to offer its Internet Point-of-Care (IPOC) activity, which allows you to conduct clinical care research through AAAAI’s own journals, The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and JACI: In Practice, to earn credit.
How Does It Work?
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Register for the IPOC course at education.aaaai.org/IPOC2020
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Select “Search 1” – all members will receive free access to these searches.
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Follow the onscreen instructions to document search results and what was learned/achieved.
CME Credit
Allergist/immunologists can earn .50 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM for each search performed. There is no limit on the amount of searches you can perform in a calendar year. New for 2020 – Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Credit A minimum of five challenges or questions must be completed within a rolling calendar year. All searches must be completed within your current five-year MOC cycle to be considered. To ensure review/approval of MOC Part IV credit prior to year-end, all MOC requests must be entered into the AAAAI system by September 30. Requests entered after September 30 may not be processed by year-end. Note that the American Board of Allergy and Immunology has adjusted its certification requirements for 2020, so be sure to check to make sure you are meeting the updated requirements.