MMS NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Post-Election Perspective: Physician-Assisted Suicide, Medical Marijuana Ballot Questions
This week, Massachusetts voters defeated Ballot Question 2, a proposal to legalize physician-assisted suicide. Following the vote, MMS President Richard Aghababian, M.D., said: "We are pleased that the majority of voters agree that a physician's role is to heal and comfort, not to aid in death. We reaffirm our commitment to provide physicians treating terminally ill patients all the resources necessary to enable them to contribute to the comfort and dignity of the patient and the patient's family."
The state's voters passed Ballot Question 3, legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes with a physician's consent. In response, Dr. Aghababian asserted the Society's position that marijuana has not been proven to be medicine, and has not been properly tested and approved by the FDA.
"We have asked the Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify marijuana so that research and clinical trials can determine whether or not it has medical value. Until its effectiveness is proven clinically and accepted by the FDA, we urge physicians to refrain from recommending it to their patients," said Dr. Aghababian. "Above all, the prescribing of drugs by a physician should be based on clinical and medical evidence, not by popular vote. Further, we will closely monitor the impact of this law and will not hesitate to recommend changes if necessary."
Read the Society's full statement on the ballot questions.Media coverage:
Steven Adelman, M.D., Named PHS Director
Steven Adelman, M.D., Director of Behavioral Health and Addiction Medicine at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, has been named Director of Physician Health Services, effective March 18, 2013. He will succeed Dr. Luis Sanchez, who will retire in the spring of 2013 after 14 years of service to PHS.
Board certified in psychiatry and addiction psychiatry, Dr. Adelman is a founding trustee of HVMA, where he manages a staff of 130 mental health professionals. He is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Dr. Adelman completed his internship, residency, and chief residency at McLean Hospital and was a Fellow in Addiction Medicine at UMass Memorial Medical Center. He is currently a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, where he was the Director of Outpatient Psychiatry and the primary psychiatrist on the Physicians' Health Committee. He has also served as an addiction consultant to the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, as well as a number of healthcare organizations, law firms, and sports franchises.
MMS Interim Meeting Just 3 Weeks Away: Log on to Testify Online
The Delegates' Handbook for the MMS Interim Meeting Nov. 30- Dec. 1 is now available online for all MMS members and was mailed to members of the House of Delegates this week. The late-file deadline is November 14, 5:00 p.m. Should you need to submit an urgent item visit www.massmed.org/resolutions for more information or email resolutions@mms.org.
Members can testify online now for six selected topics. (Log on with your user name and password to access the site.) Please use the online forum with the same decorum that is expected at live hearings. Complete instructions and terms of use are posted, along with a resource library and links to other important Interim Meeting events. For more information on 2012 Interim Meeting events and to register, please visit www.massmed.org/interim2012
MMS Annual Awards Nomination Deadline: December 10
Nomination applications for the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award, Special Award for Excellence in Medical Service, Award for Distinguished Service to the Massachusetts Medical Society, Grant V. Rodkey, M.D., Award, Henry Ingersoll Bowditch Award for Excellence in Public Health, and the Committee on History Essay Award must be received by December 10. Click here for more information on these and other MMS awards, or to obtain a nomination application.
EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
Live CME Activities
Physician Contracting Basics WEBINAR
Friday, November 16, 2012, noon to 1:00 p.m.
2012 Annual Oration: Working Together - From Guild to Enterprise
Friday, November 30, 2012, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Ethics Forum: Serving Two Masters - What Practicing Cost-Conscious Medicine Means for Patient Care and the Public Trust
Friday, November 30, 2012, 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Preventing Falls in Older Patients: A Provider Tool Kit WEBINAR
Wednesday, February 6, 2013, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm, via live webinar. Call (800) 322-2302, ext. 7306 for more information.
The above activities have been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
Save the Date
8th Annual Women's Cardiac Health Conference
Friday, February 1, 2013
Care Coordination through Communication
Friday, February 8, 2013
Public Health Leadership Forum: Navigating Access to Mental Health Services
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Online CME Activities
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.
Contact us at MMSContinuingEducation@mms.org
THIS WEEK IN HEALTH CARE
Mass. Pharmacy Board Head Fired in Wake of Meningitis Outbreak
The director of the state pharmacy board, James D. Coffey, has been fired and the board's attorney, Susan Manning, has been placed on administrative leave for allegedly ignoring a complaint in July that New England Compounding Center was distributing bulk shipments of drugs to hospitals in Colorado, in violation of its state licenses. Related news: NECC pharmacy workers ordered to stop work and Ameridose, sister company to pharmacy linked to fungal meningitis outbreak, laying off hundreds.
Hospitals Seek to Lower Readmission Rates
Hundreds of hospitals in the country - including several in Massachusetts -- will lose money under a new federal program meant to force improvement in the overall care of some of the sickest seniors. The program docks Medicare payments to hospitals whose patients are most likely to be readmitted within 30 days of treatment for pneumonia, heart failure, or heart attacks.
Ultrasounds, Info for 14,000 Patients Missing
Women & Infants Hospital in Providence says ultrasound images and some personal information for 14,000 patients in Rhode Island and Massachusetts are missing.
EMS Paramedic Faces Criminal Charges for Tampering with Painkillers
A Boston Emergency Medical Services paramedic faces criminal charges for allegedly tampering with vials of powerful painkillers stored on ambulances, actions which led city officials to notify 57 patients they may have been exposed to blood-borne illnesses.
Cofounder of Homeless Health Care Program Awarded Albert Schweitzer Prize
Dr. Jim O'Connell, co-founder of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program has received the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism.
State Seeking Impartial Medical Examiners
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents is seeking qualified, board- certified physicians to serve as impartial medical examiners for cases involving injuries and illnesses sustained by workers. More information can be found here. Questions can also be addressed to Diane Neelon at (617) 727-4900 ext. 574 or via email at diane.neelon@state.ma.us.
