Editor’s Note: We will not publish during the week of July 1. Our next edition will be published July 12, 2013.
MMS News & Announcements
MMS Seminar Discusses Clinical and Financial Integration of Physician Practices
This week, the MMS Physician Practice Resource Center hosted a two-hour program about the issues that physician practices need to consider for integration and alignment with accountable care organizations, hospitals and other health systems.
MMS President Ronald W. Dunlap, MD, opened the program by arguing that physician-led systems provide the best opportunity for physicians to control their environment and their practice of medicine.
Chris Collins MD, principal of ECG Consulting Management, discussed practice readiness for ACOs, and Mark Waxman, Esq., an attorney with Lardner Foley LLP, provided an overview of the legal issues for clinical and practice integration.
Excerpts of the session are available here. More clips from the session will be published within the next week.
The MMS plans to sponsor similar programs at sites throughout the state in the coming months. To find out more about this program, contact Lisa Smith at lsmith@mms.org.
MMS Testifies on Several Public Health Bills; Supports Trust Fund for Childhood Vaccines
MMS officials this week offered testimony on several public health bills. The MMS supports H. 2012, "An Act Establishing the Massachusetts Childhood Vaccines Program," which would establish a Vaccine Purchase Trust Fund to ensure that children 0-18 years of age receive all of the vaccines recommended by the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and provide funding for the Massachusetts Immunization Registry.
The MMS also testified in opposition to three other bills this week. The first, S. 995, "An Act Authorizing Certain Pharmacy Interns to Administer Immunizations," would blur the distinction between pharmacy students and interns. The Society opposed S.1021, "An Act to Increase Access to Vaccines" because it objects to unlicensed personnel administering controlled substances. MMS also opposed S.1044, "An Act Relative to Health Care Providers and First Responders Education" because it could potentially jeopardize the licensure of physicians that may have little or no contact with patients, or interaction in any way relevant to HIV or AIDS. Read the full MMS testimony here.
NEJM Journal Watch Launches New Website
NEJM Journal Watch, which provides medical literature surveillance across 13 specialties, has launched a completely redesigned, mobile-optimized website with enhanced content. The new website features simpler navigation, detailed editor profiles, greater coverage of clinical guidelines and continuously updated content.
Take advantage of your MMS member discount (50% off new subscription orders) when you subscribe to NEJM Journal Watch today. Call (800) 843-6356 or email JWatch@mms.org.
July Physician Focus TV Examines Weight-Loss Surgery
Obesity in America is enormous public health problem, with some 36 percent of adults and 17 percent of children and adolescents considered obese. The July edition of Physician Focus, Weight-Loss Surgery: Myths and Realities, examines surgery as a treatment for obesity. Guests are Mitchell Gitkind, MD, medical director of the UMass Memorial Weight Center in Worcester, and Rick Buckley Jr., MD, former director of the Bariatric Surgery Center at North Shore Medical Center in Salem. Hosting this edition is Bruce Karlin, MD, a primary care physician in Worcester, Mass. Watch the episode beginning July 1 online here or on iTunes.
Education Programs and Events
Live CME Activities
Women’s Leadership Forum: Women in Medicine – Competition, Collaboration, and Team Leadership
Thursday, September 26, 2013, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Call for more information 800-322-2303, Ext. 7306.
Principles of Palliative Care and Persistent Pain Management: Tools to Integrate Into Your Practice
Friday, September 27, 2013m 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Call for more information 800-322-2303, Ext. 7306.
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 a.m.to 11:45 a.m.
Call for more information 800-322-2303, Ext. 7306.
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
* Also available in print. Call (800) 322-2303, ext. 7306.
For additional risk management online CME activities, visit www.massmed.org/cme.
This Week in Health Care
Cheryl Bartlett Named Mass. Public Health Commissioner
Cheryl Bartlett, a nurse and longtime community health leader, was tapped Wednesday to be Massachusetts' new public health commissioner.
Quincy Medical Center Psychiatry Unit Temporarily Closed for Squalid Conditions, Patient Neglect
State inspectors found filthy conditions and patients left unattended on Quincy Medical Center's psychiatric ward for seniors.
Dallas-Based Tenet to Run St. Vincent in Worcester and MetroWest Medical Center
Tenet Healthcare is poised to own St. Vincent Hospital for a second time after a proposed $4.3 billion deal between Tenet Healthcare and Vanguard Health Systems was signed.
Winchester Hospital, Lahey Health Plan Affiliation
Winchester Hospital's board has signed a letter of intent to affiliate with Lahey Health, the parent organization of Lahey Clinic in Burlington.
AIDS Action, Fenway Health Forge New Partnership
Two of Boston's landmark AIDS organizations announced they are joining forces. Fenway Health and AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts said the partnership will improve care at a time when people are living longer with the virus
Four Mass. Health Insurers Will Issue Rebates of $57.5m
The rebates from Massachusetts health plans were about 3.2 percent more than the $55.7 million refunded last year under the state's "medical loss ratio" requirement that at least 90 percent of premiums be used to pay doctors and hospitals for care.
Rabies Warning Issued After Wild Animal Attacks
Health officials in some towns around Massachusetts are warning residents to be especially conscious of wild animals acting unusually after five people were attacked by rabid animals in recent weeks.
