MMS News & Announcements
Now Available on MassMed.org: Physicians’ Guide to Accountable Care Organizations
MMS members can now download a new publication for physicians and their practice managers, MMS Guide to Accountable Care Organizations: What Physicians Need to Know. The 44-page publication provides detailed guidance on the issues that physicians should consider whether they are currently participating in an ACO, forming or joining an ACO, or entering into an integration agreement with another health care organization. The guide is available at www.massmed.org/ACOguide.
MMS Releases New Study on ACO Governance Models
Various studies have found that most hospital-based accountable care organizations are governed either by physician-hospital joint ventures, or are physician-led. To determine the best practices for the governance of ACOs, the MMS interviewed leaders of seven integrated health systems around the country to learn their governance practices. This five-page report outlines the findings. MMS members can download the document here.
September Physician Focus TV: The Physician-Patient Relationship
The September edition of Physician Focus with the Massachusetts Medical Society discusses the many aspects of the physician-patient relationship in today’s world of medicine. The guest for the show is MMS Vice President Dennis M. Dimitri, MD, Clinical Associate Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at UMass Memorial Medical Center and UMass Medical School. Hosting this program is Mavis Jaworski, MD, a board-certified family physician in Beverly, Massachusetts. Watch the episode online here or on iTunes.
President’s Podium Blog: A Vote for Vaccines
In his latest President’s Podium blog, MMS President Ronald Dunlap writes, “If we need any reason to remind our patients about the value of vaccines, all we need do is look around our country and the world. Diseases once thought to be under control, even eradicated, are reappearing with disturbing frequency.” Read the complete President’s Podium blog.
Related news: The CDC recently issued a Letter to Providers about vaccines and the 2013-14 influenza season. Read the full letter here.
Mass. AMA Delegation Nomination Deadline is Extended to Sept. 9
The MMS Committee on Nominations is considering candidates for nomination for Delegate and Alternate Delegate on the Mass. AMA Delegation. The deadline for submission of nomination applications is extended to Monday, September 9 at 4:00 p.m. If you or an associate would like to be considered for nomination for AMA Delegate or Alternate Delegate, please complete a Nomination Application, which can be found at www.massmed.org/AMAnom.
Interviews with the Committee on Nominations will be held at MMS headquarters in Waltham on Wednesday, September 25, 2013, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nominees should reserve this date. If you have questions, please contact Bonney Erskine at Society headquarters at (800) 322-2303, ext. 7208 or via e-mail at berskine@mms.org.
Deadline for International Health Studies Grant Applications is Sept. 15
Apply by Sept. 15 for this year’s International Health Studies Grant program. Medical students and resident physician members of the MMS are eligible to apply for grants up to $2,000 to defray the costs of study abroad. More information and application materials can be found here. For more information on the Foundation and its activities, visit www.mmsfoundation.org or contact Jennifer Day, director, at (781) 434-7044, or via email at jday@mms.org.
Apply Now: MMS Info Tech Award for Residents and Students
Applications are being accepted for the MMS Information Technology in Medicine award program for medical students and residents through November 10. The $3,000 awards are presented for functioning projects substantially completed in the past year that use information technology to assist physicians in the practice of medicine, the teaching of medicine, or the pursuit of clinical research. Finalists present their projects to the Committee on Information Technology on the evening of Wednesday, December 4 in Waltham. The winning applicants in each category are awarded a prize of $3,000 in the spring of 2014. For more information, contact lbarzin@mms.org
Education Programs & Events
Live CME Activities
Contracting With an ACO Webinar
Tuesday, September 17, 2013, 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Via Live Webinar
Physician Leadership in the Changing Health Care Environment
Executive Leadership Certificate Program, sponsored with the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University
- Session I – Friday, September 20, and Saturday, 21, 2013
- Session II – Friday, January 24 and Saturday, 25, 2014
- Session III – Friday, May 9 and Saturday, 10, 2014
The Impact of Genomic Testing on the Treatment of Lung Cancer
Thursday, November 7, 2013, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Call (800) 322-2302, ext. 7317 for more information.
Women’s Leadership Forum: Women in Medicine – Competition, Collaboration, and Team Leadership
Thursday, September 26, 2013, 5:45 to 8:00 p.m.
Principles of Palliative Care and Persistent Pain Management: Tools to Integrate Into Your Practice
Friday, September 27, 2013, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Caring for the Caregivers IX: How do we Reduce Physician Stress and Burnout?
Thursday, October 3, 2013, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
CME Accreditation Orientation
Tuesday, October 15, 2013, 8:30 to 11:45 a.m.
Managing Workplace Conflict
Thursday, October 17, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday, October 18, 2013, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The above activities have been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
Online CME Activities
End-of-life care is fraught with ethical challenges for patients, families, and physicians. This three-part online CME series includes modules on Ethics and End-of-life Care, Communication and Conflict Resolution and Advance Care Planning.
This activity meets the criteria of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine for risk management credit, including 3.0 credits in end-of-life care.
The following free Risk Management CME activities encompass the most recent guidelines on cancer screening initiation, screening intervals and screening follow-up.
More Risk Management Online CME
For additional risk management online CME activities, visit www.massmed.org/cme.
This Week in Health Care
Mass. Health Officials Warn of Measles Exposure at Two Hospitals
The alert covers anyone who may be showing early symptoms of measles, which resembles a cold at first, and visited Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston between Aug. 17 and 23 or MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham on Aug. 23 and 24.
Cape Hospital Patients at Risk for Rare Brain Disease
Five patients at Cape Cod Hospital may have been exposed to a rare, deadly brain disease during spinal surgery performed with a potentially contaminated instrument that was previously used at a New Hampshire hospital where patients also may have been exposed.
New Medical Center CEO Takes On Challenges Of Cost Controls
Patrick Muldoon takes the helm at UMass Memorial Medical Center at a time when even the most seasoned hospital administrators are mired in uncertainty about health care reform, which is hitting health care providers with new state and federal mandates..
New Patient Pavilion Opens at Saint Anne's Hospital
The 60,000-square-foot building includes two new patient-care units, including a telemetry unit, which cares for patients requiring cardiac monitoring and a medical-surgical unit that cares for patients with a variety of illnesses and conditions.
Fallon Total Care Announces Launch Date
A subsidiary of Fallon Community Health Plan, said it will be the first in the nation to launch a "dual-eligible" plan sponsored by CMS and EOHHS to address complex medical and mental health needs.
Staff Failures Cited in Arbour Psychiatric Centers Deaths
Arbour Health System, which operates Arbour-Fuller, six other inpatient psychiatric facilities, and a chain of mental health clinics in Massachusetts, has been cited for violating patient-care standards before and since three deaths.
Mosquito-Related Concerns Spur Curfews
Heightened concerns about mosquito-borne diseases have driven many suburbanites indoors, as have edicts by local officials to obey sunset curfews and reduce the risk of exposure.
Party Drug “Molly” Has Authorities on Alert
Dr. Richard J. Church, a medical toxicologist at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, said local hospitals have seen a few cases in which people have needed medical attention after using what they said was Molly.
