TOA Update: February 1, 2008

Table of Contents

• 2008 TOA Convention: Go TIME IS RUNNING OUT
• Dave Perrigin, OD, FAAO to Receive Pittman Award at TOA Convention
• TOA Members: IMPORTANT ACTION REQUIRED: First Quarter Dues Requested
• UPDATE Your "Find An Optometrist" Area of TOA's Website
• Billing, Coding and More
• Find Your Legislator: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

2008 TOA Convention: TIME IS RUNNING OUT

Go On-Line to Register

"The Heartbeat of Optometry"

The 2008 TOA Convention will be held in Austin February 14-17. "The Heartbeat of Optometry" is scheduled with complete dual-track education, top-name speakers, Behind Closed Doors program with a $200 rebate to participants and special events such as the President's luncheon, awards banquet and the band, featuring optometry's own Roland Montemayor, OD.

The 2008 Convention is being dedicated to the late Robert E. Day, Sr. who passed away last month. Dr. Day was a former president of both TOA and AOA.

For the latest CE schedule and Paraoptometric information, or to register, go to TOA's new website http://texas.aoa.org

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Dave Perrigin, OD, FAAO to Receive Pittman Award at TOA Convention

The prestigious William D. Pittman Award will this year honor an outstanding doctor and educator who has seen the classes of optometry students from the University of Houston College of Optometry go on to bigger and better things, and still keeps tabs on his protégées.

David Perrigin, OD, FAAO, associate professor at UHCO, served two years as a military optometrist after graduating from UHCO in 1969, and obtained the rank of Captian. He returned the UHCO in 1972 and joined the faculty.

One of his avocations is raising money for the college through 'optometry class' competitions. So far, his results have netted the college more than a half a million dollars.

Dr. Perrigin and his wife optometrist Judy Perrigin, a former Educator of the Year recipient, have two children.

The award will be presented at the TOA Awards Banquet, Saturday, February 16th during the TOA Convention in Austin.

The Pittman award was established in 1995 for longtime TOA leader Bill Pittman, OD who passed away in 1992. It is given to a member optometrist who has rendered outstanding service and long term dedication to the citizens of Texas and the profession of optometry.

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TOA Members: IMPORTANT ACTION REQUIRED

First Quarter Dues Requested

TOA's delegate count or voting strenth at AOA's Optometry's Meeting in June, is determined by the number of members who have sent in at least the first quarter of their dues.

Since AOA has gone to a calendar year budget, the deadline for sending dues for the first quarter is April 30. Last year, TOA lost delegates because we didn't have enough of our members send a quarter of their dues before that date.

We are asking our members to please submit at least a quarter of your yearly dues by April 1, so we can meet this year's deadline and increase our delegate count. This is important so we make sure Texas has a voice in matters that effect the profession.

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UPDATE Your "Find An Optometrist" Area of TOA's NEW Website

Make sure patients and other doctors can find you

The Doctor Locator or "Find An Optometrist" feature in the top right hand of the banner on TOA's website, http://texas.aoa.org is an invaluable tool for both patients and doctor referrals.

To access the members-only feature, TOA members will need to use their AOA ID number and birthday. Once inside the site, members can go into the "Find An Optometrist" section and select the "Doctor Locator Member Update" to insure the correct, up-to-date location information.

If you don't know your AOA member ID number, you can contact AOA at 800-365-2219, TOA at 512-707-2020 or email TOAsarah@austin.rr.com.

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Billing, Coding and More

From AOA:

AOA has been getting numerous phone calls about NPI and NPI registration. There have been countless communications from AOA on this subject, yet we OD's are a needy breed. AOA and TOA are happy to help our members, but do not have the manpower or resources to take care of all the providers.

The AOA web site is full of information on this topic to assist the OD member. If an OD has questions on the newly required NPI, go to AOA.org first.

Meanwhile, the following are some suggestions:

You need to make sure your NPI assignments are correct and that yourMedicare legacy identifier is in your NPPES record (you need to look in NPPES, not in the NPI Registry, for this information);

You need to verify that your claims were submitted properly (some providers don't know the difference between the Billing and the Rendering Providers);

You also need to know the reason why your claims are being rejected. You may need to contact the claims processor to discuss why your claims were rejected. AOA needs the name of the contractor and contractor staff person with whom the provider spoke--or at least the name of the department in which that person works.

Providers need to know how they are enrolled in Medicare, and if that enrollment accurately reflects the way they do business (e.g., sole proprietorship vs. corporations).

In sum, no later than May 24, 2008, all covered entities are expected to be using the NPI in a compliant manner, and all contingency plans should be lifted.

NPPES and the NPI Enumerator: Misconceptions & Facts

In conversations and correspondence with health care providers, health plans, and others within the health care industry, it is very clear that there are misconceptions concerning the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) and the NPI Enumerator. Below we have listed some common misconceptions and the facts that correct those misconceptions.

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Find Your Legislator:

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

If you do not know who your legislators are, here is an easy way to find out by adding your address or county.

Please support your profession by voting in the Texas primary March 4 (early voting begins February 19) and the general election in November.

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Sincerely,