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MMS News & Announcements
Registration Now Open for 2012 Interim Meeting
The 2012 MMS Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates will be held Friday and Saturday, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, 2012 at MMS Headquarters and the Westin Hotel, Waltham. For information on the House of Delegates Meeting, online registration, hotel room information, and a complete schedule of events, click here to access the Interim Meeting website.
Members can access the HOD Community website to receive and give feedback on draft resolutions for the Interim Meeting. The site is visible only to MMS members. You must log in to the MMS website to see the content. Final resolutions must be submitted by October 16 either online at www.massmed.org/resolutions or by e-mail to resolutions@mms.org.
The MMS deadline for hotel reservations at the Westin Waltham Hotel is October 22. Please click here to make your reservations online or call the hotel at (800) 937-8461 and tell them you are with the Massachusetts Medical Society.
MMS Addresses DOI on Mental Health Parity, Risk-Bearing Provider Groups
The MMS is part of a coalition of health care groups discussing with the Commonwealth's Division of Insurance about ways in which new state requirements on insurers to cover mental health and substance abuse shall be enforced, and supporting the elimination of discriminatory prior authorization on medically necessary hospital admissions. The full text of the consensus statement is available here. (.pdf)
The MMS also provided both oral and written comments to help the Division of Insurance this week to establish standards for the registration of risk bearing provider groups.
October's Physician Focus TV Show Highlights Medicine's Greatest Achievements
MMS' Physician Focus marks its 100th episode with its October show, Medicine's Greatest Achievements. Guests for the program are Jeffrey Drazen, M.D., NEJM Editor-in-Chief, and Julie Ingelfinger, M.D., NEJM Deputy Editor. The host is Bruce Karlin, M.D., a primary care physician in Worcester. The show covers such topics as the invention of the stethoscope, discovery of anesthesia, the development of sterile surgery techniques and vaccines, and the early days of the New England Journal of Medicine. Watch the program online here, or check the listings of your local public access television stations for airtimes. Physician Focus episodes are also available for download on iTunes.
Ninth Annual Fall Forum for Free Health Care Programs
The Committee on Senior Volunteer Physicians will sponsor the annual Fall Forum for Free Health Care Programs on Nov. 7, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This is an opportunity for the free care programs to meet together to discuss matters of mutual concern and share successes and difficulties. We will be joined by Dr. A. Nicholas Morse, a surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and representatives from other area hospitals, to discuss the topic "How the Health Care Act Affects the Undocumented and Hospitals." Click here to learn more and register.
Garland Lecture to Feature "Emperor of Maladies" Author
Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, will be the speaker at the 37th Annual Joseph Garland Lecture, on Thurs., Oct. 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Armenise Amphitheatre, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Ave., Boston. Dr. Mukherjee's topic is "Writing a History of Cancer: An Epilogue." The lecture is sponsored by the Boston Medical Library in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. For more information, contact Roz Vogel at (617) 432-4807 or rvogel@hms.harvard.edu
Benefit Buzz: Special Offer on Collection Services
I.C. System is an MMS approved vendor offering collection services. Through the end of 2012, I.C. System is offering MMS members a 20 percent discount on its standard, online contingency rate. For more information and details call (800) 279-3511 or visit www.icmemberbenefits.com.
Education Programs & Events
Live CME Activities
Finance in an ACO World
Tuesday, October 2, 2012, 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
2012 Schwartz Center Speaker Series: Innovative Approaches to Partnering with Patients
Wednesday, October 3, 2012, 5:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., at The Inn at Longwood Medical, Boston, MA
PubMed: How to Search Like a Librarian
Wednesday,October 10, 2012, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
CME Accreditation Orientation
Tuesday, October 16, 2012, 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Federal Funding Opportunities
Thursday, October, 18, 2012, 3:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.
Controversies in the Screening and Management of Breast Disease
Wednesday, October 24, 2012, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Protecting the Protected Health Information in the Commonwealth: Health Data Security Training for Physicians
Thursday, October 25, 2012, 8:30 a.m.to noon. For more information, call (800) 322-2301, ext.7306.
Managing Workplace Conflict
Thursday, November 1, 2012, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Friday, November 2, 2012, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Learning from Our Errors - The Road to Safety
Thursday, November 1, 2012, 6:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. For more information, call (800) 322-2301 ext. 7306
Directors of Medical Education Conference
Thursday, November 8, 2012, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. For more information, call (800) 322-2301 ext. 7306.
MSCO 2012 Annual Meeting: Burkitt's Lymphoma: From Uganda to the U.S.; a Personal Journey
Thursday, November 8, 2012, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Physician Contracting Basics WEBINAR
Friday, November 16, 2012, noon to 1:00 p.m. For more information, call (800) 322-2301 ext. 7306.
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.
Coming Soon: Acid Suppression Therapy: Neutralizing the Hype
For additional risk management online CME activities, visit www.massmed.org/cme.
Contact us at MMSContinuingEducation@mms.org
This Week in Health Care
Steward Health Care Terminates Agreement to Buy Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket
Boston-based Steward said it was backing out of the asset purchase agreement with Landmark Medical Center because health care parties in Rhode Island and others had failed to meet conditions specified in the deal. Related news: Steward cancels accord with Senior Whole Health in Cambridge will no longer assign its staff doctors to treat about 900 elderly, low-income patients.
Partners' South Shore Hospital Bid Draws Scrutiny
Federal investigators have joined Massachusetts officials in closely scrutinizing a bid by Partners HealthCare to acquire South Shore Hospital.
Physician's Stolen Laptop Leads to $1.5 Million Settlement
With a $1.5 million settlement agreement over a laptop stolen from a Massachusetts physician, the Dept. of Health and Human Services is sending a signal to doctors and others that a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act comes with consequences.
Advocate: Youth Sports Not Doing Enough to Protect Players From Head Injuries
Chris Nowinski, a Harvard University football player and later a professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment said professional leagues like the NFL do much better now at safeguarding athletes, butyouth sports still have a way to go. Related news: Boston Children's Hospital on a mission to educate parents and athletes on sports injuries.
Mass. Youth BMI screenings Reveal Sobering Weight Data
Results of Body Mass Index screenings during the 2010-11 school year, released by the state Department of Public Health this week, show that almost one-third of the state's students in Grades 1, 4, 7 and 10 are either overweight or obese.
Framingham Heart Study Praised for Health Contributions
The Framingham Heart Study continues to make significant contributions to women's health research, state legislators and medical professionals were told at a Boston University School of Medicine roundtable.
