Table of Contents

SCT and Hospice Transport Survey

National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza: Implementation Plan
from President George Bush

CMS Releases New Educational Products on NPI
Forwarded from CMS

CMS Announces New NPI Capability for Health Industry Organizations
Forwarded from CMS

Stars of Life Sponsors

AAA News Clipping Service

AAA Faces and Spaces Audio Conference

Pictures From Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Needed

ASM 2007 Session

SCT and Hospice Transport Survey

The AAA will be meeting with officials with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to discuss the downgrading of SCT claims to ALS as well as denials of SCT claims. However, we need to gather data on the extent of the problem before approaching CMS officials. It therefore would be greatly appreciated if you would take a few minutes to complete our brief web-based survey on SCT and hospice transports.  To access the survey, go to http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB22595SXPL3R.

If you are not the appropriate individual with your organization to complete the survey, please forward this e-mail to a member of your billing staff so that he or she can complete it.   Please complete the survey by close of business, Thursday, May 4.

National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza: Implementation Plan

Message from President George Bush

My fellow Americans,

On November 1, 2005, I announced the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza, a comprehensive approach to addressing the threat of pandemic influenza. Our Strategy outlines how we are preparing for, and how we will detect and respond to, a potential pandemic.

Since then, our Nation has taken a series of historic steps to address the pandemic threat. In December, the Congress appropriated $3.8 billion. The International Partnership for Avian and Pandemic Influenza, which we launched at the United Nations in September 2005, has encouraged openness and coordinated action by the international community. Here at home, we have made major investments in vaccine and antiviral development, research into the influenza virus, surveillance for disease in animals and humans, and the local, State, and Federal infrastructure necessary to respond to a pandemic. By making these critical investments, the Federal Government has begun strengthening our ability to safeguard the American people in the event of a devastating global pandemic and helping to prepare the Nation’s public health and medical infrastructure.

Building upon these efforts, the Implementation Plan for the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza ensures that our efforts and resources will be brought to bear in a coordinated manner against this threat. The Plan describes more than 300 critical actions, many of which have already been initiated, to address the threat of pandemic influenza.
Our efforts require the participation of, and coordination by, all levels of government and segments of society. State and local governments must be prepared, and my Administration will work with them to provide the necessary guidance in order to best protect their citizens. No less important will be the actions of individual citizens, whose participation is necessary to the success of these efforts.

Our Nation will face this global threat united in purpose and united in action in order to best protect our families, our communities, our nation, and our world from the threat of pandemic influenza.

GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE
May 2006

A copy of the plan can be accessed on the White House website at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/pandemic-influenza-implementation.html

CMS Releases New Educational
Products on NPI
Forwarded from CMS

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released three new educational products on the National Provider Identifier (NPI):

• "Guidance for Organization Health Care Providers Who Apply for National Provider Identifiers (NPIs) for Their Health Care Provider Employees" Tip Sheet-- contains helpful information for organization health care providers who wish to apply for NPIs, or submit updates using the NPPES web-based process, on behalf of their employed health care providers.  This is NOT the EFI process.
• "Tips for Health Care Professionals - Preparing Your Office Staff for NPI" Tip Sheet - provides basic steps to prepare your office staff, and your business, for NPI implementation.
• "NPI Overview" PowerPoint Presentation - this presentation was presented by a CMS staff member at a recent WEDI meeting and contains basic information on the NPI that is suitable for self education, as well as training purposes. 

Visit the Educational Resources page on CMS' NPI website at
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalProvIdentStand/04_education.asp to view these new products.

CMS Announces New NPI Capability for Health Industry Organizations
Forwarded from CMS

Beginning May 1, 2006, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announces the capability for health industry organizations to submit health care providers' applications for National Provider Identifiers (NPIs) to the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) via Electronic File Interchange (EFI). With EFI, a CMS-approved health industry organization can submit a health care provider's NPI application data, along with the application data of many other health care providers, in a single electronic file in a CMS-specified format.

EFI is an alternative to health care providers having to apply for their NPIs via the web-based or paper application process. After the NPPES processes a file, it makes available to the organization a downloadable file containing the NPIs of the enumerated health care providers. Interested health industry organizations should avail themselves of the EFI materials available from the CMS NPI page (www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalProvIdentStand/) and from the NPPES page (https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov) before downloading and completing the Certification Statement (available at https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov) and registering as EFI Organizations. A completed Certification Statement must be approved by CMS before an interested health industry organization can participate in EFI.

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AMERICAN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION
presents



Faces and Spaces - Audio Conference

Wednesday, May 24, 2006 f  3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (EST)
Presented by:
Jon Swanson, Executive Director
Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services  
  
Learn to predict trends in staffing and an effective means of retention calculation

Faces and Spaces is a basic introduction to a methodology for:

• Learning to predict your staffing needs

• Defining and counting the number of people currently employed.

• Tracking and calculating your turnover rate

Sign up today for the audio conference using the attached registration form!

Please Note:  Questions should be sent by e-mail to AAA Manager of Member Services and Public Affairs Stacy Bromley at sbromley@the-aaa.org.

 © Copyrighted: AAA 2006 – The use of language contained within this document is prohibited without first the consent of the American Ambulance Association.

Pictures From Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Needed

As we are looking forward to the Stars of Life Event in Washington, DC, we remember the work that members did to assist in affected areas in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The AAA would like you to send pictures or videos of your crews in action that we may with use at the Stars of Life Banquet.

We need all photos by COB Monday, April 24, 2006. Please send any images you may have to: edavis@the-aaa.org

ASM 2006 Spring -> SOLD OUT!

ASM 2006 Summer -> SOLD OUT!

NOW ACCEPTING REGISTRATIONS FOR ASM IN 2007

Now accepting enrollment for the 2007 session of the Ambulance Service Manager (ASM) Program.  Reserve your place today!

2007 Ambulance Service Manager (ASM)
The ASM Program is sponsored by the American Ambulance Association (AAA) and is for aspiring, new, and experienced managers who wish to develop their leadership competencies and sharpen essential management skills.  The program provides a broad foundational curriculum matching cutting edge management theory with real-life practical applications.

The ASM Program is a certification course designed to immerse participants in an engaging learning cohort.  A small group of 40 participants moves together through two weeks of face-to-face instruction and experiential learning led by industry leading faculty bridged by several weeks of online discussion and group project work.

ASM Graduates will:

Dates for the 2007 program are:

• Online Session Begins: January 29, 2007
• On-site Week 1: February 25-March 2, 2007
• On-site Week 2: April 29 - May 4, 2007
  

Go to http://www.fitchassoc.com/Services/conferences.htm to download the brochure and registration materials. 

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