MMS NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Negotiate your best job contract: Live webinar
This live webinar, Negotiating Your Best Employment Agreement, provides
participants with strategies for negotiating salary, bonus, workload
expectations, and more — as well as what mistakes to avoid. It will be
held February 28, noon–1:00 p.m.; information, including CME credits, and registration.
Physicians
need financial negotiation skills now more then ever, given the
evolving, uncertain health care landscape. This webinar is part of a
series of financial resources for physicians and medical students being
developed by the Physician Practice Resource Center of the Medical
Society. The first component, Current and Future Models of Physician Compensation, went live in December. Look forward to our forthcoming webinars: Physician Employment Contract Basics, Reading Financial Forms and Budgeting.
Free financial wellness workshops for physicians
Need
to plan for your financial security while starting out in your medical
career or because you're anticipating your retirement? Join your peers
at a free, in-person class geared specifically to residents or
established physicians.
- Physician Finance: Planning for Residents covers how
to protect yourself from unique career risks including malpractice
claims, and build a solid financial foundation while paying down student
debt. It will be held in Brookline on February 28, 6:30–8:00 p.m.
- Physician Finance: Planning for Doctors helps
you evaluate your preparedness for retirement and protect the assets
you’ve accumulated. You will also learn about estate planning basics,
charitable giving, and college planning. The class will be held in
Brookline on March 20, 6:30–8:00 p.m.
The
classes are provided by In Good Company, a collaboration
between MassMutual and Baystate Financial, and are being promoted by the
Physicians Insurance Agency of Massachusetts, an MMS subsidiary, and
Baystate MD; information and registration. Questions? Email Tom Bryant or Meghan Stanley at piam@mms.org.
2017 MMS Annual Report: Report from the Frontlines
The recent story of our community’s challenges and accomplishments, through the lenses of our members, is captured in the 2017 MMS Annual Report: Report from the Frontlines. Throughout the online interactive report, click on the underlined text and images for relevant resources from the MMS, the New England Journal of Medicine,
and external sources — including websites, video clips, testimony,
articles, and webinars. You’ll find succinct reports from the frontlines
of medicine, the opioid epidemic, marijuana legalization, health care
advocacy, medical practice, and medical education. In a letter to Society members, MMS President Henry Dorkin, MD, FAAP, reflects on the challenges and accomplishments of 2017.
Work and volunteer opportunities in retirement
Considering
medical opportunities that are more flexible to fit your new schedule
when retired? Interested in volunteering locally or globally? Learn about various rewarding work and volunteer opportunities options with senior
physician colleagues on March 22 at the MMS Headquarters in Waltham.
Spouses and partners are welcome. This free event is hosted by the MMS
Committee on Senior Physicians; information and registration.
Albert Schweitzer Fellowship: Students can apply now
The
Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Boston is a one-year interdisciplinary
mentored fellowship program focused on health-related community service
and leadership development. Application for the 2018–2019 cohort is open
to students enrolled in graduate or professional degree-granting
programs. Applications
are due February 12, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. Prospective fellows should be
prepared to partner with a local community agency and design a community
service project that seeks to provide direct service to an underserved
population, addressing health and/or the social determinants of health;
more information. On completion of the initial Fellowship year, fellows
have the opportunity to participate in an interdisciplinary alumni
network of Fellows for Life. The Medical Society, through the MMS and
Alliance Charitable Foundation, contributes $25,000 a year to support
medical students participating in the program. Questions? Contact Karen
Spiller at kspiller@schweitzerfellowship.org.
Member Satisfaction Survey: Please check your email
A
random sample of our members have received our membership satisfaction
survey. On Monday, we will re-send the email with a survey link to those
who have not yet responded. Please look for it in your inbox. If you’re
among our sample, please take 5–10 minutes to fill it out. Responses
are due by February 9. You’ll receive a $10 discount toward your next
online CME course. Your feedback is crucial in ensuring the MMS meets
your needs. Many thanks for your help.
Brief service interruption: your MassMed.org email
Do
you use a @massmed.org email address? For security purposes, we’ll be
performing a service update on Monday, February 6 at 6:00 a.m. ET. The
update should only take an hour, and will help keep your trusted email
account safe and secure. Your email service will be offline during this
hour. Questions? Please contact MMS Member Processing at (1-800) 322-2303, ext. 7321.
MassHealth Payment and Care Delivery Innovation: phase two
Effective
March 1, MassHealth will be offering an expanded selection of health
plan options to managed care-eligible members. These new options —
accountable care organizations (ACOs) — are a key element of MassHealth
PCDI’s managed care. MassHealth is rolling this out in three phases, and
offering in-person and online educational sessions for each phase.
Phase two, currently underway, is focusing on operations.
Find information on PCDI and access to webinar and in-person educational opportunities.
Are patients the magic bullet? Boston Medical Library lecture
Please
join your peers at the Boston Medical Library for 14th Annual J. Worth
Estes MD History of Medicine Lecture. This year’s guest lecturer is Dr.
Nancy Tomes, a SUNY Distinguished Professor of History from Stony Brook
University. Dr. Tomes will be speaking on The Patient as ‘Watch Bird’: Historical Perspectives on Patient’s Roles in Health Care Quality Initiatives
— exploring the background of engaging patients as a means to combat
the inefficiencies of the US health care system. The event is free and
will be held March 13, at 6:00 p.m.; register or RSVP to Jillian Silverberg at (617) 432-4807 or BostonMedLibr@gmail.com. The Boston Medical Library is the official library of the MMS.
NEJM.org: The pulse of knowledge — for the pace of today
With the launch of the new NEJM.org, learn how three physicians rely on NEJM to save time and practice better medicine. View the video today.
Have a stake in the Big Game?
Mass
Medical Society and the Pennsylvania Medical Society have a friendly
wager in place over the outcome of Sunday’s Super Bowl. Complicating
matters, the MMS president is an Eagles fan and the PMS president a
Patriots fan. Want to join in to show your support for MMS and the Pats?
Join the conversation on Twitter at @MassMedical.
Reminders: Stuff you should click on
Managing Workplace Conflict: what physicians are saying
Managing Workplace Conflict: Improving Leadership and Personal Effectiveness, an interactive course based in real-life scenarios, is highly rated by physicians. In
a recent evaluation, participants typically perceived significant
advances in their own relevant skills as a result of the two-day
program. This was an “excellent course and I appreciated the
role-playing scenarios, engagement and participation of the attendees,"
wrote one. “I feel that now I can work to be [a] more assertive and
heard leader in my office,” said another.
The
program is designed for physicians in clinical practice, and those in
administration and leadership, to explore and improve the relationships
that drive the medical work environment. It
is jointly provided by the Massachusetts Medical Society and Physician
Health Services, Inc., an MMS corporation. Space is limited; register
today. The program takes place March 22–23 at MMS Headquarters in
Waltham; information (including CME risk management credits) and registration.
MA primary care: Patients report improvements, MHQP finds
Patient
experiences for commercially-insured patients in primary care in
Massachusetts continue to improve, despite the backdrop of increased
out-of-pocket expenses and significant uncertainty in the health care
system. This is one of the key findings
from a statewide patient experience survey conducted for the 13th year
by Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (MHQP), an independent
healthcare measurement and reporting organization. The survey results
show increases over the past three years for both adult and pediatric
care, on multiple aspects of the health care experience, including
communication, integration of care, knowledge of patient,
self-management support, office staff, pediatric preventive care,
willingness to recommend, and more.
Unrest: Join your peers for this Oscar-nominated film
The MDPH invites all public health and health care professionals, scientists, and researchers to a screening of Unrest,
a documentary exploring the experience of poorly understood disease,
with a panel discussion and light supper. The documentary has won awards
from Sundance and the Boston Globe. It tells the story of a Harvard PhD student struck down by myalgic encephalomyelitis (chronic
fatigue syndrome). The screening will be held March 27, 5:30 p.m., at
the State Public Health Laboratory, 305 South Street, Jamaica Plain; registration.
Deborah Becker, NPR/WBUR's senior correspondent and host, will moderate
a post-film panel featuring Jennifer Brea, director and protagonist of
the film, and science and health care professionals. The screening is hosted by MDPH in conjunction with the Massachusetts CFIDS/ME & FM Association.
Join your colleagues on an MMS committee: Apply by 3/2
Getting
more involved with the MMS is a way to expand your network and
friendships, diversify the Society, and help shape medical practice and
policy. Consider participating on a committee (with more than 40, we're
bound to have at least one that aligns with your interests) or the
Member Interest Network Executive Council. Committee appointments are
for specific terms. We have put in place resources for distance
participation, including conference calls and online
meetings. Applications are due March 2; more info and applications.
Educational programs and events
View our full calendar of upcoming live CME activities. Unless otherwise noted, all events are held at MMS Headquarters, 860 Winter St., Waltham, MA.
Live CME events
Negotiating Your Best Employment Agreement: Live webinar
Wednesday, February 28, 2018, noon–1:00 p.m.
Managing Workplace Conflict: Improving Leadership and Personal Effectiveness
Thursday & Friday, March 22–23, 2018, 8:00– 6:00 p.m.
The above activities have been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
Featured online CME courses — Risk Management credit
Social Determinants of Health: Improving Population Health Through Prevention-Based Care NEW
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.
State rescinds plan to limit health insurance options for public workers
On Thursday, commissioners voted unanimously to reverse course and keep all six commercial health insurers that are currently available to public workers.
Cambridge pharma company ordered to pay $7.2 million in restitution
A
federal judge in Boston Tuesday ordered a Cambridge pharmaceutical
company to pay $7.2 million in restitution to potential victims of a
scheme to market an expensive drug
for ordinary high cholesterol, even though it was approved exclusively
as a treatment for elevated cholesterol levels stemming from a rare,
life-threatening genetic disease.
Boston may seek to sue pharmaceutical companies for opioid crisis
Mayor
Marty Walsh said he plans to issue a call for proposals to law firms
interested in pursuing a case against major pharmaceutical companies.
The city has been "collecting relevant information in preparation for
potential litigation," according to a statement released by the mayor's office last week.
Mass. hospitals enact visitor restrictions as flu spread intensifies
Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston had already been asking visitors to delay their visits if they have a cough or fever, or, if they do visit, to "go to the information desk and obtain a mask to wear."
Flu in Mass. shoots back up again, as wave of illness sweeps country
Last week, it was looking like Massachusetts might be spared the wicked wave of flu sweeping the country. Now, it's looking like we're not going to be so lucky.
Lowell-area police chiefs pan safe injection site proposal
The
Massachusetts Medical Society and the Massachusetts Hospital
Association support the idea. In a report last year, the medical
society, citing research in Canada and Australia, found such sites can reduce deaths and increase access to treatment.
Partners moves closer to acquiring Mass. Eye and Ear
Partners
HealthCare, the state's largest health system, is poised to get even
bigger, after two state regulators said they wouldn't block its
acquisition of Massachusetts Eye and Ear despite concerns the deal could raise health care costs for consumers.
