MMS urges CMS to provide guidance on prior authorization; J. Worth Estes Lecture

News and announcements

MMS urges the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide guidance on prior authorization 

The Massachusetts Medical Society and nearly 100 other medical organizations, including the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American College of Physicians, asked CMS Administrator Seema Verma to provide guidance to Medicare Advantage plans on their use of prior authorizations through the agency’s 2020 call letter.

The authors of the sign-on letter cautioned that prior authorization (PA) programs can delay the start or continuation of necessary treatment, which may risk patient health. According to a 2018 AMA survey, “75 percent of physicians reported that PA can lead to treatment abandonment, and 91 percent indicated that PA can have a negative impact on patient clinical outcomes.”

Because of these concerns, among many others, the letter recommended that Medicare Advantage plans “target PA requirements where they are needed most and refrain from implementing PA practices that not only increase burden but also jeopardize patient health.”

Read the full sign-on letter here.

The Wired Clinic: Experimental Television and the Media History of Medicine

What can the history of older technologies teach us about the future of digital medicine? 

Please join your peers at the Boston Medical Library (BML) for the 15th Annual J. Worth Estes MD History of Medicine Lecture. This year's guest lecturer is Dr. Jeremy Greene, the Elizabeth Treide and A. McGehee Harvey Chair in the History of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. The event is free and will be held on March 18 at Harvard Medical School, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM; register using the button below or contact Tara Pealer at (617) 432-4807 or BostonMedLibr@gmail.com. The BML is the official library of the MMS.

2019 Annual Meeting: Important deadlines and registration assistance

This year's Annual Meeting is scheduled to take place, May 2-4, 2019 at the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center in Boston.

HOD Resolution Deadline
The resolution deadline to submit an item for consideration by the HOD is Monday, March 18. Please visit www.massmed.org/resolutions to learn more about submitting a resolution and access the required template.

Website and Online Registration
The Annual Meeting website is currently live and online registration is available at www.massmed.org/annual2019/register.

We are pleased to be offering a new registration system for the 2019 Annual Meeting. Please view this flyer for important details/changes prior to registering. Should you experience any issues when registering with account, please contact us ( nejmcust@mms.org and annual@mms.org) and we’d be happy to help.

Hotel Deadline Reminder
The MMS hotel deadline is Friday, March 22, please visit www.massmed.org/am19reservations to make your reservations today.

The upcoming 2019 Annual Meeting is sure to be an exciting event and we hope you can join us.

Benefit Buzz

Need help with your practice?

At the Physician Practice Resource Center, our goal is to ensure that you have the information, support and resources you need to maintain a thriving practice. We are here to help physicians (and those who assist them) find solutions to a wide range of needs – from attorney referrals to implementing current regulatory requirements to tips and/ or research on coding and billing issues. Our consulting team can even help you with patient experience training or opening a new practice!

Feel free to contact us today for more information at (781) 434-7702 or email us at pprc@mms.org.

Connect with colleagues

The Massachusetts Medical Society invites you to join colleagues and friends for an evening of professional networking and cheer at one of our upcoming events! Connect with physicians from across organizations and specialties, catch up with colleagues, make new professional contacts, and meet members of the MMS leadership. Professional networking, complimentary hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and good fun!

• Thursday, March 21, 2019, 6:30–8:30 PM. Samuel's, Springfield, MA
• Thursday, March 28, 2019, 6:30–8:30 PM. The Cove Restaurant, Fall River, MA

RSVP no later than two weeks prior to each event at sfrazier@mms.org or mjussaume@mms.org. Questions — (800) 944-5562.

Educational programs and events

Featuring 2019 Annual Education Program and Shattuck Lecture

Annual Education Program: Restoring the Art of Medicine: The Power of Physician Wellness

Shattuck Lecture & Conversation: Future of Care: A Call to Collaboration

Featured Online CME Course

Patient Suicidal Ideation: A Physician’s Legal Duties and Options

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

Upcoming lectures and training

Tomorrow: Improving Access to Mental Health Care Services through the Collaborative Care Model and Telemedicine (Yale School of Medicine)

The Collaborative Care Model integrates effective psychiatric care into primary care practices. The training, led by John Kern, MD from the University of Washington’s AIMS Center, will provide participants with the practical skills to work in collaborative care. The course describes the delivery of mental health care in primary care settings with a focus on the evidence-base, guiding principles, and an introduction to implementation strategies.

April 2: The 24th Annual Massachusetts Adult Immunization Conference (Sheraton Framingham)

At the 24th annual MA Adult Immunization conference, over 350 immunization providers will come together for a day-long conference to support statewide efforts to increase adult immunization rates in Massachusetts. Keynote speakers are David Kim, MD, MA; CAPT, US Public Health Service; Deputy Associate Director for Adult Immunization, Center for Disease Control, and Elisa Choi, MD, FACP, Governor of Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Physicians. Early bird pricing ends next week.

May 7: The 7th Annual Communication, Apology, and Resolution Forum (MMS Headquarters)

The Forum will take place at the Massachusetts Medical Society Conference Center on Tuesday May 7, 2019. The event includes live simulation of using the CARe process in adverse event situations, an update on the CARe pilot study data, as well as a keynote by Richard Boothman, J.D., formerly of the University of Michigan Health System. Register for this free event online before May 1st.

June 6-7: Managing Workplace Conflict: Improving Leadership & Personal Effectiveness (MMS Headquarters)

This program explores complex relationships within the medical work environment. The course provides techniques for addressing and resolving difficult relationships and stressful situations, as well as strengthening relationships with other team members and patients. Read the full program flyer here.

Quote of the week

"Having people respond to something so simple the way they have makes me realize you don’t have to do much to make people happy and bring a little joy ... and maybe even a little hope."

—  Tina Leger, a visitor to UMass Memorial Healthcare Cancer Center, who stomped the word “Hope” into a snow-covered area visible through the facility’s windows.   (Worcester Telegram)

Tweet of the week

@NEJM
The New England Journal of Medicine ( NEJM.org) is the world’s leading medical journal and website. 

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.

Nursing homes penalized for 'systemic failures' that led to deaths (WBZ)

In one case, Healey said a resident at Woodbriar fell from a mechanical lift while being transferred. There was only one certified nurse there at the time and staff miscommunicated the injuries and x-ray results. Healey said these factors contributed to her death. In another case, nursing staff at Braemoor did not attempt to resuscitate a resident who became non-responsive during feeding. The resident died. Healey said staff also failed to report death in a "timely" fashion. "Our resolutions cannot change what happened or ease the sufferings of families. But we can also be sure these failures don't happen again," Healey said.  

Heywood Hospital illegally banned nurse staffing ballot buttons (Boston Business Journal)

The National Labor Relations Board has found Heywood Hospital in Gardner to have violated federal law after supervisors there threatened to discipline nurses who wore "Yes on Question 1" buttons to work last September. The buttons were in support of a November ballot question that sought to create nurse to patient maximums at hospitals throughout the state. On Thursday, the National Labor Relations Board announced that it signed a settlement with the hospital requiring administrators to rescind changes to the hospital's personal appearance policy, which had been updated during the lead-up to the election to bar wearing of political items from the Massachusetts Nurses Association. 

Sign-ups surge on Mass. Health Connector (Boston Globe)

Five years ago, the Massachusetts Health Connector was broken. People couldn't sign up for coverage online. Exhausted employees at the state-run insurance exchange used paper to enroll people, but they couldn't keep up with the demand. A striking turnaround has taken place: The website works, and more than 282,000 residents signed up for coverage on the Connector this year, the most in the agency's 13-year history. That figure is 13 percent higher than last year — and the greatest annual enrollment increase of any state in the country. For states using the federal insurance platform, healthcare.gov, sign-ups dipped about 4 percent.  

Baker indicates support for potential conversion therapy bill (Boston Herald)

Baker said he was aware that there are two different bills to ban conversion therapy moving through the Legislature, but generally supports the idea. "They're different, so I'm not going to speak to either one of them, but if a conversion therapy bill gets to my desk and we don't see any other issues with it, it's something we'd be inclined to support," Baker said, using his hands to put air quotes around the words conversion therapy. If passed, Massachusetts would become the 16th state to ban sexual orientation conversion therapy. Questions about government overreach and encroachment on the first amendment were raised at a bill hearing Tuesday, where individuals on both sides of the issue shared deeply personal stories to back their support of, or opposition to, the legislation. Michael Ferguson, of Mission Hill, said conversion therapy nearly "shattered" his relationship with his family, adding that he has a scientific background including a Ph.D. in bioengineering, a postdoctoral fellowship and a second post-doctorate fellowship.