MMS NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Renew your MMS membership and get your free NEJM Journal Watch
Renew your MMS membership for 2018 and stay connected with colleagues from across the Commonwealth. At 25,000 strong, the MMS is Massachusetts’ largest physician-led organization working on behalf of physicians and their patients. Online renewal is simple and only takes minutes. Visit www.massmed.org/renew now. Questions? Call (800) 322-2303, ext. 7495.
MMS membership now includes complimentary subscriptions to both the New England Journal of Medicine (which otherwise costs $189 a year) and NEJM Journal Watch Online (which otherwise costs $129 a year). When you renew, you stay current with the latest in medical research. MMS members should be on the lookout for an email in mid-December with the subject line “Welcome to NEJM Journal Watch Online” to activate this new member benefit.
New rule for Medical Malpractice Tribunal — and why your participation matters
The courts have recently adopted a new rule relating to the
Medical Malpractice Tribunal. The tribunal — consisting of a judge, an attorney, and a physician — screens every medical malpractice suit against a physician in Massachusetts to determine whether there is a legitimate question of liability for a court to decide. The physician member of the tribunal is
chosen from a list that the Society provides. The clerks have been struggling to find physicians willing to participate, resulting in long delays.
The
new rule provides that if the clerks are unable to find a physician to serve, the hearing may be held before a single judge. The new rule also requires that the plaintiff provide an offer of proof to the defendant early in the process, and that the defendant can then decide whether a
tribunal is necessary.
To protect the usefulness of the tribunal, we need to ensure active physician participation. Please
express your willingness to serve, and then let your office staff know that you may get a call from a court clerk. The MMS will expand its information about the
new rule as it is implemented.
MDPH alert: Increased HIV transmission through drug use
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has noted an increase in newly diagnosed and acute HIV infections among persons who inject drugs (PWID). Contributing factors include the drug use epidemic and unsafe needle-sharing practices, the rate of hepatitis C virus (HCV)
transmission, fentanyl in the drug supply (leading to more frequent injection), and a lack of experience with HIV among younger persons who inject drugs. The MDPH reminds you to:
- Remain alert to the potential for HIV infection in PWID, and offer HIV testing;
- Elicit behavioral risk history in your patients, encourage HIV and HCV testing for at-risk individuals, and follow current national
recommendations for routine screening;
- Follow current national
recommendations for HIV testing;
- Be prepared to refer patients who use injectable substances to harm reduction services in your community, including
treatment programs and
syringe service programs;
- Report all new cases of HIV infection to the MDPH promptly: call (617) 983-6560;
- Use MDPH’s field epidemiologist services to assist in HIV partner notification and linkage to support services and insurance: call (617) 983-6940.
Vital Signs is seeking experiences 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.;
- Ways that students and physicians can constructively handle and respond to bias, whether as the target or as an observer/bystander.
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: Service to medicine or the MMS
Members of the Society, the following award nomination deadlines are approaching:
- Senior Volunteer Physician of the Year Award (Dec 8: EXTENDED THROUGH TODAY)
- 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.
"Why did I win this award?"
"When I heard the announcement of having been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, I questioned why? Was it because I began doing surgery when I was 10 years old? The operation is now known as a bilaterial transthoracic orchiectomy... [on] young male chitons." [After
considering other explanations for the award, Dr. Rockett settled on an unexpected answer; watch our 3-minute
video.]
— Francis X. Rockett, MD, neurosurgeon and past president of the MMS, recipient of the 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award
Take notice! New MassHealth plans coming in March 2018
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.
Older Driver Safety Week: Resources for you and your patients
This week 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.
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.
BMC has new prescription for its most vulnerable patients: housing
BMC is not building its own
housing, but partnering with other organizations, such as shelters and community development corporations, and paying them to renovate or build new homes.
Local ERs see uptick in sick pot users
Some Bay State emergency room doctors are seeing a growing number of daily marijuana users with an
obscure syndrome characterized by screaming, violent retching and abdominal pain, symptoms that can be alleviated with medication but that usually return unless the patients stop using pot.
More Mass. communities planning to sue Big Pharma for opioid crisis
Unlike legal action at the state level, these suits would
seek damages that would go directly to the communities that sign on, and any legal fees would be paid based on a percentage of any settlement with the companies.
State medical examiner's office loses 100s of photos of deceased people
A spokesperson for the state Executive Office of Public Safety confirmed that one of the department's doctors from the medical examiner's Holyoke office was placed on paid administrative leave after he
lost a camera that contained hundreds of photos.
For hospital systems, operating doctors groups is a balancing act
Dr. Dorkin said, even if certain services just can't work financially, health care providers will usually offer them anyway if they're something the community needs. "As I said in one meeting... they know that
they have us by our morals," he said. "Even in settings where reimbursements fall short, we will continue to do it. That's why hospitals have fundraisers."
MMS and other leaders weigh in on CVS-Aetna
Dr. Henry L. Dorkin, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, said the CVS-Aetna transaction presents the potential for
greater access to medical care. But he said that care must be coordinated with primary care doctors to ensure patient safety.
How a MassHealth makeover could set a new standard for care
The new
MassHealth ACO program funnels $100 million to providers, to be used for a variety of initiatives, such as improving care coordination with behavioral health providers, improving electronic health records and analytic capabilities, and reducing unnecessary ER utilization and inpatient
hospital admissions. Essentially, the money allows the providers to build the infrastructure needed to coordinate care.
MIT researchers find alternative evidence of how the brain keeps time
Scientists have yet to find solid evidence for the centralized clock theory, so the MIT team wondered if the different parts of the brain responsible for actions like playing an instrument or sport might
keep time in a different way, the university said in a statement.
