MMS News and Announcements
MMS Working with State Agencies to Interpret EHR Mandate
The MMS has begun working with several state agencies to develop recommendations on how to interpret and implement a recent state law that seeks to foster the implementation of electronic health records in Massachusetts.
In 2010, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a law requiring that, as a condition of licensure starting in 2015, Massachusetts physicians must demonstrate proficiency in the use of electronic health records, computerized order entry, e-prescribing, and other forms of health information technology.
Last year, the Legislature amended that statute to state that physicians must “demonstrate the skills to comply with the ‘meaningful use’ requirements.” There was no further language to explain the intent or scope of that amendment.
The Board of Registration in Medicine is still working on the regulations to specify how physicians would demonstrate such proficiency.
Given that even the most optimistic forecast holds that only 12,000 eligible providers in Massachusetts would achieve Meaningful Use certification by 2015 (more than 30,000 physicians hold a Massachusetts license), the MMS is committed to ensuring that the statute is interpreted broadly, and does not unintentionally disenfranchise thousands of physicians, thereby creating an extreme health care access issue.
MMS Testifies in Favor of Patient Safety Bill, Against Mandatory Nurse Staffing Ratios
The MMS this week testified in support of H.1024, “An Act to Encourage Quality Reviews and Reduce Costs in Health Care” sponsored by Rep. William Galvin. The bill addresses medical peer review, medical malpractice causation and judgment rates, and punitive damages. The bill, MMS said while urging favorable action, “addresses simple solutions to ongoing concerns which generate significant costs , impede quality reviews and threaten the efficient provision of high-quality health care.” The MMS urges favorable action. Read more about the testimony.
Also this week, MMS officials offered testimony against Massachusetts Senate Bill 557 and House Bill 1008, “An Act Relative to Patient Safety.” These bills would require the Department of Public Health to develop nurse staffing ratios for implementation by hospitals, as a condition of licensure. The MMS supports the concept of adequate nurse staffing levels without across-the-board statutory or regulatory ratios.
Disaster Medicine is Topic of June’s Physician Focus TV Program
The medical community’s response to the Boston Marathon bombings, generally regarded as a model example of emergency response, provides the starting point for a discussion of emergency preparedness and the specialty of disaster medicine in the June edition of Physician Focus.
Paul Biddinger, MD, Chief of the Division of Emergency Preparedness and Medical Director of Emergency Department Operations at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and Mary-Elise Manuell, MD, Director of the Division of Disaster Medicine and Emergency Management at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, join host James Kenealy, MD, in describing the key elements to emergency preparedness and how disaster medicine is practiced. Physician Focus is available for viewing on public access television stations throughout Massachusetts and also available online here and on iTunes.
Charles River District Medical Society Gives $3,500 Gift to Waltham Day Center for Homeless
Community Day Center of Waltham, the only walk-in day center for homeless adults west of Boston, received a $3,500 charitable grant this week from the physicians of the Charles River District Medical Society to support the agency’s efforts to help homeless adults.
Consider a Volunteer Opportunity This Fall: Info Session on June 4
The Committee on Senior Volunteers invites you to learn more about a unique and rewarding volunteer opportunity. Boston University School of Medicine is looking for physicians to volunteer as faculty facilitators for the Integrated Problems Course. Join us for an informational session on June 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at MMS Headquarters. A complimentary lunch will be provided. To register to attend the session, please contact Carolyn Maher at (800) 322-2303, ext. 7311, or via email at cmaher@mms.org.
MMS Presents 11th Annual Symposium on Men’s Health on June 12
The full-day program, “Getting Men Healthier —A Physician’s Playbook” on Wednesday, June 12, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., covers hands-on clinical information that can immediately be put to practice in treating male patients. Featured speakers include Jeffrey Drazen, MD, NEJM Editor-in-Chief, and Joshua Kosowsky, MD, co-author of the book, When Doctors Don't Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests. For more information and to register, go to www.massmed.org/MH2013.
Education Programs and Events
Live CME Activities
MMS Events
A Roadmap to Bring an End to HIV and STDs in Massachusetts: What All Health Care Providers Need to Know
Friday, June 7, 2013, 8:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Assessing Medication, Mental Health, and Cultural Needs During Sheltering
Tuesday, June 11, 2013, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., live conference or via streaming webinar
HIPAA 2.0: Its Impact on Physician Practice WEBINAR
Tuesday, June 11, 2013, 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., via live webinar
Getting Men Healthier – A Physician’s Playbook: 11th Annual Symposium on Men’s Health
Wednesday, June 12, 2013, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
2nd Annual Addiction Medicine for All Providers Conference
Friday, June 21, and Saturday, June 22, 2013, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.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
* 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
New Push to End Hospital Payment Inequities
An alliance led by the state's fastest-growing health care company and its largest health care union will press for higher payments to community and safety net hospitals.
As NIH Funding Shrinks, Mass. Biomedical Researchers Compete For Fewer Grants
The federal sequester threatens Boston’s perch as leader among all U.S. cities in the amount of funding from the NIH.
New State Health Panel Eyes Partners Merger
A new state commission has chosen the proposed merger of the Partners Healthcare System with South Shore Hospital for its first review.
Healthcare Mergers Flourished After Mass. Reform Law
PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that in the last three years, one-third of Massachusetts hospitals have merged or partnered with another system. Another one-fifth are in discussions to merge, and only 9 percent of all hospitals are entirely independent. Seventeen health-care systems have merged since the 2006 law was passed.
Teen Mental Health Services Spared Cuts
Cambridge Health Alliance officials said this week they will not shrink services to children and teens with acute mental illness this year, as planned.
Urology Inc. Merges with Southcoast Physicians Group
A Fall River urology practice has joined Southcoast Physicians Group as part of a move by Southcoast to bring together a diverse group of primary care doctors and specialists into its network.
Nondoctors Enter World of Tattoo Removal
Such an expansion troubles doctors, who caution that powerful lasers wielded by non-physicians can be dangerous.
Mass. Proposes Medical Marijuana Fee Structure
Medical marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts would be required to pay a yearly registration fee of $50,000, and most patients would pay $50 annually to the state to remain in the program under a fee structure proposed by state health officials.
Brigham Sets Sight on Leg Transplants
Boston surgeons are evaluating several amputees for leg transplants, a highly experimental operation believed to have been done just twice around the world and never in the United States.
Lyme Season Upon Us
State health officials say the next two months may bring an influx of the disease that has spread across Massachusetts in recent years.
