MMS NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
2017 Interim Meeting
The MMS 2017 Interim Meeting is taking place today and tomorrow. For Interim Meeting news, expect a Vital Signs This Week special edition early next week.
New MMS membership benefit this month: NEJM Journal Watch Online
In
support of physicians’ passion for lifelong learning and need to stay
abreast of advances in medical knowledge, the MMS is pleased to announce
that your membership now includes a complimentary subscription to NEJM Journal Watch Online. This
membership benefit provides you with immediate access to medical news,
drug information, public health alerts, and clinically-relevant
summaries, with expert commentary covering 12 specialties and 19 topic
areas. MMS members should be on the lookout for a confirmation e-mail in mid-December from jwatch@mms.org with the subject line, “Welcome to NEJM Journal Watch Online.”
Take notice! New MassHealth plans coming in March 2018
MassHealth
representatives will be addressing these changes at the MMS Town Hall
Forum at our Interim Meeting TODAY 6:00–6:30 p.m. Webinars are planned
for December; see link below.
From
March 1, 2018, MassHealth will offer an expanded selection of health
plan options to managed care-eligible members. These new options are
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). MassHealth will also continue to
offer Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and the Primary Care Clinician
(PCC) Plan as managed care options.
- Most
MassHealth managed care members will be assigned to a health plan so
that they can continue to receive care from their PCP. Patients are
encouraged to review their health plan to ensure their specialists and
hospitals are covered. All members will have the opportunity to choose a
different plan; after being notified, they need to take action before
May 31.
- The
Eligibility Verification System (EVS) on the Provider Online Service
Center (POSC) will be updated with messages that indicate which type of
health plan a member is enrolled in and whom to contact for billing
information;
For more information,
see the MassHealth PCDI Bulletin for all providers and fact sheets for
PCPs, specialists, behavioral health providers, and acute care
hospitals.
MDPH and CDC alert: Flu may peak early this season
The
MDPH is seeing an increase in influenza and influenza-like illness in
Massachusetts. The CDC also reports that several flu activity indicators
are higher than is typical for this time of year. Although it is too
early to predict, this may be a flu season with an early peak. Please
remember to:
- Vaccinate your patients and yourselves to protect against influenza; it is not too late; a flu shot is the best prevention;
- Remind your staff and patients that getting vaccinated protects those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness;
- Treat
patients promptly and presumptively with antivirals, especially
patients who are at increased risk of severe illness from influenza;
- Wash your hands often, and thoroughly, and encourage hand hygiene and cough etiquette in patients and staff.
For more information, see MDPH’s guidance for providers and public health professionals.
Older Driver Safety Week: Resources for you and your patients
Next week — December 4–8 — is Older Driver Safety Week. Licensed drivers aged 75+ have a higher rate of car accidents. Find information and resources for your older patients, and tools for you and other providers to assist in keeping everyone safe on the road.
MDPH alert: Invasive Meningococcal cases at UMass Amherst
Two students at UMass Amherst have recently been diagnosed with invasive meningococcal disease serogroup B. Serogroup B meningococcal vaccine (MenB) is now highly recommended for UMass Amherst undergraduates and those with medical conditions that place them at high risk for invasive disease. Clinicians are rerquested to be
alert for cases compatible with meningococcal disease in UMass Amherst
students and their close contacts; prompt recognition and antibiotic
treatment of meningococcal disease is critical. Please immediately report all suspect cases of meningococcal disease to the MDPH at (617) 983-6800. See the MDPH fact sheet
on invasive meningococcal disease and college students. Questions? Call
the Division of Epidemiology and Immunization at (617) 983-6800.
Seeking physicians and med students with experience of workplace bias
The February issue of Vital Signs, the MMS newsletter, will be themed on diversity, inclusion, and culturally competent care. We’re
looking for physicians and medical students who have experiences and
observations relating to bias in the medical workplace. You do not have
to be identified. We’re looking for your thoughts on:
- Incidents
involving blatant or unconscious bias relating to race, ethnicity,
religion, sexuality, gender, disability, etc. Have you experienced or
witnessed negative judgments, stereotypes, assumptions, exclusion, etc.,
on the part of patients and/or colleagues?
- Ways
that students and physicians can constructively handle and respond to
bias, whether as the target or as an observer/bystander. Have you
engaged with patients or colleagues in ways that seemed to help?
To participate or learn more, please email vitalsigns@mms.org or call (781) 434.7110 ASAP. Please forward this request to others who may be interested.
Reminders: Stuff you should click on
2018 MMS Awards: Please nominate senior volunteer physicians (extended deadline), medical educators, and public health advocates
You
can help your colleagues and peers who excel in these and other areas
become recognized for improving the lives of their patients and
strengthening their communities. The following deadlines are
approaching:
- Grant V. Rodkey Award for Oustanding Contributions to Medical Education (Dec 4)
- Henry Ingersoll Bowditch Award for Excellence in Public Health (Dec 4)
- Senior Volunteer Physician of the Year Award (Dec 8: EXTENDED)
- MMS Lifetime Achievement Award (Dec 15)
- Distinguished Service to the MMS Award (Dec 15)
- Excellence in Medical Service Award (Dec 15)
- Medical Student Scholar Awards (Jan 19)
How to apply or nominate a colleague The MMS Committee on Recognition Awards wants to hear from you;
information and applications.
How the MMS awards make a difference
"It is an extraordinary honor
to receive an award named for Dr. Henry Ingersoll Bowditch, one of the
most accomplished and inspiring physicians in the history of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts ... I am deeply grateful to the
Massachusetts Medical Society, not only for this award, but even more
for MMS’s own efforts to continuing Dr. Bowditch’s work, both supporting
physicians in improving the care of individual patients, and also
advocating for reforms in our health system and our society, so that
every person in the Commonwealth can lead the healthiest possible
life."
—Lachlan Forrow, MD; president,
The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship; director, Ethics/Palliative Care
Programs, BIDMC;l2016 recipient of the Henry Ingersoll Bowditch Award
for Excellence in Public Health
CMS performance preview period: deadline TONIGHT
On October 18, CMS opened the 30-Day Preview Period for the 2016 performance information targeted to be publicly reported on Physician Compare starting in December 2017. The preview was scheduled to end on November 17. Due to a technical issue with the Provider Quality Information Portal (PQIP), all data were not viewable for the first week of preview. This display issue has now been resolved. CMS is extending preview through Friday, December 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Awards, accomplishments, promotions? Feature in Member News & Notes
Vital Signs, the monthly print and online newsletter of the MMS, is now listing your professional news
— such as joining a new hospital, opening a practice, or a recent
promotion — and your other achievements: board appointments, awards, or
speaking engagements. We are currently seeking submissions for the
February 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 December 5, 2017.
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.
Featured online CME courses – Risk Management credit
The above activities have been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
Find additional risk management online CME activities.
This week in health care
Sign up for daily roundups of health news affecting Massachusetts.
Massachusetts could lose federal money for children's health insurance
According to MACPAC, a national organization advising Congress on Medicaid and CHIP policy, Massachusetts is expected to run out of money
for CHIP by February 2018. CHIP covers 160,000 Massachusetts children.
CHIP spending in Massachusetts is estimated at $635.2 million in fiscal
2018.
MMS to weigh whether doctors should help dying patients end their lives
The
Massachusetts Medical Society is poised to tackle one of the thorniest
issues facing physicians: whether doctors should be allowed to prescribe lethal medications to terminally ill adults who want to choose when to die.
A doctor bonds with his furry little patient
When
Federico Erebia retired from medicine after 25 years in the field, he
never anticipated taking on new patients, let alone the furry variety that inhabit trees and store nuts. This was perhaps the finest care a squirrel without health insurance could receive in the United States.
Bay State Medical performs '9-way' kidney transplant, lauds National Kidney Registry
When Baystate
Medical Center's Transplant Division performed a life-saving, nine-way
transplant on Michael Dancosse on Nov. 15, hospital officials agreed
that technology and communications systems have advanced to a point
where it's time to address one of the biggest problems facing transplant
recipients: The waiting list.
Milford Regional Medical Center back in black with financial turnaround
President
and CEO Edward Kelly said in an interview this month hospital
executives didn't question the decision to borrow $25 million to finance the largest capital project in Milford Regional's history (the rest was fundraised).
Nurse staffing issue added to the 2018 ballot
The latest nurse staffing
question, an earlier version of which led to a 2014 law imposing
staffing requirements in intensive care units, was greeted warily by
hospitals in September.
Psychiatrists: Mental illness rarely linked to violent acts
"There's always been a tremendous misconception
that people who suffer from mental illness are responsible for a great
deal of violence in this society," said Dr. Judith Edersheim, a
psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Recent lawsuits claim Alkermes fired female workers who complained of bias
All three women who filed suits
worked for Alkermes (Nasdaq: ALKS), a Waltham, Massachusetts-based
drugmaker known for its drug to help opiate addicts that's one of the
biggest life sciences employers in the state.
Mass. General studies "party drug" as a lifesaver
"The
effects are much more rapid than anything we have available," said Dr.
Cristina Cusin, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. "Some
are afraid we'll have a ketamine crisis, but if used correctly, it can be a formidable tool."
Reliant, Optum agree to terms on acquisition
Pending state approval, Reliant and Southboro Medical Group will join OptumCare,
the delivery arm of OptumHealth with more than 30,000 physician
partners and 65,000 advanced practitioners in health care facilities in
the country.
Boston Herald health reporter shares her depression struggle
Mental illness
will do that. Take our lives in unimaginable directions. While no two
people who have been diagnosed are battling identical beasts, those of
us affected can agree that the illness — at one point or another — has
made us unrecognizable.
BU researchers fighting Alzheimer's on new front
Local researchers say they may have found a new way to fight Alzheimer's by reducing clusters of tissue in the brain formed by internal stressors such as viruses and toxins.
