MHQP survey results; Mass DPH: Invasive meningococcal disease

News and announcements

MHQP releases results of only statewide survey of patient experiences in primary care
For the 14th year, MHQP has released the results of its annual survey assessing patient experiences in primary care. This is the only publicly-reported statewide survey of patient experiences in Massachusetts.

The results of the survey are posted on www.HealthcareCompassMA.org, MHQP’s consumer-facing website. One of the “best-kept secrets” in Massachusetts healthcare, this site provides detailed patient experience results for primary care offices throughout the state, offering consumers the ability to compare performance across practices. This unique resource can help patients and families find the primary care clinicians that best suit their needs. This year, the site identifies the practices that were recognized as winners of the first annual MHQP Patient Experience Awards. Awards were given to the adult and pediatric practices that performed highest on the survey in each of nine performance categories, as well as an overall performance category determined by the practices with the most best-in-class results across multiple categories.

The list of winning practices can be found here.

Mass. DPH: Invasive meningococcal disease among people experiencing homelessness

In January 2018, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) reported that two people experiencing homelessness in Greater Boston had been diagnosed with invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) serogroup C. Since that time, there have been three additional cases of IMD serogroup C among people in this population, and one additional case in a person with close connections to the homeless community. 

Symptoms of meningococcal bacteremia may include fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, cold hands and feet, chills, severe muscle aches or abdominal pain, rapid breathing, diarrhea, and a petechial or purpuric rash. Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for IMD, particularly in individuals experiencing homelessness or with links to that population.

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Get involved in an MMS committee

MMS committees form the backbone of the MMS, where the important work of the Society is accomplished. Do you have a special interest or desire to make a difference in organized medicine? Or, to assist in achieving the greater goals of the Society? Joining a committee is one way to get involved. MMS is currently seeking interested members. Applications are due March 1; more info and applications.

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Reminders: Stuff you should click on

Final call for candidates 

The MMS Committee on Nominations is currently seeking candidates for nomination for the following MMS Officer Positions: President-elect, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer, Assistant Secretary-Treasurer, Speaker; and Vice Speaker.

If interested in applying for one of these positions, please visit  http://www.massmed.org/mmsnoms/ to view additional information and to submit your nomination application. Please note: you must be logged in to the website to access this link. The application deadline is Monday, January 28, 2019.

Interviews with the Committee on Nominations will be held at MMS Headquarters in Waltham on Thursday, February 28, 2019, from approximately 4:30 pm –
7:30 pm. 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.

Renew your membership

MMS Membership – 5 Ways to Save! Renew or Join Today!

1. Multiyear Enrollment Savings
2. Group Enrollment for 5 or more
3. One-Time MMS Life Membership
4. Part-Time Eligibility
5. Refer a Colleague / Group

 
More Dues Information.  Member Info

Renew or Join

Benefit Buzz

Deadline: January 31, 2019

Take advantage of the Legal Advisory Plan (LAP), a MMS members-only benefit, available as your first line of defense, providing access to expert attorneys when you receive a Board of Registration in Medicine complaint. Your professional liability policy may limit your coverage for Board investigations, and you may quickly reach your coverage maximum. Your premium may subsequently go up. Use the LAP first. Enroll or renew for January 2019 – January 2020 coverage now for a nominal fee of $70 - a fraction of the cost of hiring an attorney. You must be enrolled at the initiation of an investigation to avail yourself of plan services. 

Questions? Email lap@massmed.org or call (781) 434-7311.

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Educational programs and events

Live event

Evolving Models for Sustainable Medical Practice
Saturday, February 2, 2019
7:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

More live CME

Featured online CME: Physician finances

Shared Decision Making: Essential Skills for Prostate, Lung and Breast Cancer Screening

Universal Health Care

For additional online CME activities, visit www.massmed.org/cme

More online CME

Quote of the week

"Alcohol is a drug. You can go into a bar and get drunk and ruin your liver and die from that. People look at heroin and they react very differently. But again, how do you make sure that people can survive so that they can get help when they're ready to get help."

— Cambridge mayor Marc McGovern after his tour of supervised injection facilities in Canada.  (WBUR)

Tweet of the week

@DrAmyWhite

What’s new in health care

Check out the most clicked-on stories from this week's MMS Media Watch. Sign up for daily Massachusetts media roundups by email. Some publications are fully accessible only to their subscribers.

Worcester surgeon reprimanded for removing kidney from wrong patient (Telegram and Gazette)

A Worcester urologist who mistakenly removed a kidney from the wrong patient received a reprimand from the state last month. Dr. Ankur M. Parikh, 37, received the reprimand from the Board of Registration in Medicine on Dec. 20 after admitting to the error in a consent order. Dr. Parikh, a member of Wayne B. Glazier MD PC Urology at 85 Prescott St., has privileges at UMass Memorial Medical Center, Marlborough Hospital and St. Vincent Hospital, according to state documents. In 2016, Dr. Parikh removed a healthy kidney from Albert Hubbard Jr., a 65-year-old Worcester man, after mistakenly reading the CT scan of another man with the same name.  

Mass. General Hospital plans large addition (Boston Globe) 

Massachusetts General Hospital, the busiest medical center in the state, plans to spend more than $1 billion to build a large addition to its crowded campus to keep up with the demand for high-end medical care and compete for patients from around the globe. The project is likely the largest ever proposed by a hospital in the state, and promises to reshape a busy stretch of downtown Boston between Government Center and the Longfellow Bridge. It would include two connected 12-story towers on Cambridge Street, with hundreds of private patient rooms, a heart center, a cancer center, operating rooms, and other clinical areas. Mass. General expects to be able to treat at least 100 to 200 additional patients when the building — spanning 1 million square feet — is complete in about seven years.  

Nurse stabbed on job pushing for hospital safety changes (WCVB) 

Wilson still doesn't have use of her hand and hasn't been able to return to the emergency room. "I have a lot more pain in my hand than I did a year ago," Wilson said. "But my occupational therapist, Louise, tells me that's good." Still, Wilson has been busy, crisscrossing the Commonwealth and traveling the country to speak before hospital CEOs and CNOs, demanding action. "Sometimes, if you hear a story, it's just a story unless you have a face to put with the story and that's my face now," Wilson said. "I'm trying to do everything I can to make people safer out there because more and more health care workers are getting hurt. The threat is real. The threat is becoming more frequent and the threat is becoming more violent." Since the attack, Wilson said her former employer has installed metal detectors and given staff personal, silent pocket alarms.  

Flu season looks bad in Massachusetts (Wicked Local)

Dr. Chaoui is adamant people get the shot because the shot protects individuals and others they come in contact with. "We are all responsible for what happens to our communities," Chaoui said. "It's very important for all of us to take responsibility and that starts by taking the flu shot." The flu also spreads in other ways and its proliferation is exacerbated by the immunity of different populations, along with weather. It also takes two weeks for the flu shot to take effect, meaning people are still susceptible to catching the illness before the vaccine kicks in. Both Chaoui and Madoff continue to urge people to get the shot, as there are still weeks left in the flu season. Both doctors also say it's paramount that individuals experiencing flu-like symptoms should stay home from work and school.