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MMS News & Announcements
Nation Awaits Supreme Court ACA Ruling; MMS Will Provide Same-Day Coverage
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act next week. Along with special editions of Vital Signs This Week and Legislative [INVALID], MMS will provide same-day coverage of a planned State House rally sponsored by a coalition of organizations what worked to pass the state's health care reform law.
More Supreme Court coverage:
AMA Elects New Leadership, Announces New Strategic Focus
The AMA this week inaugurated Jeremy A. Lazarus, M.D., a Denver psychiatrist, as its 167th president at the organization's annual meeting in Chicago. Three Massachusetts physicians, MMS Past President Mario E. Motta, M.D, Katherine L. Harvey, M.D. and James E. Sabin, M.D., were elected to AMA council positions. Read full coverage.
Among new policies adopted this week by AMA's House of Delegates were directives to evaluate the potential of the ICD-11 diagnostic code set, block legislation to exempt cigars from FDA regulation, encourage the establishment of drug courts and ease insurer limits on appropriate quantities of medication and improve consumer education on the adverse health effects of excessive consumption of beverages containing added sweeteners.
The AMA also announced a new three-pronged strategic focus. Read the transcript and see a video about the AMA's new strategic focus.
Education Programs & Events
Live CME Activities
Antitrust Considerations for Physicians in Massachusetts
July 18, 2012, noon to 1 p.m. via WEBINAR
Management of Carotid Artery Stenosis and Acute Stroke: How to Provide the Best Treatments for Your Patients
September 29, 2012, 7:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Managing Workplace Conflict
November 1, 2012, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and November 2, 2012, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The above activities have been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
Online CME Activities
For additional risk management online CME activities, visit www.massmed.org/cme.
TheAnswerPage.com
Earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ every week by reading targeted content relative to pain medicine, opioid prescribing, palliative care, risk management, hospital medicine, perioperative medicine, anesthesiology, and clinical statistics and completing either an Interactive Crossword Puzzle or Standardized Quiz.
Note: The pain medicine, opioid prescribing, palliative care, risk management content will be available in July 2012.
For more information, contact us at MMSContinuingEducation@mms.org
This Week in Health Care
Health insurance rebates coming to 164,000 Mass. consumers
About 164,000 people in Massachusetts will receive a rebate on their health insurance premiums averaging about $140 per family because the insurers spent too much on administrative costs, profits, or surpluses.
Drug Makers, Mass. Officials to Form Consortium
Massachusetts and seven pharmaceutical companies have announced an ambitious neuroscience consortium aimed at improving the understanding and treatment of neurological disorders. More Bio 2012 Coverage: Bay State leaders this week announced major partnerships with countries from Israel to Finland. Related news: Patients Driving New Drug Research.
Report: Mass. Gets C+ In Improving Residents' Health
There are mixed grades in a second annual report card, from the Boston Foundation, on Massachusetts' efforts in health and wellness. Related coverage: Mass. transit cuts threaten public health, according to Boston Foundation and NEHI, a Cambridge health policy institute.
Most Mass. Facilities Score Well in LGBT Health Access Index; MGH is Outlier
Eighteen of 21 participating Massachusetts health care facilities earned perfect scores in a survey gauging how well their policies protect health care access for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
Fears that EHRs Will Compromise Mental Health Privacy
A patient whose medical records at Massachusetts General Hospital included more than 200 pages of detailed notes from her psychiatrist said she was outraged when she visited a new internist and learned that other doctors had access to the notes.
Saint Anne's Hospital Ends Cardiac Rehab Program
Saint Anne's Hospital in Fall River will close its cardiac rehabilitation program, a program it has run since the mid-1980s, in its third round of layoffs in the past year.
Bucking Trends, Quincy Doctor Still Works Solo
Dr. Patricia Hopkins, perhaps the only solo rheumatologist on the South Shore, recently won an MMS community clinician award.
State Calls for Applications to Manage "Dual Eligibles"
The Patrick administration is calling for bids from organizations interested in managing the health care of about 111,000 low-income people in the state who have complex and costly medical needs.\
Adult Immunization News and Tools
- On June 27, from noon to 1 p.m., Masspro will host web-based CME event, "Evidence-based Strategies to Increase Adult Vaccine Rates." For more information or register, contact Jennifer Cronin at (781) 419-2777.
- The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) has developed a multi-disciplinary Campaign for Adult Immunization and an accompanying toolkit with ready-to-use materials and customizable templates to help increase rates of vaccination against pneumococcal disease.
- 2011-12 Flu vaccine expiring: All state-supplied flu vaccine, once expired, must be removed from refrigerator units and returned to McKesson Specialty. MedImmune's Flumist has expired; GSK's Fluarix vaccine expired June 16, 2012; and Sanofi's Fluzone vaccine is due to expire June 30, 2012. Contact the MDPH Vaccine Unit to arrange for return of the vaccine within the next two months (.pdf).
Mass Health Offering Transaction Training Webinars June 27
MassHealth is offering providers transaction training for claims that contain adjudication details from another insurance with a series of webinars on June 27. Complete details and registration information is available here.
