VITAL SIGNS
  Weekly e-News of the  Western Carolina Medical Society 
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December 20, 2017
In This Issue:
Sponsor Message: WCMS Blue Book (Left)
WCMS Membership Drive
WCMS' 2018 strategic plan has been board-approved
Spread of opioids puts strain on sheriff resources
Community Debate on Healthcare: Right or Commodity?
WCMS Physician Directories - Blue Books Are In!!
WellCare and Community Care of North Carolina Join Forces to Advance Healthcare in North Carolina
Snapshot: Nearly 50 Percent of NCMS Members Are At Least Somewhat Ready for Value-Based Care
Individual Mandate's Last Days
QI Minute from CCWNC
Healthy Healer - Long-term solutions for physician burnout
Physician Assistant Corner- PAs in Hospitals: 10 Fast Facts
WCMS Job Board
UPCOMING EVENTS
 
WCMS Membership Drive
If you have not yet done so, the time to renew your WCMS membership for 2018 is now! Check out your WCMS benefits here.  

Renew online today!
LOCAL NEWS
 
WCMS' 2018 strategic plan has been board-approved!
Our Strategic plan is guided by our  mission, values, vision, goals and strategic partners.  Read the 2018 Strategic Plan here
Spread of opioids puts strain on sheriff resources
On any given day, the Haywood County Detention Center is full of people suffering from substance abuse and/or mental illness - to the point where Sheriff Greg Christopher said it sometimes feels like his staff is running a mental health facility as opposed to a jail.

"Western Carolina University completed a study for us in 2016 where they interviewed people coming into the jail - 85.5 percent of people arrested openly admitted to being addicted to alcohol or some other substance," Christopher said.

The problem has been mounting in recent years as the opioid epidemic reaches the far corners of Western North Carolina. In 2012, the Haywood County Sheriff's Office made 178 drug arrests. In 2016, the sheriff's office made 457 drug arrests and that number is likely to be surpassed in 2017.  Read more here
Community Debate on Healthcare: Right or Commodity?
On Friday, December 15, local doctors, healthcare professionals, and community members met in the Asheville High School auditorium to debate "Healthcare: Right or Commodity?" 

 
Speakers on the panel included: Dr. Marsha Fretwell, Dr. Steve Buie, Dr. Rob Fields, Dr. Scott Donaldson, Dr. Carl Mumpower, Mary Caldwell, Katherine Restrepo, Leslie Boyd and Dustin McIntee.  

WCMS Physician Directories - Blue Books Are In!!
Now with a new spiral binding!   Order yours today!
STATE NEWS
 
WellCare and Community Care of North Carolina Join Forces to Advance Healthcare in North Carolina
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG), Community Care of  North Carolina, Inc. (CCNC) and Community Care Physicians Network, LLC (CCPN) have agreed to collaborate on the delivery of high-quality healthcare to  North Carolina'sMedicaid beneficiaries in connection with  North Carolina's new Medicaid program that is expected to be implemented in 2019.  Read more here
Snapshot: Nearly 50 Percent of NCMS Members Are At Least Somewhat Ready for Value-Based Care
Last week, the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) took a quick 'snapshot' survey of our members' attitudes on and readiness for the move to value-based care now underway. Enough members weighed in with their candid assessments within the 24-hour survey timeframe that pollsters would consider the results valid for such a statewide poll.
NATIONAL NEWS
 
Individual Mandate's Last Days
Republicans racing for the finish line said they could hold final votes in the House and Senate on their tax-cut bill as early as Tuesday, finishing off the first major legislative victory for  President Trump.

Senate Majority Whip  John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters the chamber could vote on the bill Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning as two previously undecided GOP senators,  Mike Lee of Utah and  Susan Collinsof Maine, said they would back it.

While both were expected to support the bill, their public declarations added to the sense of inevitability surrounding the bill.  Read more here
ITEMS OF INTEREST
 
QI Minute from CCWNC
Pay-for-performance model information here. 
Healthy Healer - Long-term solutions for physician burnout
Ten years ago, when Bridget Duffy, MD, presented a plan for work-life balance for physicians and nurses to alleviate burnout, it was scoffed at by the CEO of the health system. The executive told her that if doctors and nurses weren't strong enough to deal with lack of work-life balance, they shouldn't be working there.  Fast forward to today, and attitudes about physician burnout are changing, and for good reason, says Duffy, now the chief medical officer for Vocera Communications, a clinical communications provider. Physicans are more likely to commit suicide than a member of the general population and 73% of physicians would not recommend the profession to their children, according to the report,  Physician burnout in America: A roadmap for restoring joy and purpose to medicine.  Read more here
PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT CORNER
 
PAs in Hospitals: 10 Fast Facts

1) Hospitals are the most common workplace for PAs.

The hospital is the most commonly-reported work setting by PAs. Almost two of five PAs (38.5%) of PAs report that a hospital is their primary practice setting. Of the 32.3% of PAs who are employed by a hospital, 42.9% work at an academic medical center and 38.8% work at a community (nongovernment, nonprofit) hospital.

 

2) More male PAs work in hospitals, compared to other settings.
While the difference is slight, it is significant: 37% of PAs in hospitals are male, versus only 31% in other work settings. While PAs in hospitals are younger, they still have a great deal of experience; PAs in hospitals had been practicing as a PA for 8 years, compared to 9 years for PAs in other settings.  Read more here

WCMS Job Board
WCMS is a thriving 700+ member professional association of the physicians of Western North Carolina, and a chartered component medical society of the NC Medical Society and the AMA. WCMS is an organization run by physicians, for physicians. In 2017, WCMS opened membership to physician assistants.

Our Mission
WCMS Association: WCMSA is the physicians' voice advocating for the health of the physician, the patient, and the community, through strengthening the physician-patient relationship.

WCMS Foundation: WCMSF is the physician and community-led charitable arm of the medical society improving access to quality healthcare, decreasing disparities in health, and promoting health & wellness.

Our Vision
To be a dynamic physician community dedicated to a healthy, vibrant Western North Carolina.
 
About WCMS
The purpose of WCMS is: 
  • To strengthen the voice of WNC physicians in advocating for the health of the medical profession, the health of the patient, and the health of our region
  • To inform, educate and prepare physicians for rapidly occurring changes in health care at national, state, and local levels
  • To share legislative and policy information and advocate on behalf of physicians in areas of mutual interest
  • To share available resources in areas of mutual interest
  • To promote physician-to-physician communication and dialogue in an open, honest and safe environment
We hope you enjoy our weekly e-Newsletter. If you have questions or suggestions please feel free to contact me.  
Sincerely,
Photo: Miriam Schwarz, WCMS CEO
Miriam Schwarz

 
Miriam Schwarz signature



 
Miriam Schwarz, MPA
WCMS CEO/Executive Director