MMS NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Find out which initiatives won funding from the MMS & Alliance Charitable Foundation
Twenty
grants totalling more than $203,000 were awarded to organizations
around the state to support a variety of health care initiatives. The
funds will go toward treatment for substance abuse; care for homeless,
uninsured, and underinsured individuals and families; and programs that
address hunger and oral health care. The awards for 2017 bring the total
amount of grants to more than $3.7 million since the MMS & Alliance
Charitable Foundation was established in 2000. Learn about the grant recipients.
Get updated on concussion best practices at our live CME webinar
Concussion
research and treatment guidelines have evolved rapidly. This live
webinar will cover concussions and head injuries, recurrent concussions,
and post-concussion syndrome. It will help you identify symptoms and
best practices for treating and moving past a concussion or traumatic
brain injury. The seminar will be presented by William Meehan, M.D.,
Director of the Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention and Director
of Research for the Brain Injury Center at Boston Children’s Hospital.
The webinar will be held May 10, 2017 (noon); information and registration.
Renew your MMS membership: Now, more than ever, it counts
Please renew today.
From Washington D.C. and the preservation of the Affordable Care Act to
Beacon Hill and proposed legislation that would streamline medical
decision making, the MMS ensures that your perspective and expertise is
reflected in legislative and regulatory policy affecting Massachusetts
physicians. Your voice and support and vital to our ability to advocate
for the concerns of physicians and their patients.
Check out this new lead screening tool for preventing childhood poisoning
The
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program from the Massachusetts
Department of Health has developed a new web-based educational tool. The
Lead Screening Community Progress Report provides
clinicians with information on resources, screening rates, incidence
rates, and the proportion of old housing for every community in
Massachusetts. The data are updated annually. Explore the tool.
Residents & fellows completing training in June 2017: Access your free MMS membership
- The MMS offers free membership for your first year in practice. Maintain benefits like your New England Journal of Medicine subscription whether or not you’re staying in MA. For more information, contact mmsprocessing@mms.org or 800-322-2303 ext. 7495.
- Supplementing
training with a fellowship? Your new program coordinator can submit a
2017–18 roster to provide membership for you and your program
colleagues. Watch your email inbox for details. For more information, contact groups@mms.org or 800-322-2303 ext. 7748.
Have PIAM review your insurance protection
Physicians
Insurance Agency of Massachusetts (PIAM), the insurance agency of the
Massachusetts Medical Society, is a great resource for quality,
cost-effective insurance solutions, especially in the area of medical
malpractice. PIAM brings insight and solutions to cases like these:
- An
allergy practice had not covered certain practice owners following an
ownership change—a gap in their property and liability insurance that we
discovered and corrected before a claim arose.
- A specialty practice was being rated for interventional procedures—in error. After we intervened, they saved $80,000.
- Three
primary care practices carried professional liability insurance through
a hospital self-insured program, but discovered there was no coverage
for their corporations. We covered each practice while also saving them
an average of 20 percent a year.
While
we cannot always promise dramatic savings, we assure you that a
careful, knowledgeable review will be performed. If in our opinion, your
protection is where it should be, we’ll let you know. If it isn’t,
we’ll provide recommendations. PIAM
brings a unique understanding of physicians’ insurance issues,
comprehensive protection for all the healthcare professionals in your
practice, and a choice of insurance companies and products. Connect with
an insurance agent at 781-434-7525 or piam@mms.org.
Collaborate with physicians and film-makers on diversity in medicine
Changing the Face of Medicine, an exploration of diversity, will include the Boston premier of the Oscar-qualified Black Women in Medicine, a short documentary that “packs in enough smarts, context and emotional clarity for a far longer film” (Los Angeles Times). The event includes a presentation
by Crystal Emery, the film’s director, and workshops designed by Emery
to promote collaboration between physicians of all races and systemic
changes supporting diversity in medicine. The event is free, catered,
and open to physicians, medical students, aspiring physicians, and the
general public. It is being held at Wellesley College on May 6, 2017; information and registration. Here’s that review from the Los Angeles Times: “Inspiring doc ‘Black Women in Medicine’ profiles glass-ceiling-busting physicians.”
Get trained for the Registration of Provider Organization Program
Select
provider organizations are required to file with both the HPC and CHIA
in an effort to improve transparency relating to care and track changes
in the health care market. The Massachusetts Registration of Provider
Organizations (MA-RPO) Program makes this double-registration a one-step
process. This year’s training, provided by the HPC, includes
financial and APM filings. Sessions will be held at MMS Headquarters,
Waltham (May 16, 2017; Commonwealth Room, 10am ); the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, Burlington (May 4, 2017); and Baycare Health Partners, Springfield (May 9, 2017). To register, click on your preferred date. The deadline for filing is July 31, 2017; information.
Build leadership, effectiveness, and conflict management skills
This
interactive, experiential two-day program is for residents and
physicians in clinical practice, administration, and leadership. Managing Workplace Conflict: Improving Leadership and Personal Effectiveness
is designed to help you establish relationships, teams, and work
environments in which you and your colleagues can deliver your best
care. You will learn to communicate more effectively, apply negotiation
and conflict resolution skills with peers and leaders, implement
appropriate changes in personal and organizational practices, exhibit
appropriate boundaries, and more. The program provides 17 hours of
category 1 risk management CME and is co-sponsored by Physician Health
Services and the Massachusetts Medical Society. It will be held on June
8-9, 2017 at MMS Headquarters, Waltham: information and registration.
Breaking News from Annual Meeting 2017
MMS President cites advocacy and dedication of membership in the Society's success
In his report to the House of
Delegates at the MMS 2017 Annual Meeting, outgoing President James S.
Gessner, M.D. cited the dedication of members and the importance of
advocacy as the primary reasons for the Society’s progress on key
issues, including the opioid epidemic, marijuana legalization, gun
violence, end of life care, the Affordable Care Act, and physician
wellness. Read the
President’s Report. For more Annual Meeting news, see our
Vital Signs This Week special edition, Monday, May 1.
Henry L. Dorkin, M.D. becomes 2017–2018 MMS President
Members of the House of
Delegates elected new leadership for the upcoming year at the Annual
Meeting this week, with Henry L. Dorkin, M.D., succeeding James S.
Gessner, M.D. as President. Alain M. Chaoui, M.D. was elected
President-Elect, and Marianne C. Bombaugh, M.D., was voted Vice
President. Read about the
full slate of officers. For more Annual Meeting news, see our Vital Signs This Week special edition, Monday, May 1.
The Annual Education Program targets opioid epidemic
Four leading experts in addiction medicine and research presented today in
The Winding Road of Addition: Hope on the Horizon at
the MMS Annual Meeting. Marcus Heilig, M.D., Ph.D., focused on the
brain science of addiction; Gabor Mate, M.D., looked beyond the disease
model to the role of trauma and stress in addiction; Thomas McLellan,
Ph.D., explored evidence-based approaches to prevention and treatment;
and Mishka Terplan, M.D., examined how stigma and discrimination
undermine substance abuse treatment in pregnancy. Check upcoming
editions of
Vital Signs This Week for updates on when those lectures will become available online.
Educational Programs and Events
Unless otherwise noted, all events are held at MMS headquarters, 860 Winter St., Waltham, MA. View our full calendar of upcoming live CME activities.
Engaging Physicians and Care Teams to Prevent Diabetes via Live Webinar
Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
Discussions on Concussions: Clinical Headlines Via Live Webinar
Wednesday, May 10, 2017, 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
Directors of Medical Education Conference – Advancing Collaboration and Compliance
Thursday, May 18, 2017, 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
15th Annual Symposium on Men’s Health – The Many Facets of Men’s Health: Clinical Conversations Impacting Your Patients
Thursday, June 15, 2017, 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
The above activities have been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
Check out our additional
online CME activities.
This Week in Health Care
Brigham and Women’s offers buyouts to 1,600 workers
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, one of Boston’s largest employers, is offering voluntary buyouts
to 1,600 staff to rein in costs, a sign of financial stress in one of
the region’s bedrock business sectors. The buyouts are a consequence of pressure on reimbursements while costs continue to rise, according to hospital executives.
Partners, Brigham and Women’s to pay $10m in research fraud case
Partners HealthCare System and one of its hospitals, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, have agreed to pay $10 million
to resolve allegations that a stem cell research lab fraudulently
obtained federal grant funding, said the US attorney’s office in Boston.
Reliant set to vote on acquisition May 9
Reliant Medical Group's board of trustees will likely decide whether or not the physician network will partner with a Minnesota company when it meets May 9, a spokeswoman confirmed.
Seven Central Mass. hospitals beat state in readmissions rates
Seven of the 11 hospitals in Central Massachusetts had four-year readmissions rates lower than the state average, according to new data released Wednesday from the state Center for Health Information and Analysis.
State plans to shut child psychiatric unit at Westwood Lodge
During
a surprise inspection, the Massachusetts Department of Mental
Health found “a number of significant issues.” It closed the unit to new
admissions and notified the hospital that it plans to suspend the unit’s license.
More workers dying on the job in MA
70 Massachusetts workers died last year,
marking a 10-year high in the rate of workplace-related fatalities,
according to a report by the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational
Safety and Health. Sixty-two
of those workers were killed on the job, many in construction; the rest
were firefighters who died from occupational illnesses, such as lung
cancer and heart disease.
Feds give Massachusetts early $12 million to fight opioid abuse
Massachusetts has received an $11.7 million federal grant to fight opioid addiction
as the state continues to wrestle with the overdose epidemic. The grant
from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will
support treatment and recovery programs, including initiatives to help
pregnant women, inmates scheduled to be released, and overdose
prevention.
Bid to impose MassHealth controls fails in House
House Democrats rejected a proposal
designed to limit cost growth in MassHealth and place the state's
largest program under the oversight of a control board. The Republican
plan would also have required contributions from MassHealth participants.
Partners turns to Indian firm to develop medical record software
Partners
HealthCare has plans to develop an add-on to its electronic medical
record system, partnering with India-based Persistent Systems to develop
software that will help its doctors. The software will draw data from
the electronic medical record, allowing physicians to search for similar patients to see how they were effectively treated.
Weed bill expected by July, while stakeholders thrash out tax policy
A Beacon Hill committee tasked with coming up with a plan to implement legal pot use in Massachusetts is hoping to have a finished bill
by July 1. Arguments over the marijuana tax are continuing. Two Hampden
County sheriffs urged lawmakers to raise the tax and use it to fund substance abuse treatment, while a key state senator argued for a low initial tax as a deterrent to black market activity.
‘In science we trust’: Rainy Boston rally draws thousands
Organizers and attendees at Boston’s March for Science celebrated the role of scientific inquiry
in American life. Many touted signs that listed advances the world
would lack without it; antibiotics, the eradication of polio and
smallpox, dentistry, and beer among them. Leaders of Boston’s medical powerhouses publicly endorsed the demonstration.
MGH aims to help trafficking victims by spotting signs
Victims
of human trafficking often move through the medical system with broken
bones, infections, and neglected ailments, treated by doctors who are
blind to the horrors behind these recurrent health troubles. But
physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital are trying to change that.
MA ranked 2nd best state for children’s healthcare
WalletHub’s analysts compared
the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three key dimensions:
1) Kids’ health and access to healthcare, 2) kids’ nutrition, physical
activity and obesity and 3) kids’ oral health. Vermont came out top,
followed by Massachusetts.
