CMS has said it wants physician feedback concerning Medicare Part D, and the AAFP has made it easy for the agency to get it.
Send CMS Your Comments
Medicare Part D Resources Can Aid Physicians
By News Staff
8/25/2006
The Medicare Part D section of the Academy Web site has a new page, "Tell CMS About Problems with Part D," that links users to a comment form that can be sent directly to CMS' Physician Regulatory Issues Team, or PRIT. Please note, a name and e-mail address are required.
According to CMS, PRIT is a "group of CMS subject matter experts" assembled to help guide physicians through the Part D regulatory process.
As a helpful first step, PRIT staff members recommend that physicians download free Epocrates formulary software to their personal digital assistants or use an Epocrates program on their office computers to help when selecting drugs covered by particular plans.
Also worth noting is that searchable lists of past and active PRIT topics are available in the left-hand column of the PRIT Web page. Check here first to see if a given topic has already been discussed.
Contact PRIT directly by e-mail or by phone at (202) 236-3338.
The link to this new resource joins links to several other Part D tools the Academy has bundled together to help physicians maximize the efficiency of their Part D encounters. Also available are links to
According to CMS, PRIT is a "group of CMS subject matter experts" assembled to help guide physicians through the Part D regulatory process.
As a helpful first step, PRIT staff members recommend that physicians download free Epocrates formulary software to their personal digital assistants or use an Epocrates program on their office computers to help when selecting drugs covered by particular plans.
Also worth noting is that searchable lists of past and active PRIT topics are available in the left-hand column of the PRIT Web page. Check here first to see if a given topic has already been discussed.
Contact PRIT directly by e-mail or by phone at (202) 236-3338.
The link to this new resource joins links to several other Part D tools the Academy has bundled together to help physicians maximize the efficiency of their Part D encounters. Also available are links to
- an Exceptions Request Form, which physicians can download to request a drug coverage exception, including coverage for nonformulary drugs;
- the AMA Pharmacist-to-Physician fax form, which may be used by pharmacists to alert physicians of problems with prescriptions;
- the online Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Finder, which educates users about Part D coverage options and includes a search function to help users find the plan that best meets a patient's needs;
- the Formulary Finder tool from medicare.gov, which helps users find plans in their states that cover the prescription drugs their patients need.
A Frequently Asked Questions document and toolkit containing additional resources also are available on the AAFP Part D Web page.
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