WORD TO THE WISE
Newsletter: August 2018 - Volume 18, No. 8
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In this issue:
- Important update from CMS: Challenges coming in 2019
- Upcoming events: PCMS annual meeting, wellness symposium, holiday social, and local/state events
- Safe sleep training for providers from PDPHE
- News from CMS: Volunteer for the COMPAC board and attend the annual meeting in Vail
- Members on the move: We need your news!
- In the News: Opioid treatment training, involvement opps from the Office of Behavioral Health
- News from AMA: Is your specialty top in burnout?
- Join our new members-only Facebook group!
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UPDATE FROM YOUR CMS BOD REP
We face tremendous challenges in 2019; CMS and PCMS need your help!
The 2019 legislative session, according to CMS, brings a once-in-a-decade opportunity for lawyers that sue physicians to more easily amend the laws governing professional (peer) review and the legal conditions that define a medical license under the Medical Practice Act, and to expand the value of a professional liability lawsuit.
What this means to you is that this current year is an important year to be informed and engaged politically. Many other forces are taking advantage of the relative lack of physician engagement to change the way you practice and are reimbursed for practicing medicine. CMS and PCMS need your involvement to understand what is occurring legislatively and your voice to protect the practice of medicine and to ensure continued safety measures to patient care.
Both complex bodies of law are required under Colorado’s sunset law to self-terminate unless affirmatively recreated by the 2019 Legislature. Instead of conflicts that arise between seven to nine members of a legislative committee, the full bodies of both chambers – 35 senators and 100 representatives – will be voting on the preferences of plaintiff’s attorneys and other stakeholders on the next iteration of Colorado’s professional review act and the Medical Practice Act. These issues will be the top CMS policy priority in 2019.
Additionally, voters and policymakers increasingly identify the rising costs of health care and health insurance as a critical problem. Rising costs squeeze personal pay raises, spending on growth, and public-sector funding on key issues like transportation, education and jobs. The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce (DMCC) and other chambers/business coalitions are driving some efforts to contain costs via legislation, regulation and voluntary efforts, marking this the first time in decades that many chambers have meaningfully engaged on health care issues. CMS is working closely with the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and has already appointed a one-time cost of care work group to guide CMS policy.
Rest assured the CMS leadership is taking these issues seriously. You’ll remember that we voted in May to suspend the 2019 annual meeting to ensure adequate funding to meet these and other extraordinary legislative challenges. We are acting now so we are prepared to effectively represent our members and patients in this challenging environment.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
We strongly encourage all members and spouses to consider volunteering on a committee to plan a future PCMS event. Contact Cheryl at
cheryl.law@pueblocms.org
to volunteer or add your
event to our upcoming event calendar.
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Pueblo County Medical Society Events
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Annual General Meeting - Sept. 26
PCMS Annual General Meeting, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. At the meeting, the board of directors of the organization will present an annual report containing information for members about the company's performance and strategy. Members with voting rights will vote on appointments to the society's board of directors plus voice any issues needed to be discussed. Dinner will be provided plus cash bar, along with invaluable networking opportunities with your colleagues. Invitation coming soon.
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Physician Wellness Symposium - Oct. 13
Save the date for our signature event and 2018 wellness symposium on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018, 7 a.m. - 2 p.m. The planning committee is working hard to provide inspiring speakers, free breakfast and lunch, CME and CE, plus lots of unforgettable giveaways! Complete details arriving soon.
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Holiday Social - Nov. 16
Join us for another Holiday Social to be held Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., The Clink Lounge, 140 Central Main St #222, Pueblo, CO 81003. Appetizers and drinks will be available!
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Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure - Sept. 9
Registration is now open for the 2018 Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure on Sept. 9 at Garden of the Gods Park and Rockledge Ranch. The event supports local programs and national research.
Click here for more information and the link to register.
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SURE Community Forum – Sept. 27
All community members are invited to take part in the Substance Use Response Ecosystem (SURE) Community Forum, to be held Thursday, Sept. 27, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Pueblo Community College. PCMS is a stakeholder in this important group. The community forum will provide current information about the efforts around substance use in Pueblo from a panel discussion led by SURE members. Information from community organizations will also be available. Speakers include Allison Cherrier on treatment options, Erin Ashby on motivational interview, Kay Hooshmand Parsi on case studies and Scott McFadden on “what it takes.”
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NEWS FROM THE PUEBLO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT
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Join us Aug. 17 for safe sleep provider training
The Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment will hold their Infant Safe Sleep provider training on Friday, Aug. 17, 8 a.m. – noon. Plan to join them to hear the latest prevention tips from speaker Ann Halbower, MD, pediatric pulmonologist. RSVP by Aug. 10 to
lafon.gonzales@pueblocounty.us or 583-4341.
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NEWS FROM THE COLORADO MEDICAL SOCIETY
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Seeking nominations from Pueblo for the COMPAC board
COMPAC, the nonpartisan political action committee of the Colorado Medical Society (CMS), is currently soliciting nominations to fill vacancies on the COMPAC board of directors. Please contact
cheryl.law@pueblocms.org if you are interested in representing our region or would like to nominate a colleague. Please also send the nominee's CV/resume and a short summary expressing your/his/her interest in joining COMPAC.
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Join the Colorado Medical Society for the 2018 Annual Meeting
Next month, Sept. 14-15, Colorado physicians will come together as a community in Vail for the 2018 CMS Annual Meeting to engage the experts, state and national, on the most pressing subjects of immediate relevance and concern to our medical community – the opioid epidemic, physician wellness, health care reform and more. A dedicated physician work group built the agenda from the ground up, drawn from what is keeping medicine (and your advocates) up at night, and a methodical series of interviews and conversations with their peers.
The meeting has been engineered as a motivational sanctuary for physicians to share, argue and learn from the best of the best – not the sort thing you can just read about online. In an era of burnout and relenting change and stress, this gathering is intended to stimulate, entertain and help us, peer-to-peer, remember why doctors are doctors. As always, registration and meals are free for CMS members. Guests are welcome and free childcare is available with advance registration.
NOTE: At the May CMS Board of Directors meeting, the board voted to suspend the 2019 Annual Meeting. This action DOES NOT AFFECT the 2018 CMS Annual Meeting. We hope to have a great showing of Pueblo County members at the meeting!
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MEMBERS ON THE MOVE - Looking for submissions!
This section of the PCMS newsletter highlights members who are making a difference in our community or medical field. We encourage all members to
send us a note about your professional or personal achievements, philanthropy, or those of a colleague that you think should be featured. Email
cheryl.law@pueblocms.org
.
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Buprenorphine training sponsored by ITMatters2: Aug. 29, 2018
Alexis Ritvo, MD, MPH, interim associate practice director at UCHealth Outpatient Psychiatry/CeDAR Outpatient Addiction Psychiatry, will be conducting a free training session related to buprenorphine training.
Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Anschutz Medical Campus
Ed2 North building room L28-1307
Compensation for completing the training may be available in the next few weeks pending state and federal funding decisions. If funds become available, they will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Ritvo encourages providers to continue to complete the training, sign up for your DEA X waiver, and submit for compensation. Thank you for helping address the opioid epidemic in your clinics and communities. Because of physicians seeking training, thousands more Coloradans have access to safe, effective treatments for opioid use disorder.
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Involvement opportunities from the Office of Behavioral Health
The Office of Behavioral Health has provided several opportunities for everyone to get involved and provide your feedback on issues we all care about. Please see below and pick whichever issue is of most interest to you, or do them all!
- Mental Health Colorado spearheaded Senate Bill 270, which provides for a team of specialists to help people transition out of a mental health hold in an emergency room or detox facility by visiting with the person in crisis before they leave. Brain Wavers testified for the bill. The Office of Behavioral Health has begun proposed rules for the program, and you can offer your feedback here. Who is the population targeting and what do you want to see for the population being served?
- If you’re interested in attending the Colorado Legislature’s Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Study Committee to discuss potential solutions to the opioid crisis, the schedule is available here. Mental Health Colorado will be presenting before the committee on August 14. Many of your stories helped shape and support our presentation on lack of services.
- The Office of Behavioral Health is also hosting forums in response to the opioid crisis. The forums are set for Grand Junction (Sept. 12), Alamosa (Sept. 20), Pueblo (Oct. 11), and Loveland (Oct. 24). Register here. This is a great opportunity to express your opinions and learn more about what the Office of Behavioral Health is doing.
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Find out if your treatment facility is eligible for National Health Services Corps site and loan repayment
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) invites health care provider organizations to apply to become a National Health Service Corps (NHSC)-approved site. The NHSC helps provider organizations recruit and retain qualified health care providers through the NHSC Loan Repayment Program, which helps primary care providers pay off their student loan debt in exchange for serving at least two years at an NHSC-approved site.
To be eligible to become National Health Service Corps' (NHSC) site, you must:
- Be a public, private not-for-profit, and private facility
- Be located in a health professional shortage area (HPSA). You can see if your facility is located in a HPSA by searching HPSA Find.
- See all patients regardless of ability to pay and insurance status.
- Offer a sliding fee schedule to discount services for uninsured or underinsured patients.
If you are part of a general SUD treatment facility, find out more information
here
.
If you are part of an OPT, find out more information
here
.
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Federal CMS finalizes rules to increase price transparency and reduce administrative burden
On Aug. 2, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized a rule that the agency says will advance price transparency and electronic health records. “This final rule and others issued earlier this week will help improve access to hospital price information, give patients greater access to their health information and allow clinicians to spend more time with their patients,” the federal CMS said in their news release. “Individually and collectively, these final rules put patients first, ease provider burden, and make significant strides in modernizing Medicare.”
The final rule makes updates to Medicare payment policies and rates under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS) that will incentivize value-based care at these facilities.
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NEWS FROM THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
Physician burnout: It’s not you, it’s your medical specialty
When thinking about becoming a physician, medical students might be interested in knowing which specialties can be considered the most stressful medical jobs. More than 15,000 physicians from 29 specialties responded to a recent survey about burnout and depression.The survey asked about the prevalence of burnout factors and how they affect physicians’ lives. Overall, 42 percent of respondents were burned out—down from 51 percent last year—and 15 percent admitted to experiencing either clinical or colloquial forms of depression.
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Connect with PCMS on Facebook!
PCMS now has a Facebook page with a members-only group. Click
here to "like" the page
then request access to join the group. The private group will be moderated by PCMS staff who appreciate receiving your suggestions --
and pretty much any information (e.g., recommendations for contractors, babysitters, questions, news, events) -- you would like us to consider sharing with group members. We look forward to connecting with you! Questions? Contact Cheryl at
719-281-6073 /
cheryl.law@pueblocms.org
.
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MISSION:
Fa
cilitating meaningful collaboration of medical professionals in Pueblo County through social networking, education, and advocacy!
VISION:
To
c
reate a medical society that serves as a venue for collaboration for the betterment of healthcare in Pueblo County, and improve the practice of medicine and life of medical professionals, locally.
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Board Officers:
President: Thomas Greidanus, MD; President-Elect: Open position; Secretary: Ross Patrick, MD; Treasurer: Robert Tonsing, MD; Past-President: Alfredo Vargas, MD; CMS Representative: Brad Roberts, MD |
Directors:
Teresa Braden, DO; Donald Luebke, MD; Julie Newburg, MD |
Executive Director:
Cheryl Law, MA, MNM
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This newsletter is intended for the members and interested persons of the Pueblo County Medical Society. If you have received this and wish to opt-out call 719-281-6073 or use the “unsubscribe” link below.
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