It’s a leap year!
From the Editor
Dr. Schwarzenberger is the former physician editor of DermWorld.
By Kathryn Schwarzenberger, MD, February 1, 2020
Forget what you were taught in school; a year really isn’t 365 days long. It’s closer to 365.24 days. This is, of course, why we add an extra day to the end of February every four years (give or take a few), allowing our Gregorian calendar (named after Pope Gregory XIII, in case you like trivia) to catch up with the true solar year. My earlier experiences with leap years made me distrust this “extra day.” As a child, I was intrigued, but a bit worried, as I tried to understand how my classmate, born on Feb. 29, could claim to have only celebrated two birthdays to my eight. I felt better once reassured that he still received birthday presents on the other years. During my medicine residency, a leap year added one additional night on call, a rather painful experience when taking every other night call for months at a time.
These days, I choose to see leap year as the gift of time, even if, in reality, it is simply a calendar adjustment. Like other fellow procrastinators, I will probably spend the day signing charts or working on my AAD talks. However, in the spirit of wellness, I am going to push myself to take the day to do something fun. Hopefully I can inspire some of you to do the same! And, of course, if reading is your “fun” thing, we have a great variety of articles for you this month in Dermatology World!
It is unfortunately an all-too-common occurrence these days: you write a prescription for the most appropriate medication for your patient, only to have it denied by their insurance company. The explanations listed in the denial letter leave you, at best, shaking your head in disbelief, if not cursing with frustration. In her feature article this month, DW Assistant Managing Editor Allison Evans explains the processes involved in coverage determinations for Medicare Part D patients. This enlightening story will help you better understand how two very incomplete, and often outdated, compendia impact the availability (or lack thereof) of medical therapies to your patients. Fortunately, the Academy is very aware of this issue and several of our esteemed colleagues have been working to help fix what appears to be a very broken system. My thanks to all who have put in their time and energy in this vital effort.
On perhaps a brighter Medicare note, we report on the Medicare reimbursement changes for 2020. Overall, the final Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2020 changed very little from the previous year, offering those of us in practice some momentary stability. However, there are changes coming in 2021, specifically restructuring of the evaluation and management (E/M) codes, and possibly other changes, which will impact our practices. While it is likely too early for specific action, it is a good time to familiarize yourself with the upcoming changes and to start making plans to ensure that your practice with be ready to implement them when they become real.
Our final feature offers tips on improving your compensation package (and who wouldn’t want that?)! While I suspect that this article will speak most to some of our younger members just starting out, I encourage all employed physicians to look through it to be sure you have not left a good option on the table. I have learned in life that you may not always get what you ask for, but it’s always worth asking! You may be surprised by what you can negotiate.
