The Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists
234 N. Third Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101
800-495-PANA (7262)
PANA Member Login
Resources for Clinicians
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Pediatric Dose Calculator
Plan your pediatric anesthestic by precalculating drug and fluid dosages
Use the calculator… -
Peer Assistance
The first step in getting help is to contact your state peer advisor
More information… -
Healthcare Reform
An impressive page of links and articles to inform and stimulate discussion
More… -
Test Your Knowledge of ACLS!
http://www.acls.net…
Resources for Patients
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The PANA Encourages Safety First!
Statewide Public Service Announcement to encourage use of seatbelts, helmets, and to avoid drinking and driving. More information available through these links -
Preparing A Child For Surgery:
Nurse anesthestists Give Advice On Reducing Fear Of The Unknown -
My Elderly Parent Must Undergo Surgery, Now What?
Are you prepared to surrender your geriatric parent to surgical care? -
Surgery on the go!
Children off to school by seven... call garage at nine to schedule oil change... surgery at ten... The State of Ambulatory Surgery Today -
PANA and PSA Release Joint Statement on Propofol Administration
To insure patient safety, Propofol should be administered only by persons trained in the administration of general anesthesia and not involved in the conduct of the surgical/diagnostic procedure
The Business Page
Everything we can find relating to the business of nurse anesthesia
Important Billing Announcements
- Mar 1, 2011
- Highmark Medicare Services announces new website for providers
"In response to your feedback, we are pleased to announce a simpler, streamlined design to the three most frequently used pages of the Highmark Medicare Services Web site, scheduled for release on March 1, 2011. The new home page and Part A and Part B Provider Centers have been designed as simple, clean paths to the most popular topics on the Web site." The new home page and Part A and Part B Provider Centers - Nov 23, 2010
- Anticompetitive Proposed Rule Tabled by Alabama State Medical Board After FTC Weighs In
Read the AANA's report on this issue for CRNA pain management services - Feb 2, 2011
- AANA President Paul Santoro weighs in with a letter to the FTC and their positive response to the above issue
Read his letter - Oct 8, 2009
- Highmark Medicare Services have uploaded a link that provide a reasonable interpretation of the existing CMS regulations regarding anesthesiology services performed concurrently with medical direction.
Click to view this information on the Highmark Medicare Site. - Jun 29, 2009
- Wellmark BC/BS of Iowa Stops payment for anesthesia services for endoscopies
In this letter to Jackie Rowles AANA President, Paul Karazija MD, Chief Medical Officer, explains their reasoning.
Information from the Center for Medicare Services
- Get Highmark Medicare Alerts in a Timely Fashion
- Anesthesia Conversion Factors for 2011
- Advanced Practice Nurse PowerPoint Presentation – This PowerPoint Presentation describes the roles and reimbursement rules that apply for CRNAs who bill for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries.
See more information on the Medicare Learning Network (MLN) - Medicare Part B Reference Manual - This manual contains all the information you will need in your day-to-day interaction with Highmark Medicare Services and the Medicare Part B Program.
- Physician Quality Reporting Initiative - The 2006 Tax Relief and Health Care Act (TRHCA) (P .L. 109-432) required the establishment of a physician quality reporting system, including an incentive payment for eligible professionals (EPs) who satisfactorily report data on quality measures for covered services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries during the second half of 2007 (the 2007 reporting period). CMS named this program the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI).
- Sign up for Highmark/Medicare email alerts - Mailing lists have been setup to allow Highmark Medicare Services to send emails to everyone who joins them. The messages may be about things we want to tell you in a hurry, system outages, or general updates. General Education list subscribers will receive an email every time we update our web site. This allows us a way to notify you of important changes in the Medicare program.
- Download the "Medicare Clarification of the Interpretive Guidelines for the Anesthesia Services Condition of Participation" In other words what you have to do to be reimbursed or MAC cases!
- Business/Medicare Provider Enrollment Form.pdf Sign up by using this form and submitting to Medicare Services
National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES)
The Administrative Simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) mandated the adoption of a standard unique identifier for health care providers. The National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) collects identifying information on health care providers and assigns each a unique National Provider Identifier (NPI).
Power Point Presentations from PANA Symposia
- The Most Influential Trends in Healthcare Affecting the Practice of Nurse Anesthesia—A Perspective
Mary A. Golinski CRNA, PhD.
PDF file - The Business of Anesthesia
Larry Hornsby, CRNA
PDF file - Medical Malpractice and the CRNA – Focus on Patient Safety
Louise E. Hershkowitz, CRNA, MSHA.
PDF file - Professional Liability Insurance Issues for CRNAs
Louise E. Hershkowitz, CRNA, MSHA.
PDF file - Understanding Anesthesia Billing in the Hospital Setting
Fred Ackler, CRNA, MS.
PDF file