News from the CAP Residents Forum

• Chair's Message: RF Residents Anticipate Fall Meeting, Recap Summer Highlights
• Capitol Briefings: GME Changes Subject of Recent Rules
• CAP Foundation: CAP Foundation News . . .
• Residents Forum Credentials Committee Needed
• Residents and Young Pathologists Schedule
• Promote Stanford Bookstore
• Promote YP Day 2000

Chair's Message:
RF Residents Anticipate Fall Meeting, Recap Summer Highlights

Raj C. Dash, MD Chair Residents Forum

The summer has passed and the 2000 CAP/ASCP Annual Meeting and Exhibits is rapidly approaching. Located in sunny San Diego, California, this upcoming meeting promises to be full of engaging activities for residents. This year the joint meeting has been greatly integrated and coordinated between the CAP and ASCP to prevent schedule conflicts and enhance the overall experience of attendees. All of the meeting information has been collated into a single catalog.

As always, even if you have never attended a Residents Forum (RF) meeting in the past, an invitation is open to come by Saturday morning to get involved and join in the fun. Immediately following our RF meeting, an exciting seminar is scheduled as part of our "Resident Weekend Seminar Series" featuring Drs. Becich, Balis, and Crowley as they enlighten and dazzle us with the latest and greatest in pathology informatics. I certainly look forward to seeing you all there!

Since the last CAP-RF meeting in Boston, some headway has been made on several issues of importance to residents. Of the four resident resolutions to come out of the last meeting, all are progressing in some fashion. One in particular is certain to be of interest to almost all residents and is worth noting here. The RF forwarded a resolution to the House of Delegates to ask the American Board of Pathology and ASCP to evaluate current examination data and survey results to assess the appropriateness of five years of AP/CP training and provide the results of these assessments to the pathology community. The House recommended that this resolution be forwarded to the Council on Practice and Education (COPE). COPE decided to take action and based on cumulative evidence acquired over the past year, recommended that the CAP adopt a position that four years of structured AP/CP residency is adequate to qualify individuals for certification. This recommendation is independent of subspecialty training (i.e., no "double-dipping" clause). While this most likely will not have a direct impact on those of you currently in training, the consequences of this action will have a significant (hopefully positive) influence on students considering pathology as a profession. If you have a comment or suggestion please come to the meeting and voice your opinion - we need your input.

Another landmark event occurred this summer. For those of you unaware of the event, the College's SNOMED® International division officially announced the release of the latest version of its premier reference medical terminology, SNOMED® RT. There will no longer be books filled with codes for pathology residents to look up - hooray! Seriously, SNOMED RT is, in fact, so comprehensive that it can no longer be easily referenced in printed form and has been designed to electronically integrate with laboratory, anatomic pathology, and hospital information systems. Also, SNOMED RT has content covering all aspects of medicine, no longer concentrating only on the field of pathology. This squarely centers pathology and pathologists as the information managers for the entire medical record! Find out what you need to know to bring SNOMED RT to your current or future practice at the San Diego meeting.

SNOMED is just one example of how rapidly the field of pathology is changing. Keeping pace with the latest developments, policies, and technologies is crucial for residents and practitioners alike. The College and Residents Forum strive to provide the necessary tools for success in today's health care environment. The CAP/ASCP meeting is one of the best ways to access these tools.

I hope to see you all in San Diego.

 Capitol Briefings:
GME Changes Subject of Recent Rules

Changes to Medicare graduate medical education payments mandated by last year's Balanced Budget Refinement Act (BBRA) have been put into regulatory language with recent final and interim rules published by the Health Care Financing Administration.

An Aug. 1 final rule on Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system for 2001 contains a BBRA provision intended to reduce wide variations in direct GME payments to hospitals and ease cuts made by 1997 balanced budget legislation.

The BBRA required that HCFA compare a hospital's per-resident direct GME payment with a weighted, national average, adjusted for inflation and geographical cost differences. The Aug. 1 final rule sets that national average at $68,464. If the hospital-specific amount is less than 70 percent of the national average, the hospital receives an increase to 70 percent of the average. If the hospital amount is more than 140 percent of the national average, inflation updates are eliminated or reduced to gradually ratchet down payments. If the hospital-specific amount falls within 70 percent and 140 percent of the national average, no change is made.

Also on Aug. 1, HCFA published an interim final rule for BBRA provisions that adjust hospital resident caps set by the 1997 budget law. Among other changes, the Aug. 1 interim rule includes 30 percent increase in the full-time equivalent (FTE) cap for rural hospitals and an adjustment to the resident limits of urban hospitals that establish separately accredited training programs in rural areas, including integrated rural training tracks. The interim final rule also carries out a BBRA payment increase for hospitals that operate approved nursing and allied health education programs.

 CAP Foundation:
CAP Foundation News . . .

 
Residents Forum Credentials Committee Needed

The Residents Forum secretary will appoint a credentials committee for delegate registration and possible hand counts. If you are attending Residents Forum and interested in volunteering, please contact Jan Glas, manager, Resident Services, at jglas@cap.org or 800-323-4040 ext. 7499.

 Residents and Young Pathologists Schedule

Friday, October 13, 2000
9:00-10:15 pm
CAP Residents Reception

Saturday, October 14, 2000
8:00 am-2:45 pm
CAP Residents Forum Business Meeting
Noon-1:00 pm
CAP-RF-Sponsored Lunch
3:00-5:00 pm
CAP Educational Program:
SA04 Imaging and Information Technology:
A Resident's Primer-NEW
5:15-6:15 pm
ASCP/CAP Keynote Address-S. Beck Weathers, MD
6:16-8:15 pm
ASCP/CAP Opening Reception

Sunday, October 15, 2000-Young Pathologists Day
7:00-8:00 am
CAP Young Pathologists/Residents Forum Alumni Breakfast
1:30-5:00 pm
CAP Educational Program: SA13 Political Education-NEW
5:00-6:00 pm
CAP Young Pathologists Reception

 Promote Stanford Bookstore

Remember that the Stanford University Medical Bookstore provides all CAP members with a discount on medical texts as well as discounted academic prices on computer software. These discounts can also be extended to a member's clinician colleagues. If you wish to take advantage of this benefit, please contact Stanford through the CAP Web site at Stanford University Medical Bookstore Discounts for further details.

 Promote YP Day 2000

Young pathologists, plan to attend the Young Pathologists Day breakfast, seminar, and reception on Sunday! Click here to view schedule.