MMS members win MPS honors; MMS testifies on An Act Relative to End of Life Options

News and announcements

Rohn Friedman, MD, received the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society's “Advancement of the Profession” award.

John Renner, Jr., MD, won the Society's "Lifetime Achievement" award.

Massachusetts Psychiatric Society honors MMS members with achievement awards

Rohn Friedman, MD, past president of the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society (MPS), was presented with the “Advancement of the Profession” award at the MPS Annual Meeting. Dr. Friedman has written about patient evaluation and treatment in emergency situations and in consultation-liaison psychiatry. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Beth Israel Hospital. 

John Renner, Jr., MD, winner of the MMS Special Award for Excellence in Medical Service, won the MPS “Lifetime Achievement” award. Dr. Renner has written and lectured extensively on the treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction and is widely recognized as a leader in the field of addiction medicine. Dr. Renner is currently a professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine and directs the VA Boston Healthcare System outpatient addiction treatment program and the joint BU/VA Boston Addiction Psychiatry Residency program.

MMS testifies on An Act Relative to End of Life Options

On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Medical Society provided testimony relative to House bill 1926 and Senate bill 1208, An Act Relative to End of Life Options. Specifically, the MMS wished to provide information relative to its new position of “neutral engagement” on the issue of medical aid in dying/physician-assisted suicide (MAID/PAS). The MMS adopted this policy last year as part of a broader position statement on end-of-life care. Click here to read the full written testimony.

Update: DPH e-prescribing requirement 

The MMS offered oral testimony this week at the hearing on DPH’s proposed regulations implementing the electronic prescribing mandate. These regulations require every prescription generated in Massachusetts to be an electronic prescription transmitted through a federally-compliant electronic prescribing system. Although exceptions to this requirement are provided and a waiver process is outlined by the regulations, the MMS advocated for broader language to provide greater flexibility to use written and oral prescriptions. The MMS also submitted written testimony, which can be found here . As a reminder, DPH is receiving testimony until July 2. If you wish to submit comment on these regulations, please follow the instructions found here.  

Join our AMA delegation: The MMS Committee on Nominations is seeking candidates 

The MMS Committee on Nominations is currently considering candidates for nomination as AMA Delegate and Alternate Delegate to the Massachusetts AMA Delegation. The deadline for submission of nomination applications is Friday, August 30. Visit www.massmed.org/amanoms to learn more about the qualifications and submit your application.

Interviews with the Committee on Nominations will be held at MMS Headquarters, Waltham, on Wednesday, October 2, 4:30 pm – 8:00 pm. Applicants should plan to be available on this date. Questions? Please contact Linda Healy at (781) 434-7008 or lhealy@mms.org , or Karen Harrison at (781) 434-7463 or kharrison@mms.org.   

Application for MassHealth Provider Access Improvement Grant Program

Earlier this month, MassHealth released the application for the Provider Access Improvement Grant Program, which aims to increase access to health care and improve health outcomes among MassHealth members with disabilities or for whom English is not a primary language, and is one of the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Statewide Investments.

The Grant Program will provide funding to selected MassHealth providers to purchase medical diagnostic equipment and other resources that help them better serve these populations. Grant awards of up to $25,000 will be made to selected MassHealth providers, totaling up to $2.07 million for this grant cycle ending December 31, 2019. Applicants must be actively enrolled MassHealth physicians, dentists, or other health care providers working in a medical setting that is not a hospital or owned by a hospital.

For more information about the program, please click here . Proposals are due no later than July 26, 2019. Please direct all questions to the "Contact Us" page on the website.  

An informational webinar is scheduled for June 25, 2019, at 12:00 pm EST. Please click here to register for the webinar.

MMS individual claims consultation days

The Massachusetts Medical Society is hosting in-person Insurance Claims Consultation (ICC) days. ICC days are designed to allow MMS member physicians and/or their practice staff to schedule 30-minute appointments with health plans to focus on the adjudication of troublesome claims. Available in three locations, representatives from health plans will be on-site to review claims with you to facilitate claims processing.

Schedule your appointment at massmed.org/ICC2019. 

Benefit buzz

Why you want to have this first line of defense

Take advantage of the MMS Legal Advisory Plan (LAP) 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. This is a MMS members-only benefit. Enroll or renew for July 2019 – July 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. Email lap@massmed.org or call (781) 434-7311.

Adding a new physician to your group? Contact the Physician Practice Resource Center and learn how to onboard a new provider in an efficient and comprehensive manner including, but not limited to, operations, marketing, and credentialing. We can answer your questions. Our goal is to provide you with the support and information you need to maintain a thriving practice. Feel free to contact us today at PPRC (781) 434-7702 or email us at pprc@mms.org.
 

Payer watch

Fostering effective integration of behavioral health and primary care in Massachusetts: An evaluation

Massachusetts Foundation undertook a three-year grant-funded initiative to expand access to integrated behavioral health (IBH) and primary care services in Massachusetts - Fostering Effective Integration (FEI). Grants were awarded to a diverse cohort of eight providers in the Commonwealth with experience in delivering IBH care. This report describes the findings of an evaluation conducted by John Snow, Inc. (JSI) from January 2016 to December 2018. The evaluation results shed light on the impact of various models of IBH on access, outcomes, and cost depending on population and setting. Through the testing of innovative models of IBH care, the FEI evaluation describes several lessons learned regarding:

• Linkages to primary care for patients with severe mental illness whose main point of contact with the health system is the behavioral health system;
• Strong engagement in IBH services and intensity of service use by adolescents;
• Improved access to behavioral health care for an older population; and 
• Improved capacity to collect and use quality improvement data.

For more information about this evaluation report and the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, click here.

Stay connected with all your payer updates by contacting our Practice Solutions and Medical Economics team at (781) 434-7702 or email us at pprc@mms.org .

Educational programs and events

CME education programs & events

Featured NEW online CME course

• Restoring the Fine art of Medicine: The Power of Physician Wellness - The 2019 Education Program
• Future of Care: A Call to Collaboration – The 2019 Shattuck Lecture
  

Upcoming events and trainings

July 9: You Can Do It: Buprenorphine Prescribing in Primary Care (MMS Headquarters)

This program aims to allow physicians in the primary care setting who have successfully made opioid use disorder (OUD) care a part of their daily practice to share their experiences, resources they have used along the way, and empower attendees to start prescribing lifesaving buprenorphine therapy more regularly in their practices. 

July 31: Transitioning Into and Within the Medical Device Industry (Regis College)

This networking event is for anyone seeking to enter or move laterally within the medical device industry. Our panel of industry veterans will talk about their varied experiences with transitions and provide insights to help you in your career. Additionally, a number of past speakers are invited back as special guests. The event will take place on Wednesday, July 31 from 5:30 - 8:30 pm. 

September 7-8: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery: Providing Evidence-Based Care in the Multidisciplinary Setting Course and Workshops (MMS Headquarters)  

Dedicated to addressing topics related to understanding all components of ERAS, including preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative Phases, the course and workshops consider evidence-based best practices for each component according to the various levels of care across different medical specialties. Participants will learn the value and implications of ERAS as a relatively new holistic approach to patient care.

Quote of the week

"An addict shall be treated as a patient, not as a criminal, whose addiction is a disease we would like to cure."

—  Malaysian Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad on his nation’s plan to decriminalize possession and use of drugs in small quantities to battle addiction.  (AP)

Tweet of the week

@DrSarahWakeman
Addiction medicine physician @MGHmedicine passionate about changing systems of care, improving treatment, and fighting stigma.

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.  

76% of Mass. residents think drug prices are unreasonable (WBUR)

Nearly one in three reported that it is somewhat or very difficult to afford their prescription drugs, and almost one in four said that in the last year they had opted not to fill a prescription on schedule because of the cost. More than one in four people reported that because of costs, they had cut pills in half or skipped doses to make a prescription last longer. Among residents who said they had delayed filling a prescription, taken a cheaper over-the-counter alternative or rationed medication, 43% believe their medical condition worsened as a result.  

Partners names Dr. Anne Klibanski as its new CEO (Boston Globe)

Partners HealthCare on Tuesday promoted Dr. Anne Klibanski to become its permanent chief executive, making her the first woman to hold the job at the state's largest hospital network as it rethinks its companywide strategy. Klibanski had been leading the company as interim CEO since February, after Dr. David Torchiana abruptly announced his departure. The Partners board had planned to conduct a national search for a permanent leader.

Opioid-related hospital visits down for the first time since 2010 (Lowell Sun)

The rate of opioid-related hospital visits in Massachusetts dropped slightly between 2016 and 2017, the first decline since those numbers were first tracked in 2010, according to a new analysis. The analysis, released Wednesday by the Health Policy Commission, found that rates of substance exposure in newborns also decreased by 6 percent from 2016 to 2017, along with the 2.3 percent drop in hospital visits. The number of people dying of opioid overdoses was also on the decline over that time period, falling from 2,100 to an estimated 2,050, according to Department of Public Health data. The commission, in its report, notes that the drop came while the national opioid mortality rate climbed 11 percent, but that the rate in Massachusetts nonetheless remained high compared to other states, at nearly twice the national average. 

MA health officials express concern over new fungal superbug (WGBH)

There's a new superbug, or drug-resistant germ, that Massachusetts healthcare facilities are dealing with, and it presents a serious global health threat. In 2017, a 71-year-old man with end-stage lung disease, who was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital, died from the pathogen called Candida auris, a yeast-like fungus, according to a report from Massachusetts General Hospital. Candida auris, or C. auris, can cause serious bloodstream infections and even death, especially among hospital and nursing home patients who have compromised immune systems. More than one in three patients with an invasive Candida auris infection dies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.