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Celebrating Over 80 Years Of Service!

The American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy (AAOA) represents over 2,700 Board-certified otolaryngologists and health care providers. Otolaryngology, frequently referred to as Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT), uniquely combines medical and surgical expertise to care for patients with a variety of conditions affecting the ears, nose, and throat, as well as commonly related conditions. AAOA members devote part of their practice to the diagnosis and treatment of allergic disease. The AAOA actively supports its membership through education, research, and advocacy in the care of allergic patients.

"Advance the comprehensive management of allergy and inflammatory disease in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery through training, education, and advocacy."

AAOA Member Benefits

  • Up to 60% discount for CME programs and free Annual Meeting. All AAOA’s CME programs meet ABOTOHNS Continuing Certification.
  • AAOA US ENT Affinity program, where AAOA members can gain savings on antigen, allergy supplies, and any of the other 5 service lines US ENT offers. For more email info@usentpartners.com.
  • Tools and resources to comply with US General Chapter 797 and practice management tools.
  • Advocacy support.
  • And much more! Learn More

ADVOCACY UPDATES

United Healthcare Home Immunotherapy Policy Change

United Healthcare has recently announced a policy change. Effective January 1, 2023, UHC will no longer…

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Medicare 2022 Conversion Factor Update

Thanks to lobbying efforts from the House of Medicine, Congress took action this month. The…

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CY 2022 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule Summary

On July 13, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Medicare Physician…

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Upcoming Dates

04/01/24: Fellow Exam Application Deadline
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06/01/24: Research Grant Cycle
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06/25/24: Membership Application Deadline to be eligible for AAOA Member rate for the 2024 Basic Course

08/02/24: Scientific Abstract Submission Deadline
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12/01/24: Research Grant Cycle
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EDUCATION

AAOA Advanced Course

The recorded course content is available until April 30, 2024. This year’s Advanced Course featured Laryngology and Skull Base Surgery with Nausheen Jamal, MD and Garret Choby, MD as featured faculty.

RESIDENTS

For information about Resident membership, opportunities, DosedDaily, research grants, and other resources. Learn More

IFAR

Available Now

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IFAR Impact Factor: 2.454

IFAR Featured Content: COVID-19 - Free Access
Endonasal instrumentation and aerosolization risk in the era of COVID‐19: simulation, literature review, and proposed mitigation strategies . Read More

Changes in Managing Practices

Working together with AAOA staff, volunteer leadership and members will enable us to have a positive impact on our members’ practices.

Read More

Live and Online CME

2024 AAOA Advanced Course in Allergy & Immunology - Hybrid
On-Demand Content Access Deadline:
April 30, 2024
Learn More and Register

2024 AAOA Basic Course in Allergy & Immunology - Hybrid
July 25-27, 2024
The Diplomat, Hollywood, Florida
Learn More and Register

2024 AAOA Annual Meeting - Hybrid
November 8-10, 2024
Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas
Learn More 

USP 797 Online Module
Learn More and Register

AAOA Educational Stacks
Next Availability - April 1, 2024

News and Updates

CEO Update, Fall 2023 -Winter 2024

“But time, keeps flowing like a river….on and on to the sea”  Alan Parsons Project…

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Keith Sale, MD, AAOA President-Elect, Testifies Before the Senate Subcommittee Hearing

Keith Sale, MD, AAOA President-Elect, recently testified before the Senate Subcommittee hearing, Avoiding a Cautionary Tale: Policy…

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College Allergy Symptoms Treatment Back to Shcool

PRACTICE RESOURCES

AAOA Practice Resource Tool Kit

The American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy (AAOA) Practice Resource Tool Kit is intended as a guide to help AAOA members integrate allergy into their otolaryngology practice and to continually improve on this integration as new information, regulations, and resources become available.

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PARTNER RESOURCE CENTER

AAOA has launched a Partner Resource Center to bring you partner resources that can assist your practice and patient care.

Visit the New Center>

PATIENT CORNER

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Practice Resources

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Documentation Requirements for Medicare 2015

Several Medicare contractors have initiated prepayment audits of billings for immunotherapy billings and documentation has been requested to support the medial necessity of the claims. Under Medicare law, only items or services determined to be medically necessary are considered covered.  Since there is not sufficient information on the claims form itself to support medical necessity, Medicare contractors have the authority to periodically request documentation from a physician to support the claims submitted.

These reviews might be conducted because of specific concern with the utilization of services for a specific provider or might be conducted because it is a high volume code in which case all physicians billing that code might be targeted.

Based on feedback we have received from some AAOA members who have experienced these reviews, we wanted to alert you to two specific problem areas that have been found. The first relates the documentation in the medical record supporting medical necessity of the services provided and the second relates to deficiencies in the legibility of clinical notes and other supporting documentation.

Medical Necessity:  Medical necessity requires that services be reasonable, necessary and/or appropriate based on evidence-based clinical standards of care. According to CMS “to meet medical necessity the service/procedure should be medically necessary and must be performed in the correct setting….To prove medical necessity, accurate and detailed information must be provided to: 1) support the diagnosis; 2) justify the treatment/procedures; 3) document the course of care; 4) identify treatment/diagnostic test results; and 5) continuity of care among healthcare providers.”

The documentation in your medical record should be sufficient to address these points particularly for patients who are on long term immunotherapy.  Some allergists have experienced denials because their progress notes did not support the medical necessity for the treatment provided.  Please keep in mind that the individuals conducted the reviews for the contractor may not be individuals with deep knowledge of allergy immunotherapy.

Thus, documentation which might seem adequate to a busy practicing allergist is not supportive of medical necessity in the eyes of a reviewer.  We urge you to review your medical documentation and assure yourself that, if audited, the medical record and progress notes supports the medical necessity for the treatments provided.

Legibility: This might seem basic but another area you must consider if you wish to prevent claim denials in the case of an audit is legibility. Obviously this can be a particular problem with physicians who are still using paper records as opposed to EHR. Notes in the medical record which are too cryptic to be understood or are virtually illegible will not be considered adequate documentation. In addition, CMS requires that “medical records should be complete and legible and medical records should include legible identity of the provider and date of service.”

CMS has indicated that while a missing signature from documentation can be validated by looking to a signature log or attestation statement to determine the identity of the author, if a signature is missing from an order, a reviewer may treat the order as though it was never written. Personnel who compound allergen extracts as CSPs, must be aware of greater potential risk of microbial and foreign material contamination when allergen extracts are compounded in compliance with the foregoing criteria instead of the more rigorous standards in the USP chapter for CSP microbial contamination risk levels. Although contaminated allergen extracts as CSPs can pose health risks to patients when they are injected intradermally or subcutaneously, these risks are substantially greater if the extract is inadvertently injected intravenously.”

References

1. Lay PC, Bass R, Lin SY. Allergen vial mixing and immunotherapy:  risks of infection and vial contamination.  Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2007 Aug;137(2):243-5

2. Lin SY, Lay PC, Hughes LF, Bass R. The safety of multi-dose vials in allergy immunotherapy.  Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008 Aug;139(2):195-7

3. Lay PC, Bass R, Hughes LF, Lin SY. Risks of allergy vial contamination: Comparison of mixing in-office versus under ventilation hood. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008 Sep;139(3):364-6.

4. Gilbert KC, Sundareshan V, Bass RM, Lin SY.  Antibacterial Properties of Additives Used in Injection Immunotherapy. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol.  2011 Dec 7. doi: 10.1002/alr.20105. [Epub ahead of print].

President Mims Message

April 2017

Working together with AAOA staff, volunteer leadership and members will enable us to have a positive impact on our members’ practices. Read More

News

New Articles from IFAR

Medical therapy for Chronic Rhino-sinusitis

The indications for surgical management of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) are poorly defined..
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Safety of long-term Intranasal Budesonide

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of long-term topical budesonide treatment via the mucosal atomization device (MAD) on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) and intraocular pressure (IOP).. Read More

New Blog Posts

Posts from AAOA Leaders

Allergies, not just for summer anymore. Read More

How to treat allergies at home.
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