Burnout, bias, meds, and mellow workplaces: upcoming gatherings

Upcoming gatherings: networking, CME, HOD

Preventing, spotting, and tackling burnout (Oct 18, free)

How not to burn out when talking about burnout: Get together with your colleagues and discover effective strategies and resources. Topics and speakers include:

• The issues underlying burnout: Alain Chaoui, MD, FAAFP, MMS president
• Lessons from the frontline: Arabella Simpkin, MD, MGH Center for Educational Innovation and Scholarship
• Using SBIRT to identify alcohol and drug dependency: Donna Zucker, RN, MS, PhD, FAAN, UMass Amherst College of Nursing
• Preventing burnout in residency and fellowship: Amy Vinson, MD, FAAP, BCH

The event is provided by the MMS and the Massachusetts Medical Society Alliance. (You do not need to attend the full 2018 NorthEast Regional Conference.)

Gender and bias: Frontline barriers and solutions (Oct 19)

Tamika Cross, MD, who was not acknowledged as a physician during an in-flight emergency, was prevented from rendering care. Her experience crystallizes how bias against physicians has a direct effect on patient care; her story went viral and helped shift the discussion toward awareness and advocacy. This half-day CME program explores bias in medicine as a two-sided coin and its harms to both patients and physicians. Jennifer Joe, MD, CEO at Medstro, will lead the dialogue with Dr. Cross. Panel discussions will focus on physicians and on patient care.

Prescription predicament: What to do about drug costs (Oct 25, free)

The pharmaceutical industry is essential to developing and providing lifesaving medical treatments. But the price of prescription drugs can prevent patients from getting the medicines they need. At the 15th Annual Public Health Leadership Forum, a free half-day CME program, health care leaders and practitioners from across the Commonwealth will gather to grapple with prescription drug costs and the implications for patients, doctors, and public health. Speakers include Monica Bharel, MD, MPH, commissioner of MDPH; Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, dean of BU School of Public Health (shown), and Kenneth Kaitin, PhD, professor of medicine and director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development. The Prescription Drug Predicament: Improving Access and Fostering Innovation includes a panel discussion and networking opportunities. For more information and registration, click the button below.

Medical team tensions: How to shine as a leader and colleague (Nov 1–2)

Frustrated about workplace miscommunications? Doubting your ability to help keep your team united? Managing Workplace Conflict: Improving Leadership and Personal Effectiveness is an interactive CME forum for physicians based in real-life medical workplace scenarios. "I gained a lot of skills and tools that I can use going forward … I have more strategies” (recent participant). The program is designed for physicians in clinical practice, and those in administration and leadership. Click the button for information and registration.

For three succinct examples of medical workplace tensions and how to handle them, see “ Practice Growing Pains: Coaching through Conflict” (Vital Signs).

Approaching Interim Meeting deadlines

The 2018 Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates will be held Friday, November 30, at MMS Headquarters, and Saturday, December 1, at the Westin Hotel, Waltham. Note: the HOD will start at 9:00 a.m. both days.

• Online registration is now open
• To file a resolution, use the required resolution template; helpful information is provided at that link; resolutions are due Tuesday, October 16 
• Please make your hotel reservation by Monday, October 22  

Full meeting details are online.

Additional news and announcements

Evolution of medical practice told through the stories of MMS past presidents

"The first interview I got, he said, ‘Now before we go any further, I want to make it clear to you that I really don’t think there is any chance we would ever consider somebody with five children, but the group thought you were so unique we ought to meet even though we don’t think you should come to medical school with five children. That wouldn’t make any sense.’"
— Virginia T. Latham, MD, MMS president 2000-2001, in conversation with Jack T. Evjy, MD
 
This series of video interviews with past MMS presidents illuminates the evolution of the medical practice and profession over recent decades. Vital Signs This Week will announce further installments.

HIV/Hepatitis multidisciplinary conference (Dec 4)

The HIV/Hepatitis Multidisciplinary Community of Practice Conference will cover an HCV epidemiology update, UMMS Project ECHO, HCV web resources, and HCV treatment. The event is hosted by the AIDS Education and Training Program and will be held at Worcester Family Health Center. For more information and to register, click the button below.

Get involved

Fall mixer for LGBTQ providers (Oct 25)

Meet and network with other LGBTQ medical students and physicians from around the state at Club Café, Boston. Yvonne Gomez-Carrion, MD, will receive the MMS 2018 LGBTQ Health Award, an honor recognizing an individual who has made outstanding contributions to LGBTQ health. This event is sponsored by the MMS Committee on LGBTQ Matters. It will be held at& Club Café, 209 Columbus Avenue, Boston, MA; the price fix menu is $20 pp (including tax and tip, excluding drinks). To register, click the button below. Questions? Contact Erin Tally at  etally@mms.org or (781) 434-7413.

Reminders: Stuff you should click on

Dinner and discussion: Best resources for immigrant health care (Oct 17)

Join us to learn from active state advocates in the public and private sectors about the hidden challenges that immigrants experience accessing health care — and the innovative tools and resources that help physicians and other professionals provide better care to this population. This free, unique event (with dinner) will be held at the MMS headquarters in Waltham. It is hosted by the MMS Committee on Senior Volunteer Physicians; for information and registration, click the button below.

BML lecture: Health care spending solutions  (Oct 25)

Please join your peers at the Boston Medical Library (BML) for the Annual Garland Lecture exploring Why is US Healthcare Spending So High, and What Can We Do About It? Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, will present new data on health care spending and performance, challenging common myths and pointing toward solutions. Dr. Jha is director of the Harvard Global Health Institute and professor of global health at Harvard Chan School of Public Health. The event will be held on October 25, 5:30 p.m. (please note the corrected date), in the Armenise Amphitheater at HMS. The BML is the official library of the MMS. To register, click the button below.

Educational programs and events

Live events

Recognizing Burnout in the Medical Profession: Intervention and Prevention
Thursday, October 18, 2018

Gender and Bias in Medicine – Effect on Physicians, Impact on Patients
Friday, October 19    

The Prescription Drug Predicament: Improving Access and Fostering Innovation
15th Annual Public Health Leadership Forum  
Friday, October 25   

Managing Workplace Conflict: Improving Leadership and Personal Effectiveness
Thursday & Friday, November 1-2

Featured online CME

Current and Future Models of Physician Compensation 
Physician Employment Contract Basics
Negotiating Your Best Employment Agreement
Reading Financial Forms

Quote of the week  

"Now more than ever physicians need to vote because the outcomes of elections are increasingly affecting their patients and their ability to care for them."
— Suhas Gondi, Jonathan Kusner, and Yosef Berlyand, HMS students (" Hey Doctors, Don't be no-shows on Election Day," STAT )

Tweet of the week

@TuftsMedicalCtr - Tufts Medical Center is an academic teaching hospital in Boston that works with top area doctors & in conjunction w/full-service Floating Hospital for Children.

What’s new in health care

Check out the most clicked-on stories from this week's MMS Media Watch. Sign up for daily Massachusetts media roundups by email. Some publications are fully accessible only to their subscribers.

State to impose conditions on Beth Israel-Lahey merger (State House News)

The state Public Health Council voted to impose a series of new conditions on a pending 13-hospital merger involving Beth Israel Deaconess and Lahey Health, with terms that council members said are intended to improve patient access to care and limit potential cost escalation. The move comes on the heels of a Health Policy Commission review that said the new system's enhanced bargaining clout with commercial insurers could enable it to increase prices by $128.4 million to $170.8 million a year for inpatient, outpatient, and adult primary care services. Among other measures, the additional conditions require the system to submit to the Department of Public Health a proposal for "how it will address the low percentage of MassHealth in its payer mix," and to make "good faith efforts" to ensure the number of MassHealth patients it serves does not decrease.

What does the CVS-Aetna merger mean for Massachusetts? (Boston Globe)

Closer to home, the DOJ approval might help prod along a health care merger in Massachusetts. This seems like good news for any executives at Partners HealthCare, the Boston-based hospital giant, and Harvard Pilgrim, the Wellesley-based insurer, who believe in combining the two organizations. Representatives for both companies say discussions about exploring ways to collaborate remain ongoing, with a focus on improving the experience for patients while controlling costs.

What you need to know about Massachusetts ballot Question 1 (Boston.com)

Any hospital or facility found to have violated the limits could be fined up to $25,000, though the requirements would be dropped during nationally or state-declared public health emergencies. The Massachusetts Nurses Association, the union backing Question 1, had proposed a similar ballot question in 2014, but agreed to drop the effort after state lawmakers passed legislation setting a two-patient limit for nurses in intensive care units. At the time, both sides — the nurses union and the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, a trade group which opposed the original measure — applauded the compromise. If passed, the ratio requirements would take effect on Jan. 1, 2019.

Boston outbreak turned into the deadliest pandemic in modern history (Globe Magazine)

After weeks of furious work, Dr. Timothy Leary of Tufts College Medical School announced that he had developed a flu vaccine he believed to be effective. Mayor Peters invited newsmen to accompany him as he rolled up his sleeve to get an injection from Leary. "Feeling fine!" he said with a smile. Thousands of Bostonians followed the mayor's lead. A few weeks later, Peters dispatched an aide on a transcontinental train to deliver to the mayor of San Francisco enough doses to inoculate 17,000 residents. The mayor by the bay showed his thanks with a gold watch for Peters's aide and a gold-headed cane for Peters.

Holyoke behavioral health hospital 'not sustainable' if Q1 passes (MassLive)

Trinity Health of New England already loses $12 million a year at Providence Behavioral Health in Holyoke — and if voters pass a ballot question setting mandatory nurse staffing levels, it might force Providence to close, officials said. "It would widen that loss," said Mark Fulco, president of Mercy Medical Center and its affiliates, which includes Providence. "This would not be sustainable."

Whitinsville doctor's license renewal is blocked after DEA probe (Telegram and Gazette)

The state's medical board has prevented a Whitinsville opioid addiction doctor from renewing her license after a probe involving federal agents raised questions about her prescribing habits. Dr. Leslie Caraceni ran MetroWest Mind Body Spirit in Whitinsville from 2016 to 2018 and in Framingham and Southboro before that. Her right to renew her license was suspended Sept. 27 after allegations that she allowed secretaries to issue hundreds of prescriptions, abandoned patients, submitted a fraudulent license application and issued prescriptions after her license lapsed.

Western Massachusetts hospitals meet to discuss impacts of Question 1 (WWLP)

Nurses, physicians, and administrators from western Massachusetts hospitals gathered at Baystate Medical Center to discuss the negative impacts of Question 1. The passing of ballot Question 1 would put a limit on the number of patients assigned to a nurse at any given time. Hospitals across the state would stand to lose a billion dollars and could be forced to turn patients away once they've met their patient limit.  "Too many patients to take care of," said Catherine Penniman, a nurse at Mercy Medical Center. "They go home, they cry, they haven't been able to take as good a care of a patient as they would like too." "CEOs out there that make a lot of money and they are in charge of where that money goes, so their bonuses every year could really be used for the benefit of the patients that they serve," Penniman added.