MMS NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
2018 Annual Meeting: Today is the MMS hotel deadline
This year's Annual Meeting will be held April 26-28, 2018, at the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center in Boston.
Today is the MMS Hotel Deadline. Please make your reservations.
Owing to a higher-than-usual demand for hotel rooms, it is possible
that hotel rooms and/or specific categories are sold out. Please contact
Laura Bombrun at lbombrun@mms.org or (781) 434-7007 if you have any questions or issues with reservations.
Online registration for the Annual Meeting is open. Pre-registration is required for some of the planned Annual Meeting events. Don’t delay; register today.
Trauma-informed responses to human trafficking: Free webinar
Trauma-Informed,
Community-Centered Responses to Human Trafficking: A Two-Part Webinar
Series for Health, Social Service, and Advocacy Providers will be held March
19, 2018, and March 26, 2018, at 3:00–4:30 p.m. This webinar series is
co-sponsored by the National Health Collaborative on Violence and Abuse
(the MMS is a member organization) and HEAL Trafficking. Find more information, including (for download) Human Trafficking: Guidebook on Identification, Assessment, and Response in the Health Care Setting. Register for the March 19 webinar and/or the March 26 webinar. The presenters include Elaine Alpert, MD, MPH, founder of the MMS Committee on Violence Intervention and Prevention.
Food is Medicine: Physician input needed on State Plan
Massachusetts
is developing a first-in-the-nation Food is Medicine Plan to assess the
need for and access to medically-tailored food and nutrition
interventions for patients with complex health and social needs.
Physicians will play a key role in providing input into this plan; we
need your help to ensure that patients will have access to these
critical interventions. Join us for a collaborative listening session
hosted by the MMS, the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of
Harvard Law School, and Community Servings of Boston to learn about and
give us your thoughts on how best physicians can contribute to this new
plan. The session will be held on Friday April 27, 2018, 2:30 to 3:30
p.m., at the MMS Annual Meeting; information and registration. If you have questions regarding Food is Medicine, please contact sdowner@law.harvard.edu, kgarfield@law.harvard.edu or JTerranova@servings.org.
Annual Massachusetts Adult Immunization Conference: Knowledge is key
Learn
how to best communicate with patients about the importance of
immunizations at the 23rd Annual Massachusetts Adult Immunization
Conference on Tuesday, April 10, 2018. The conference will feature
Monica Bharel, MD, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of
Public Health, and a panel on responses to meningococcal outbreaks (see
last week’s VSTW for MDPH advisory on invasive meningococcal disease and
availability of state-supplied MenB vaccine). You will have the
opportunity to learn the latest adult immunization schedule
recommendations, gain valuable information about the Massachusetts
Immunization Information System (MIIS), practice key strategies to
increase patients’ confidence in vaccines, and much more; information and registration. Early bird discount pricing ends on March 27.
Boston Medical Library Estes lecture: RESCHEDULED
This event has been rescheduled owing to weather. Please join your peers at the Boston Medical Library (BML) for the 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
exploring past attempts to engage patients as a means to combat the
inefficiencies of the US health care system. The event is free and will
be held Tuesday, May 8, 6:00–7:30 p.m.; register or RSVP to Jillian Silverberg at (617) 432-4807 or BostonMedLibr@gmail.com. The BML is the official library of the MMS.
Save the date! The BML Garland Lecture will be held October 25, 2018, delivered by Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH, professor
of global health at Harvard University, director of the Harvard Global
Health Institute, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
MMS casual networking events: Kicking off next Thursday
Please
join your colleagues and friends for an evening of professional
networking, with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks, at one of our
upcoming events. Connect with physicians from across organizations and
specialties, make new professional contacts, and meet MMS leaders.
Physicians (members and nonmembers) and your guests are welcome.
RSVP no later than two weeks before each event to sfrazier@mms.org or mjussaume@mms.org.
The MMS plans to bring fun, convenient, and casual networking events to
all parts of the state. Questions? Call (800) 944 5562. Scheduled events:
- Thursday, March 22, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at Lir, 903 Boylston Street, Boston
- Wednesday, March 28, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at River Styx Brewery, 166 Boulder Drive, Fitchburg
- Saturday, July 28, 6:30-9:30 p.m., at Cape Cod Beer, 1336 Phinneys Lane, Hyannis (note: corrected time)
Reminders: Stuff you should click on
Managing Workplace Conflict: Become a more effective colleague and leader
Managing Workplace Conflict: Improving Leadership and Personal Effectiveness is an interactive course based in real-life scenarios. In a recent evaluation, all participants perceived substantive advances in their own relevant skills. Their comments included:
- “Excellent course, and I appreciated the role-playing scenarios, engagement and participation of the attendees"
- “I feel that now I can work to be [a] more assertive and heard leader in my office"
- “Where great theory and data meet!”
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 MMS and Physician Health Services, Inc.
Space is limited; register today. The program takes place March 22–23 at
MMS Headquarters in Waltham; information and registration.
MassHealth update: Transition to new plans (new resources)
The
transition to new MassHealth plans, mostly ACOs, is underway for 1.2
million beneficiaries. Here’s how to get the information you and your
patients need:
- See the FAQ from MassHealth
- MassHealth
has planned several “office hours” accommodating both in-person and
teleconference participation for stakeholders to receive updates, ask
questions, and flag any concerns; see dates, times, and access details.
- If
you anticipate a high volume of teleconference participation among your
practice colleagues, please arrange for people who are co-located to
dial in together, to make sure that every organization can get on the
line;
- It
is helpful if stakeholders are able to collect questions or concerns
from members and submit them to MassHealth by end of day Tuesday each
week, at masshealth.innovations@state.ma.us;
- The Continuity of Care memo details how the 30-day transition period will work.
Private practices with Medicare patients: Get help with 2017 MIPS reporting — due March 31
Physicians
in private practice: Could you could use help complying with MIPS? In
2017, if you treated at least 100 Medicare patients and received
$30,000+ in annual Medicare payments, you are eligible to participate.
If your organization is not reporting for you, please contact Healthcentric Advisors, the New England QIO-QIN support center: email Leila Volinsky. Find out whether or not you need to submit.
Primary care providers: BRCA Founder OutReach study
The BRCA
Founder OutReach (BFOR) study will provide 1000 individuals of
Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry in Massachusetts with no-cost BRCA testing
starting this month, and may involve some PCPs. The study is designed to
evaluate a strategy of direct outreach to patients, combined with
support to PCPs around “personalized genomics.” The study asks
participants to choose to receive their BRCA results through their own
health care provider or from the study’s staff. If they choose their
PCP, PCPs will have the option to disclose the genetic test results or
not. If a PCP prefers not to disclose the results, the study staff will
assume that responsibility. If a PCP chooses to disclose results, study
staff will provide them with educational material to support patient
counseling and next steps. You and your patients can learn more about the study. Questions? Email bfor_bidmc_dfci@dfci.harvard.edu.
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
Managing Workplace Conflict: Improving Leadership and Personal Effectiveness
Thursday & Friday, March 22–23, 2018, 8:00– 6:00 p.m.
Bridging Syndemics: Infections and Substance Use Disorder
Wednesday, March 28, 2018, 1:00–5:00 p.m.
The above activities have been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
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.
Renowned pediatrician Dr. T. Berry Brazelton dies at age 99
Parents knew Brazelton
best from his popular Touchpoints books, along with the long-running
cable TV show, What Every Baby Knows, and his syndicated newspaper
column, Families Today. He also spent a half-century working as a
pediatrician in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After retiring from that
practice in 1995, Brazelton estimated he'd seen 25,000 patients.
Transgender principal's contract will not be renewed
A Swampscott principal who recently revealed that she is transgender will not be returning to the elementary school she was leading, the superintendent announced Thursday.
Boston-area doctors among lowest paid in nation, report says
Dr.
Henry L. Dorkin, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, said,
"Boston is a highly desirable place to live." But the low salaries can present a problem in an era when so many doctors graduate with huge medical school debt, he said.
Tufts and Shields venture to proceed after HPC eschews review
The two providers plan to enter into a clinical affiliation
to jointly manage MRI services at existing sites owned by Tufts and
Shields in Dorchester and Dedham, according to documents filed by the
HPC.
Red Sox pitcher's daughter improving as she fights heart condition
Kimbrel, who lives in Brookline, has been working out at Fenway Park while his infant daughter recovers from her second heart surgery in four months.
Judge rejects Massachusetts challenge to Trump birth control rules
US District
Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston dismissed a lawsuit by Massachusetts
Attorney General Maura Healey that sought to block rules that provide
exemptions from an Obamacare mandate requiring birth control coverage on moral or religious grounds.
Former VA doctor blows whistle on her death bed
Dr.
Kemble's husband, Jerry Lund, read a portion of that affidavit to the
I-Team. "It's my final wish to complete this affidavit so I can
memorialize and testify to the above information, so I can attempt to
change systemic and dangerous patient care, dangerous practices, and public safety issues."
As number of burn victims falls, future of Boston's Shriners uncertain
Shriners Hospital in Boston "has an honored place
in Massachusetts medicine," said Dr. Henry L. Dorkin, a pediatrician
who is president of the Massachusetts Medical Society. "The loss of any
facility such as that and the trained personnel that come with it means
the rest of the health care community would have to take the load."
Judge dismisses nurses' suit challenging Brigham's vaccination policy
A Suffolk Superior Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the Massachusetts Nurses Association that challenged the flu vaccination policy for employees at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Under state orders, North Shore Hospital diversifies trustees
When
North Shore Medical Center decided to close Union Hospital in Lynn,
health care advocates criticized the fact that only one of its 24
trustees actually lived in the city. Under orders of the DPH, North
Shore Medical Center said it has appointed four new trustees, including three who work or live in Lynn.
Why Boston urologists love the NCAA tournament
Apparently, men are scheduling their procedures
to coincide with the tournament — particularly the first few days, when
they can sit on the couch and watch basketball for hours on end while
recovering with an ice pack.
