The Pain Society of the Carolinas invites you earn 3.5 CME at a free SAFE Opioid Prescribing Course on Saturday, Jan. 30, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Medical University of South Carolina. To register click here.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering the following national provider call. For more information, click here.

  • Thursday, Feb. 4, 1:30-3 PM ET: IMPACT Act: Connecting Post-Acute Care across the Care Continuum CMS subject matter experts and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT discuss the implications of the IMPACT Act for health information exchange across the care continuum.

2016 Emerging Issues Forum: FutureWork, Feb. 8-9 in Raleigh.  Join leaders and learners from every North Carolina sector, region and point of view at the Institute for Emerging Issues 2016 Emerging Issues Forum, FutureWork. The forum seeks new models and strategies to position North Carolina as a leader in the global battle for good jobs for tomorrow’s diverse workforce. Focus on health care sector will be on day two when Thomas Aldridge, Manager, Public Consulting Group Health, and Carol Lewis Associate Director, UNC Innovation and Health Care System Transformation, will speak about how technology is transforming the health care landscape. Stakeholders and the general public are welcome. Register today.

NCTracks will offer the following training courses in February. Register for these courses in SkillPort, the NCTracks Learning Management System. Refer to the Provider Training page of the public Provider Portal for specific instructions on how to use SkillPort.

  • Wednesday, Feb. 17 – 1 to 4 p.m. (WebEx) – Provider Web Portal Applications Webinar will guide providers through the process of submitting all types of provider applications found on the NCTracks Provider Portal.  This course is taught via WebEx and can be attended remotely from any location with a telephone, computer and internet connection.  The WebEx will be limited to 115 participants.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 23 – 9:30 a.m. to noon – Prior Approval – Medical (Professional) will cover submitting Prior Approval (PA) Requests to help ensure compliance with Medicaid clinical coverage policy and medical necessity. It will also cover Prior Approval inquiry to check on the status of the PA Request.  The course is being offered in-person at the CSC facility in Raleigh. It includes hands-on training and will be limited to 45 participants.
  • Tuesday, Feb. 23 – 1 to 4 p.m.  – Submitting a Professional Claim will focus on how to submit a Professional Claim via the NCTracks Provider Portal.  The course is being offered in-person at the CSC facility in Raleigh. It includes hands-on training and will be limited to 45 participants.
  • Friday, Feb. 26 – 1 to 3 p.m. – Recipient Eligibility Verification will cover how to use the Eligibility Verification System (EVS), which provides information regarding a recipient’s eligibility for services in real time. This course will be taught at the CSC facility in Raleigh. The course includes hands-on training and will be limited to 45 participants.

Mark your calendar now for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hosted series of one-hour webinars to discuss recent updates and the future of Physician Compare, including a publicly reported benchmark. The webinar will be conducted via WebEx at the following times. (All sessions will present the same information.):

  • Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016 at noon ET
  • Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 at 4 pm ET
  • Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016 at 11 am ET

Registration details will be posted at a later date.

The Carolinas Center and the Virginia Association for Hospices and Palliative Care are offering the 2016 Palliative Care Symposium, Support for a Lifetime: Palliative Care Across the Continuum, April 7 at the William and Ida Friday Center, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.  More information here. The early registration deadline is March 17.

USF Health and i3 Health are hosting the 2nd Annual Hematologic Malignancies Symposium in Asheville on April 16 at the Asheville Renaissance Hotel. This live 1-day CME/CE-certified meeting is targeted towards medical oncologists, hematologists, oncology advanced practitioners, oncology nurses and other health care professionals involved in the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies. Participants will receive expert insights from leading investigators in treatment selection and supportive care best practices for patients with hematologic malignancies. More information and register here. Early bird discount available until March 1.

USF Health and i3 health are hosting the 1st Annual Gastrointestinal Malignancies Symposium in Asheville on April 16 at the Asheville Renaissance Hotel. This live 1-day CME/CE-certified meeting is targeted toward medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, oncology advanced practitioners, oncology nurses and other health care professionals involved in the treatment of patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. More information and register here.

The Pain Society of the Carolinas (PSOC) urges you to save the dates for several other courses on pain management.

  • DUKE Pain Meeting, on April 29-May 1, covering cancer pain, palliative care and end-of-life. To be held in Chapel Hill. Registration CLICK HERE to Register. Register early for discounted rates!
  • Save the date for the PSOC Annual Meeting, Sept. 25, at The Omni Grove Park Inn, Asheville NC