2009 Achievements
Dear Colleague: 2009 was an exciting year for the Georgia Society of Clinical Oncology (GASCO). Special-Letter-to-Members-December-2009.pdf
- The Board re-established our Mission, Vision and Values with a common theme of being relevant to our members and others in the oncology community. See attached.
- We began the year successfully communicating with Blue Cross on managing their white blood count precertification process.
- A successful Spring Meeting was held for the Administrators including topics on exceptional performance, Medicare, cancer survivorship, website management and benefits, federal policy updates, state legislative updates and commercial payor relations.
- GASCO was the lead society in support of the state tobacco tax increase.
- GASCO was credited for educating and leading a coalition of multi-specialty medical associations, hospitals, and patients in opposition to the state’s Medicaid plans to lower reimbursement of physician-administered drugs from 11% of the average wholesale price (AWP) to 80% of the 2007 Medical average sale price (ASP). The plan was eventually withdrawn and a rate of ASP +6% was put in place.
- ASCO awarded us a grant to develop a navigator’s association which included a meeting of over 100 participants from throughout the state and a strategic planning meeting which outlined future work in this area.
- We continued work on our 2007 ASCO grant regarding clinical trials education with 2 training sessions.
- Our annual meeting was combined with the regional Best of ASCO®. Business topics included employment law, RACs, Red Flag Rules, HIPAA updates, coding updates. We provided a reception including remarks from Douglas W. Blayney, M.D., President of ASCO and a breakfast session for fellows and new physicians, "The Business Side of Medical Practice"
- We awarded a grant to Lana Jackson, M.D. a fellow at MCG for "Biology of False – Negative FDG PET-CT: Role of Glucose Transport and Metabolism."
- We expanded our partnership with GaCORE through a new 3 year agreement that helps to fund this important effort. We’ll be working together to jointly provide and promote educational programs, assess educational needs, develop e-navigational tools, enhance disease specific working groups, develop Georgia based investigator initiated trials, develop a virtual on line tumor board linking community and academic oncologists, and increase participation in clinical trials.
We would appreciate your opinion on our current GASCO Member Survey. If you are a Physician, please go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QSLQYPH; if you are an Administrator, please go to link http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Q5YSGSS and fill out the questionnaire.
We are even more excited about 2010 with expanded relationships with GaCORE, educational opportunities (including our involvement in the Atlanta ASH meeting in February and options to host an annual Best of ASCO sectional meeting), coordination of events with other Georgia oncology entities, further development of the Navigators’ Association and clinical trials education, along with our traditional offerings and involvement.
We are especially excited about a new program we are offering to our members who participate in our Group Purchasing Organization (GASCO GPO). As you may know, the GPO’s distributors, Oncology Supply and McKesson, pay the GPO an administrative fee each quarter based on purchases. The GPO has historically donated those proceeds to GASCO. Beginning in 2010, we have worked out a plan with the GPO to rebate 45% of the administrative fees to the participating member practices proportional to their purchases.
We are also initiating a new membership program which rewards and recognizes members and their practices for participation in GASCO, the GPO, GaCORE and related events. See the attached GASCO Membership Program. We understand that the current health care environment is affecting our members on many levels, therefore to kick off our new plan we are offering FREE membership in 2010 to all oncologists and related specialists in the state of Georgia. This participation will help qualify the physicians for free membership in subsequent years and qualify you for GASCO’s Oncology Practice of the Year.
We want to be relevant to you and your practice—in order to be relevant we need active participation in the Society on all levels—physician, administrative and support personnel (i.e. patient navigators). I hope that you will join me in building GASCO into an important asset for the oncology community.
Matthew P. Mumber, M.D.
President
Georgia Society of Clinical Oncology