Dr. Christopher Garofalo wins community clinician award; CMS announces new payment models

News and announcements

Dr. Christopher Garofalo honored by Bristol North District Medical Society as 2019 Community Clinician of the Year

Dr. Christopher Garofalo, a board-certified family medicine physician who practices in Attleboro and co-owns Family Medicine Associates of South Attleboro, P.C., has been selected as the Bristol North District Medical Society’s 2019 Community Clinician of the Year, an award recognizing his professionalism and contributions as a physician.

He was nominated by colleague Dr. Eric Ruby, a pediatrician in Taunton.

“Chris is being honored for his service to his patients and the community and for all his busy committee work within the (Bristol North District Medical Society), all the while maintaining a busy practice, being a dedicated husband and father and always involved with his family and all their activities; not to mention a very loyal and avid Boston sports fan,” Ruby said.

A longtime active member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, Dr. Garofalo serves on the organization’s Committee on Administration and Management and chairs both the Committee on Sustainability of Private Practice and the MMS Southeast Caucus. 

Read more 

CMS announces new payment models for primary care 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Primary Cares Initiative last week, which will offer primary care practices and other providers new voluntary payment models under two paths: Primary Care First (PCF) and Direct Contracting (DC).  The five new payment model options are:

1. Primary Care First 
2. Primary Care First – High Need Populations
3. Direct Contracting – Global
4. Direct Contracting – Professional
5. Direct Contracting – Geographic
 
The PCF track is tailored for smaller primary care practices, whereas the DC track is intended for larger entities, such as Medicare accountable care organizations, Medicaid managed care organizations, and Medicare Advantage plans.

Webinars are being hosted by CMS to help practices and ACOS prepare applications, which are due in the summer with effective dates January 2020. Included below are the upcoming webinar dates:

PCF model
Thursday, May 16, 12 pm EDT
Thursday, May 16, 3 pm EDT

DC model
Tuesday, May 7, 3 pm EDT

For additional reading about the two payment models, including fact sheets and webinar registration details, click here:  PCF model / DC model 

PSA: NEJM.org introduces new benefits for free account users 

To increase the educational options available to registered users, The New England Journal of Medicine will provide the following content, without charge, to free account holders:

• Images in Clinical Medicine
• Quick Take videos
• PowerPoint slides and PDFs of articles that are freely available to all
• Articles coordinated with medical meetings (during the meeting)

Subscribers, including MMS members with NEJM.org access through their membership, and site license users can view this content as well, provided they are signed in. The listed changes will go into effect this month.  

May 7: Firearm injury and public health: What can we do?

Sponsored by Brigham Health and Stepping Strong, this program will discuss current firearm violence research through a public health lens and ask, “What are the next steps?” for health professionals. Speakers include David Hemenway, PhD, Director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center; Eric Fleegler, MD, MPH, Pediatric Emergency physician and health services researcher at Boston Children’s Hospital; Anita Knopov, a fourth-year medical student at Boston University School of Medicine.

The free event will be held from 12 pm–1 pm in the Bornstein Auditorium at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. No registration required.

Benefit Buzz

 

Assessing the needs of patients calling the practice is extremely important— office phone lines are a key point of access for patients. At PPRC, our consulting team provides patient experience training for your frontline staff. You have the opportunity to:

• Help patients access necessary services
• Improve office efficiency
• Help physicians work more effectively

Call us today to learn more about our reasonably priced training. In addition, PPRC is here to help you address day to day issues in less time with less stress and with better outcomes. Feel free to contact us today at PPRC (781) 434-7702 or email us at  pprc@mms.org.
 

Educational programs and events

CME Education Programs & Events

SAVE THE DATE 
The MMS and RIMS 2019 Annual Accreditation Conference - The Value of Continuing Medical Education: Navigating the Future 
June 6, 2019

More online CME

Featured Online CME Course

Course Health Care as a Basic Human Right – 2018 Ethics Forum 
Universal Health Care

More online CME

Upcoming lectures and training

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. Registration has closed, but if you would still like to attend the event, please email mvanniel@bidmc.harvard.edu to inquire about space.

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

"It's really sad, but our community kind of failed us."

—  Sara Blum, a mother whose infant contracted measles.   (CNN)

Tweet of the week

@subatomicdoc
I'm a doctor dedicated to improving health. Fortunate son, husband, father. #radonc journal club, @Rad_Nation, @MassMedical Communications. Neutral good.

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.

State DPH urges measles vaccination as Mass. suspected cases triple (MassLive)

"Every day, Massachusetts residents travel to places where measles is occurring and every day visitors arrive here from places where measles is occurring," said Public Health Commissioner Dr. Monica Bharel in a prepared release. "Every time there is a confirmed case of measles, hundreds of people may be exposed." She added, "I urge all Massachusetts residents to take this health outbreak seriously." "Make sure you have evidence of immunity to measles. If you don't, you should get vaccinated," Bharel said.  

Children's researchers find possible way to repair damaged hearts (WBZ)

When someone has a heart attack, muscle cells in the heart die off and generally don't get replaced. Instead scar tissue forms and that can eventually lead to heart failure. But researchers may have found a way to get heart cells to regrow using microRNAs, small molecules that regulate gene function in developing hearts. When injected into mice after a heart attack, within 10 days these molecules helped minimize cell death and reduced inflammation. With time, the treated hearts were healthier with less scar tissue and better pumping function than the untreated hearts.  

Saint Vincent Hospital names new CEO (Worcester Business Journal)

Saint Vincent Hospital has named a new CEO in Carolyn Jackson , who will also oversee operations for parent company Tenet Healthcare across Massachusetts. Jackson was most recently the COO for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, an 800-bed academic medical center in Philadelphia. In that role, which she began in 2015, she led improvements in operational performance and strategic growth, and supervised several large construction projects for the University of Pennsylvania Health System, according to Tenet, which announced Jackson's appointment Monday.  

Home health care firms settle AG's fraud claims for $10M (Boston Business Journal)

According to Attorney General Maura Healey's office, Amigos Homecare LLC of Lawrence will pay $2.13 million, and Avenue Homecare Services Inc. in Dracut will pay $8.3 million. The AG's office said both companies submitted claims to MassHealth for home health care services that hadn't been properly authorized by a physician. "These companies defrauded the state and diverted vital resources from elderly and disabled patients," Healey said in a release. "Home health care companies must provide services that are medically necessary, follow MassHealth regulations, and keep accurate records to ensure the integrity of this program."