MMS NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Soliris comes with high risk of meningococcal disease despite vaccination, CDC warns
Patients receiving eculizumab (Soliris®) are at high risk for meningococcal disease despite vaccination, a report in MMWR suggests. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health advises that health care providers:
- Could
consider antimicrobial prophylaxis for the duration of eculizumab
therapy to potentially reduce the risk of meningococcal disease
- Should continue immunizing patients with meningococcal vaccines who receive eculizumab
- Should
maintain a high index of suspicion for meningococcal disease in
patients taking eculizumab who present with any symptoms consistent with
either meningitis or meningococcemia, even if the patient’s symptoms
initially appear mild, and irrespective of the patient’s meningococcal
vaccine or antimicrobial prophylaxis status
Eculizumab is
associated with a 1000 to 2000-fold increased incidence of
meningococcal disease. Sixteen cases of meningococcal disease in
eculizumab recipients were identified in the U.S. 2008–2016. The CDC has issued a health advisory, and information for clinicians and patients.
New midlevel provider requirements for MassHealth reimbursements
From
August 1, 2017, MassHealth requires the following providers to enroll
in MassHealth to receive payment for services: Physician Assistants,
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, Clinical Nurse
Specialties, and Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialists. Nurse
Practitioners are already required to fully enroll if they practice as
independent certified nurse practitioners or as part of a group
practice. Points to note:
- These providers will no longer be able to bill for services under the supervising physicians’ NPI.
- If
these providers are in your practice but do not provide services to
MassHealth members, they are required to enroll as nonbilling providers.
- Practices without a physician member cannot bill for PA services.
- PAs
and NPs wishing to become a PCP within a PCC group practice must fully
enroll with MassHealth; contact Provider Support (below) for required
actions.
- Certain claim modifiers will be deactivated or changed.
For more information, and revised enrollment application and checklists, email providersupport@mahealth.net or call (1-800) 841 2900. Get more information on the ordering, referring, and prescribing requirements. Register for an upcoming training webinar.
Benefit Buzz: Bridging the legal gap with Board of Registration in Medicine (BORIM) issues
Professional
liability policies may not cover complaints that arise before the
BORIM. Even if those are covered by your policy, the relevant benefits
may be limited. Avoid financial caps during an investigation by
utilizing the Legal Advisory Plan (LAP), which fills the insurance gap.
The LAP is a members-only, affordable legal service
plan, designed to offer expert advice from plan attorneys on BORIM
matters. Enroll or renew for $70 a year* — a fraction of standard legal
fees. *Additional enrollment discounts for groups of five or more. Click here to learn more. Questions? Email lap@massmed.org, or call (781) 434-7311.
ACA expanded community health centers: Dimock president features in new MMS video
Community
health centers and their provision of care to underserved communities
expanded under the Affordable Care Act, says Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan,
President and CEO of the Dimock Center, in a new 1-minute video from the
MMS. Funding under the ACA enabled the Dimock Center in Roxbury, a
model for care delivery that integrates physical and behavioral health
and addiction recovery services, to grow ts adult medicine clinic and
rehabilitate its health services facilities. Please watch and share the
video on Facebook and Twitter.
Boston Medical Center grows first hospital rooftop farm in Massachusetts
Boston
Medical Center (BMC) has created the largest rooftop farm in the city
and a new source of fresh food for its patients. The formerly barren
roof of BMC’s power plant building now contains 7,000 square feet of
growing space, with flourishing crops of arugula,
bok choy, radishes, Swiss chard and kale, and two beehives painted by
BMC’s pediatric patients. The farm is expected to produce 15,000 pounds
of food this growing season. “The goal with our rooftop farm is to
provide fresh, local produce to as many of our patients, employees, and
community members as possible,” said David Maffeo, BMC’s senior director
of support services. “This initiative supports our mission to address
social determinants of health by improving access to healthy fruits and
vegetables, and it is a perfect example of BMC's dedication to
sustainability and green efforts.” The farm will also enable BMC to reduce its carbon footprint and manage rainwater. Becker’s Hospital Review has named BMC one of the 50 greenest hospitals in America. Read about the rooftop farm in Boston magazine.
What's up at the State House
MMS advocates to eliminate discrimination against gay men in blood donations
The Massachusetts Medical Society this week provided testimony
in strong support of eliminating discrimination in blood donations. The
relevant bill would require blood donation facilities not to
discriminate against prospective donors on the basis of sex, gender, or
sexual orientation, while allowing those facilities to require proof of a
negative HIV test prior to accepting donated blood. If passed, this
bill would help to alleviate the current shortage of donated blood in
Massachusetts. The MMS has a long history of advocating to remove
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and favors lifting
the FDA deferral of blood donation for men who have sex with men. Read more at the MMS blog.
Reminders! Your news, AMA advocacy, international grants, and more
Honors, accolades, appointments, publications? Share your news in Vital Signs
Vital Signs, the monthly print and online newsletter of the MMS, has two new columns—and we need you to fill them. Members on the Move lists your professional news, such as joining a new hospital, opening a practice, or a recent promotion. Honors and Accolades
is where we share your other achievements: board appointments, speaking
engagements, community outreach, or published works. We are currently
seeking submissions for the September issue of Vital Signs.
Please include your full name and title, medical school with graduation
year, residency institution, hospital affiliation, recent update, and a
high-resolution headshot. Send submissions to vitalsigns@mms.org by July 19, 2017 (for the September issue).
Join our AMA delegation: The MMS Committee on Nominations is seeking candidates
The
MMS Committee on Nominations is currently considering candidates for
nomination as AMA Delegate and Alternate Delegate to the Massachusetts
AMA Delegation. The deadline for submission of nomination applications
is Thursday, August 17, 4:00 p.m. Visit www.massmed.org/amanoms
to learn more about the qualifications and submit your application.
Interviews with the Committee on Nominations will be held at MMS
Headquarters, Waltham, on Thursday, September 14, 2017, 4:30 p.m.–7:30
p.m. Applicants should plan to be available on this date. Questions?
Please contact Linda Healy (800) 322-2303, ext. 7008 or lhealy@mms.org, or Karen Harrison at ext. 7463 or kharrison@mms.org.
MMS grants for international health studies: Apply this summer
Medical
students and resident physician members of the MMS are eligible to
apply for grants of up to $2,000 to defray the costs of studying abroad.
The
primary goal of these International Health Studies (IHS) grants,
provided by the Massachusetts Medical Society and Alliance Charitable
Foundation, is to encourage international education, particularly
focusing on under-served populations. Preference will be given to
projects providing health care-related work and/or training of staff,
and to applicants planning careers serving underprivileged populations.
Research projects that do not involve direct clinical care or teaching
will not be considered. Programs must last at least three weeks to
receive consideration. Applications are due by September 15, 2017; more information about the grants and application expectations.
Waiver training: Provide medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder
This free training is for MDs, NPs, and PAs seeking a waiver to prescribe buprenorphine
to treat opioid use disorder in their office. The curriculum includes
the science of addiction as a brain disorder, the pharmacology of
buprenorphine, and the regulatory requirements around prescribing this
medication. Attendees will learn to screen patients for treatment with
buprenorphine, and to manage the medication along with the patient's
other medical needs in an office setting such as a primary care clinic.
The training will be held in West Barnstable on July 28, 8:00 a.m.–4:30
p.m.; more info on content and accreditation, and registration.
Free personalized assistance from MMS for practice MACRA/MIPS strategies
Join us
for FREE personalized assistance in developing your strategy for MACRA
MIPS implementation in your practice. The program includes Mapping out MIPS: Keys to Success in 2017,
which outlines measure selection and reporting requirements. It is
designed for providers who are MIPS eligible and required to report for
2017 (check MIPS reporting requirements). Space is limited. Dinner is provided. The
session will be led by Yael Miller, MBA, Director of Practice Solutions
& Medical Economics at MMS, and Leila Volinsky, MHA, MSN, RN,
Program Administrator at Healthcentric Advisors. Healthcentric Advisors
is a CMS contracted organization and supports practices of all sizes in
preparing for MIPS implementation. They have been helping hundreds of
clinicians prepare for MACRA, and want to help you.
The session will be held July 27, 2017, 5:30-8:00 p.m., at MMS Headquarters, Waltham; register here.
Your registration should include at least one clinician and one
colleague/team member responsible for reporting. Questions? Please email
Justin Sacramone at jsacramone@healthcentricadvisors.org or Yael Miller at ymiller@mms.org.
Educational programs and events
Unless otherwise noted, all events are held at the MMS Headquarters, 860 Winter St., Waltham, MA. View our full calendar of upcoming live CME activities.
Norfolk County Safe Prescribing and Dispensing Conferences
Thursday, September 14, 2017, 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Randolph, MA
Open to all Norfolk County registered prescribers and pharmacists
The above activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
Featured new online CME activities – Risk Management credit
Comprehensive Cannabis Curriculum (Modules 1–5 now available)
The above activities have been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
See our full listing of risk management online CME activities.
This week in health care
Sign up for daily roundups of health news affecting Massachusetts.
Lahey Health, Beth Israel and others sign definitive deal for mega-merger
Lahey
Health and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have overcome a hurdle
that three times obstructed their attempt to merge: signing a definitive
agreement that would create the second-largest health system
in the state. The agreement was signed by Lahey, BIDMC, New England
Baptist Hospital, Mount Auburn Hospital and Anna Jacques Hospital, as
all five hospitals seek to create a new regional health system.
Hospital association calls Tufts strike 'harmful'
As union members and lawmakers joined striking nurses in Boston, a hospital trade group ripped the nurses' action at Tufts Medical Center, saying the nurses had put their interests over patients. Following the strike, 1,200 Tufts nurses were locked out of the hospital.The
Massachusetts Nurses Association represents 1,200 RNs at Tufts and says
the strike, the first in the state in more than 30 years, was needed to
draw attention to what they call the lack of respect for nurses and
patient safety at Tufts.
Central Mass. doctors group scooped up
Reliant Medical Group
is slated to become part of OptumHealth, a subsidiary of $185-billion
healthcare conglomerate UnitedHealth, also a for-profit company, giving
the Worcester-based physician group similar advantages. The sale of
Reliant, the region's largest independent physician group with roughly
500 providers, was approved by Reliant doctors in May and is subject to
regulatory review.
Marijuana billboard in South Boston called 'insensitive'
While waiting at a stoplight on East Broadway in South Boston last week, Sheila Greene looked up at a billboard
and was stunned. In white letters against a black background, a message
read: "States that legalized marijuana had 25% fewer opioid-related
deaths.''
Drug-pricing debate continues
Amid efforts at the state level to find a way to control health care costs, prescription drugs
have been singled out as one of, if not the, biggest drivers of growth
in spending for consumers and businesses. But whether increasing
transparency of drug pricing can serve as a catalyst for lower prices,
or if the market itself can be trusted to respond to public pressure
remains a point of contention.
Iranian researcher set to work at Children's Hospital sent back to his country
Iranian cancer researcher
Dr. Sayed Mohsen Dehnavi and his family were put on a flight back to
Iran Tuesday night, per U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Boston
Children's Hospital.
Mass. AG: Boston home health operators stole $3M from MassHealth
Two people have been arrested for allegedly defrauding MassHealth out of nearly $3 million, the state's attorney general announced. Boston
resident Elena Kurbatzky, 44, and Burlington's Natan Zalyapin, 43, were
arrested on Monday and indicted by a grand jury for Medicaid false
claims and larceny over $250 by false pretenses. Kurbatzky was
additionally charged with Medicaid member eligibility fraud.
Natick's Allurion bags $27M, floats 2018 trial of weight loss balloon
Allurion Technologies, a 35-employee Natick company that makes an ingestible balloon
designed to help people lose weight, has raised $27 million as it ramps
up for a U.S. trial of the device next year. Privately-held Allurion
said that the Series C round was led by Boston-based Romulus Capital.
Some of the money will be used to fund a year-long, 400-patient study of
the company's Elipse Balloon, a capsule attached to a thin tube that is
swallowed and then filled with liquid.
New wheelchairs make Hampton Beach more accessible
For
the first time on Hampton Beach, people who use wheelchairs will be
able to enjoy all that a beach day has to offer — including a dip in the
ocean. "Walking by and I saw this and I went, 'wow,'" said Wanda Wilson
of Troy, New Hampshire. It was a pleasant surprise for Wilson when she
saw the new beach-accessible wheelchairs.
Animal rights group raps UMass Medical School on rat testing
The
researcher failed to properly monitor paralyzed rats, did not properly
report rat deaths, performed electronic shock and surgery on rats
without approval and did not document giving rats pain medication,
records generated by UMass show. "The University of Massachusetts
Medical School needs to make a public statement of no tolerance for
failures to comply with federal regulations," Michael A. Budkie,
co-founder of Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!, wrote.
Prosecutor: Southie double-slay suspect knew luxe apartment's layout
Doctors Richard Field and Lina Bolanos died of "massive trauma"
the night of May 5, in separate areas inside their $2 million home atop
the Macallen Building in South Boston, according to John Pappas, chief
trial counsel for the Suffolk District Attorney's Office.
What is a rape kit? A close look at one of the most difficult tests you hope to never have to take (Masslive)
In
Massachusetts, a victim of a sexual assault can go to any emergency
room across the state and receive an identical sexual assault evidence
collection kit — more commonly known as a rape kit — administered by a nurse who has been trained in a publicly-run program.
New England now home to oldest population in America, Census data shows
The region is now home to the top three states in the nation with the oldest median populations. The
median age of residents in Maine is 44.6 years old, according to newly
released U.S. Census Bureau data, the highest median age in the nation.
Mother recounts ugly backlash after sharing Children's Hospital bill
Chandra said she quickly gave up trying to reason with "some of the haters."
"No
one was listening," she wrote. "No one seemed willing to stop shouting
long enough to realize that there was a real person on the other side of
the screen."
State delays Partners' deal to acquire Mass. Eye and Ear
The
state's health care watchdog, the Health Policy Commission, said it
wants to further study the acquisition. The commission is concerned the
deal might consolidate market power
so much that the hospital could inflate prices in negotiations with
insurers, and could change quality or access to the specialty hospital.
