Contact: Richard Gulla
781-434-7101
rgulla@mms.org
President’s Report to House of Delegates Cites Multiple Efforts.
Waltham, Mass. -- MMS President James S. Gessner, M.D. delivered a cogent message to his physician colleagues in his President’s Report at the 2016 MMS Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates: advocacy is critical, and the voice of the physician must be heard.
Citing member surveys that consistently have rated advocacy as the principal responsibility of the MMS, Dr. Gessner told the 200 delegates in attendance that “Advocacy on behalf of physicians and patients is what creates the real value of our membership in organized medicine, and it’s becoming an even more critical function, as our health care system continues to under rapid and major changes, as new challenges in public health arise, and – most important – as our physician workforce is required to do more and more.”
To illustrate its importance, Dr. Gessner related MMS advocacy efforts over the last six months in several key areas, including those directed at the opioid epidemic, recreational marijuana, and payment reform.
Opioid Abuse
Noting that for nearly two years MMS has made the crisis of opioid abuse a priority, Dr. Gessner said that physicians – once blamed as part of the problem due to overprescribing – have now “turned the tide,” with physicians now being recognized as part of the solution.
“Government officials and the public now know,” he said, “that the physician’s challenge is to balance the risk of addiction versus ensuring adequate pain relief for their patients who truly need help. And we have demonstrated to government officials that physicians are willing and eager to respond to a public health crisis and to do whatever we can to help curb this epidemic.”
He detailed a number of MMS efforts to reduce opioid abuse, among them the development of prescribing guidelines, raising public and physician awareness through forums and public information campaigns, creating core competencies for medical school students, and working with state officials in improving the prescription monitoring program, MassPAT.
“We can take special pride,” Dr. Gessner emphasized, “in promoting prescriber education. More than 7,000 prescribers have taken nearly 21,000 of our continuing medical education courses in opioids and pain management since they were made free to all prescribers in May of 2015, and they remain in demand -- and free -- to this day.”
Dr. Gessner also highlighted MMS efforts on the federal level in pushing for “partial-fill” legislation to reduce the amount of drugs available for diversion. MMS advocacy, with the help of the state’s Congressional delegation, resulted in proposals for “partial-fill” prescriptions being included as part of the national Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, overwhelmingly approved by Congress and signed into law by the president.
MMS efforts on substance abuse disorder will continue, Dr. Gessner was quick to point out, with a focus on medication-assisted treatment (the subject of an October summit at MMS) and an investigation into the feasibility of medically-supervised injection facilities.
In summarizing MMS efforts on opioid abuse, Dr. Gessner said, “It is not an exaggeration to say that the Massachusetts Medical Society has established itself as THE leading health care organization in the state addressing the opioid epidemic.”
Recreational Marijuana
In reviewing advocacy efforts in opposition to the ballot question on recreational marijuana, consistent with long-standing MMS policy, Dr. Gessner said MMS opposition was based on the public health and safety implications that such a law would create, including the threat to children and adolescents.
“We raised alarms about the lack of public health oversight, the absence of any revenue being dedicated to education, prevention, and treatment, and the dangers of marijuana edibles, particularly to children,” Dr. Gessner said.
While the referendum passed, he said MMS efforts on this issue will not end.
“MMS will continue its advocacy,” he stated, “to ensure that public health oversight is provided, that the need for education, prevention, and treatment still exists, and that steps will be taken to ensure the safety of children.”
Physician Payment
Dr. Gessner also discussed advocacy efforts on the important topic of physician payment. Such efforts occurred on both the federal level, with MACRA, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, and locally with Tufts Health Plan on “incident-to” billing, a proposal by the health plan that would have imposed an arbitrary reduction of 15 percent in payment for services rendered by a health care professional under a physician’s supervision.
He noted that MMS comments on MACRA were extensive – comprising 22 pages -- and that many of the suggestions were incorporate into the final product. MMS’s work with CMS Acting Administrator Andrew Slavitt – hosting a regional visit and conducting an exclusive interview with him that was share with medical professionals around the nation – also proved fruitful.
Advocacy on the “incident-to” billing, a reflection of the complexity of team-based, prevented a reduction in payment that would have under-compensated physicians for the level of care given and thus ignored reimbursement for supervision and consultation.
Dr. Gessner also cited MMS efforts in improving member communications and physician wellness. He noted the launch of MMS Connect, a new version of the web-based communications tool e-Communities, increased activity in social media outlets, and the recognition of physician wellness as a “critical issue facing our profession.”
In concluding his remarks, Dr. Gessner re-emphasized the significance of MMS advocacy efforts.
“The success of our advocacy is sometimes evident,” he said, “and our efforts sometime fall short. But with success or failure, the importance of advocacy is that the voice of the physician be heard, clearly and loudly, on behalf of our patients and our profession. That, in itself, is the value of organized medicine and of membership in our society.”
The complete text of the President’s Report may be read at www.massmed.org/presidentsreportIM16.
The Massachusetts Medical Society, with more than 25,000 physicians and student members, is dedicated to educating and advocating for the patients and physicians of Massachusetts. The Society, under the auspices of NEJM Group, publishes the New England Journal of Medicine, a leading global medical journal and web site, and Journal Watch alerts and newsletters covering 13 specialties. The Society is also a leader in continuing medical education providing accredited and certified activities across the globe for physicians and other health care professionals. Founded in 1781, MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country. For more information please visit www.massmed.org, www.nejm.org, or www.jwatch.org.
###
