Sponsor Message:
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| International Expert on Opioid Use Disorder During Pregnancy to Speak at MAHEC |
On Monday, November 13, Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) will welcome
Dr. Hendrée Jones from UNC Chapel Hill to discuss strategies for improving health outcomes for women with opioid use disorder during pregnancy.
Dr. Jones is an internationally recognized expert in the development and examination of both behavioral and pharmacologic treatments for pregnant women and their children in risky life situations. She directs UNC Horizons at the UNC School of Medicine, a comprehensive drug treatment program for pregnant and parenting women and their drug-exposed children. Her research is used around the world as a model for treating women with substance use disorders and their children.
MAHEC's perinatal substance use disorder treatment program, Project CARA, has contracted with UNC Horizons for technical assistance to support the program's growth and development. Project CARA has doubled in size over the past year and is on track to support approximately 400 pregnancies this year. Read more
here.
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Mission tightlipped about negotiations with BCBS
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Mission CEO Dr. Ron Paulus said he was stuck between a rock and a hard place after six months of negotiations - Mission would either have to accept a new contract with a reduction in payments for the next three years or just let its contract renew automatically Oct. 5 and accept a zero increase in payments for the next several years.
Mission officials were probably hoping the termination notice would pressure BCBS into further negotiations, but it didn't work. The insurance provider, according to Paulus, would not continue negotiations at all after Mission gave notice of terminating its contract. And because of a BCBS "corporate policy," Paulus said all negotiations and conversations with the insurance provider ceased and would not resume until after the Oct. 5 termination date. Read more
here.
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New service: WCMS offering confidential peer assistance to physicians flagged by NCMB for opioid prescribing practices
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WCMS is now offering confidential, voluntary peer to peer assistance for physicians flagged by the NCMB for opioid prescribing practices. The purpose of this assistance is to offer emotional support to put you at ease about the NCMB inquiry, educational information to better understand why you were flagged, and suggestions for improving your prescribing practices if there are indeed issues. This is a voluntary program. If you have been flagged by NCMB and wish to talk with one our volunteer peers (Dr. Blake Fagan and Dr. Don Teater), please contact WCMS CEO Miriam Schwarz directly at 274-2267 x1312 and we will help arrange a meeting for you. Your inquiry and meeting will be held in strict confidence.
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Enrollment in Federal Health Insurance Marketplace Opens Nov. 1 and Ends Dec. 15
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CMS unveils final MACRA implementation rule: 10 changes to the Quality Payment Program
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Thursday released a final rule on the Quality Payment Program that the agency said is meant to ease
burdensome regulations.
The 1,658-page final
rule (PDF) includes a comment period through Jan. 1, 2018, about the second year and future years of the Quality Payment Program, an initiative established under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) to reward physicians for value and outcomes either through the Merit-based Incentive Payment System and Advanced Alternative Payment Models. Read more
here.
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States will be allowed to impose Medicaid work requirements, top federal official says
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The government will give states broader leeway in running their Medicaid programs and allow them to impose work requirements on enrollees, a top federal health official said Tuesday in outlining how the Trump administration plans to put its mark on the insurance program for low-income Americans.
Seema Verma, who heads the Health and Human Services Department's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, did not spare criticisms of the Obama administration and called its opposition to work requirements "soft bigotry." Read more
here.
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Doctors Feel Excluded from Health Care Value Efforts
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U.S. hospitals and health care groups have experimented over the past decade with new management structures and alternative payment models to provide quality health care at lower cost. But physicians have been slow to embrace these for a host of reasons. Chief among them, our research shows, is that they feel excluded from the process.
The only practical way to make value-based care a reality is for health care organizations to bring physicians back into the decision-making process. After years of experimentation, doctors want evidence that new models for health care management, reimbursement, and policy will actually improve clinical outcomes for their patients. Without it, they see little reason to alter the status quo. That's a fundamental and overlooked obstacle to progress. And it explains why management-led organizations that have not embraced physician input have run into resistance. Read more
here.
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| Reducing the Burden of Cancer In NC |
Read the data and resource guide for communities fighting cancer
here.
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WCMS Foundation Awarded Two-Year Grant from Physicians Foundation "WCMS Healthy Healer Program: Using the Medical Society as a Vehicle to Address Physician Burnout"
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The Western Carolina Medical Society Foundation's (WCMS) Healthy Healer Program has been awarded a two-year grant from The Physicians Foundation to develop a replicable program for medical societies to address the growing trend of physician burnout. Using the medical society as a trusted and neutral vehicle, WCMS will offer easily accessible coaching, counseling, burnout prevention retreats, and other local resources to all physicians in the region, regardless of institutional affiliation. Read more
here.
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Healthy Healer - The Hippocratic Oath gets an update with new language about physician well-being, respect and patient autonomy
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If Hippocrates had to deal with physician burnout, he never mentioned it. After its latest updates, however, the World Medical Association's modern successor to the Hippocratic Oath now addresses physicians' well-being.
The Declaration of Geneva, originally adopted by WMA in 1948, serves as "a core document of medical ethics and a modern version of the 2,500-year old Hippocratic Oath," the association said in an
announcement. Among the more substantive changes is a clause designed to encourage focus on physicians' mental state: Read more
here.
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PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT CORNER
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What PAs Want in the Workplace: Involvement in Improving Patient Care
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Ten months ago, Avon Hospital, one of Cleveland Clinic System's ten regional hospitals, opened its doors to patients. Behind the scenes, months of planning came to fruition with the rollout of an innovative management and staffing model designed to not only improve patient care but also increase productivity.
According to Brent W. Burkey, MD, vice president of medical operations at Avon Hospital, a big part of Avon leadership's strategy was to ensure that patients saw appropriate providers at every stage in their journey of care.
"That drove the need to encourage top-of-license practice for every individual provider, including PAs," said Burkey. Top-of-license practice really comes down making sure that every provider can fully use all of their skills and experience to help patients. Read more
here.
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WCMS Job Board
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Medical Office Space: for a 1-2 provider practice to share with an established wellness/GYN solo practitioner. We are most interested in office based practitioners of lifestyle, integrative, or functional medicine. Please contact Erin Elliot at (828)489-3942 for more information.
If you are a 100% Member Practice, posting job openings here is FREE!
Click here
for more information.
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WCMS is a thriving 650+ 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,
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| Miriam Schwarz |
Miriam Schwarz, MPA
WCMS CEO/Executive Director
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