WORD TO THE WISE Newsletter: March 2019 - Volume 19, No. 3

In this issue: President's corner: Feeling burned out? You are not alone Update from your CMS BOD rep: Make things happen with CMS/PCMS Upcoming events: PCMS board of directors meeting; community opioid forum; human trafficking; suicide awareness; PCMS directory photos; Parkview pain management symposium; Take Back Day News: PCMS CEO featured on radio to talk about physician burnout; PDPHE on opioids, Physician Family Magazine: Medical marriages News from CMS: CMS supports prior authorization bill News from AMA: AMA opposes Title X Family Planning Rule

PRESIDENT'S CORNER   Feeling burned out? You are not alone

I was interested to see a recent article by the AMA that says we – physicians feeling burned out or at risk of burnout – need to, among other things, identify organizational and health care system factors that increase risk of distress for health care professionals. The AMA offers an open-access platform – STEPS Forward – that provides more than 50 modules with actionable, expert-driven strategies and insights supported by practical resources and tools. I urge you to reach out to your loved ones, colleagues or PCMS if you’re feeling overwhelmed. You are not alone. To access the AMA’s STEPS Forward modules, click here. Read my full update here.

UPDATE FROM YOUR CMS BOD REP   Be a person who makes things happen

Jim Lovell was the first person to fly into space four times. He is one of only three people to fly to the moon twice. He and his crew saved what would have otherwise been a disastrous Apollo 13 mission and guided the ship and crew safely back to earth. He is quoted as stating “there are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened. To be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen.” We need you to be involved! Click here to read more about how to be a physician who makes things happen.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Attend a PCMS Board of Directors meeting in 2019 Next meeting: Tuesday, March 26 The next meeting of the PCMS Board of Directors will be held on Tuesday, March 26, 5:30 - 7 p.m. at the Rusted Poppy Inn B&B. All members are welcome to attend. RSVP to Cheryl at cheryl.law@pueblocms.org. Save the date for other 2019 board meetings: May 28 and July 30.

Community Opioid Forum - March 12 The Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment will host their first monthly community forum on Tuesday, March 12, 6:30-7:30 p.m. The topic is “State and Local Impact of the Opioid Epidemic.” The presentation will be given by Jessica Eaddy from the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Kavitha Kailasam from Rise Above. It will be held at PDPHE headquarters (3rd floor), 101 W 9th St, Pueblo CO 81003.

Mental Health America-Pueblo presents “Responding to Human Trafficking” - March 13 Join MHAP for “Responding to Human Trafficking,” Wednesday, March 13, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Table 67 on The Riverwalk in Pueblo. Presenters Michele DesLauriers and Mona, co-founders of Alliance to Combat Human Trafficking - Pueblo, will define human trafficking and discuss how to identify persons being trafficked and their traffickers, as well as how members of our community can fight trafficking. Please email mhapueblo@gmail.com to RSVP/inquire about space. Cost is $16 for MHAP members and $21 for non-members with a $5 nonmember fee for certificates of attendance.

It’s OK to Talk: A Story of Suicide Survival / Youth Voices for Mental Health – April 1 The Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment is hosting a free event on April 1 featuring Kevin Hines, internationally recognized suicide survivor, and Macy Klein, senior high school student. The event will also include young people from Pueblo. They will tell their stories of struggle with suicide and self-harm, as well as other mental illnesses in an effort to provide hope and positive inspiration. Click here for more information and to RSVP for free tickets. Questions? Contact Lindsay Dunbar at 719-583-4330, or dunbar@pueblocounty.us.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 2020 PCMS Directory photo sessions - April 9 PCMS is beginning production of the 2020 Physicians Directory, a dynamic member benefit to be published in September 2019. Severino Martinez of So Cold Design & Photography is scheduled to take providers’ photos for PCMS on April 9, 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Severino will set up his back drop, either black, white or blue, outside of the door of the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center during Parkview’s General Medical Staff Meeting. All photos will be utilized only for Pueblo County Medical Society’s Member Directory.

Parkview 2019 Symposium on Pain Management - April 13 Parkview Medical Center will hold their 2nd Annual Symposium on Pain Management Saturday, April 13, 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. Find more information and register at www.parkviewmc.com/pain-mgmt.

Prescription Take Back Day - April 27, 2019 The 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. The Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day events provide an opportunity for Americans to remove excess prescription drugs. The next Take Back Day will be held Saturday, April 27, 2019, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Encourage your patients to turn in their unused prescription medication to the Pueblo Police Department parking lot, 200 S. Main St. Download a flyer here to display in your practice.

NEWS

Radio program on physician burnout and suicide features PCMS CEO Cheryl Law A special edition of KRDO's Business Week in Review with Jeff Beauprez broadcast on Friday, March 8 highlighted physician burnout and suicide. It featured Cheryl Law, PCMS CEO, and Mike Ware, executive director of the El Paso County Medical Society. KRDO News Radio 105.5FM/1240AM is based in Colorado Springs, Colo. Listen here.

PDPHE hosts Facebook live event on opioids Chris Urbina, MD, and Barbara Jackson of the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment hosted a Facebook live event on Thursday, Feb. 28 for the naïve opioid patient. It is archived for viewing, here, on the PDPHE Facebook page. Please feel free to share the information with patients and other who may benefit from the message.

Are you in a medical marriage? Read practical advice on staying connected even with medicine’s demands The winter 2019 issue of Physician Family Magazine is now live at www.physicianfamilymedia.org. The issue, “Together in medicine: Training, trenches and triumph,” provides both professional advice and personal insight to those in medical marriages on how to preserve those all-important loving connections in spite of the demands medicine places on both partners.

Digestive Diseases Specialists of Colorado, L.L.C. ATUL VAHIL, MD , AND BRENDA CARVER-TORRES, FNP-C WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME HENRIQUE FERNANDEZ, MD, after a brief move to Washington State, Dr. Fernandez is back home in southern Colorado, AND MARITZA PROANO, MD, a graduate of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and board certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, TO OUR PRACTICE. 1600 North Grand Ave, Suite #440, Pueblo, CO 81003 719-543-3500

NEWS FROM THE COLORADO MEDICAL SOCIETY

Prior authorization legislation strongly supported by CMS introduced in the state House Legislation strongly supported by CMS concerning prior authorization requests was recently introduced in the state House of Representatives. The goal of House Bill 19-1211 is to streamline the overall process of prior authorization and promote safe and timely access to evidence-based care for patients by increasing transparency and reducing the variations among payers and utilization management organizations. The Colorado Medical Society strongly supports prior authorization streamlining. According to a 2018 CMS membership survey nearly one-half of Colorado physicians (48%) say prior authorization has become harder over the past few years, including 28% who say it has become much harder and 20% who say it has become a bit harder. Read more here.

NEWS FROM THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION AMA and other health groups strongly object to Title X Family Planning Rule

Last year, the AMA filed comments to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to express strong concerns about proposed regulatory changes to the federal family planning program, Title X. On Feb. 22, the Trump administration issued the final rule. Of significant concern to the AMA, the final federal regulations, if allowed to go into effect, would limit women's access to health care and force physicians to withhold information from patients about all of their health care options. Specifically, federally-funded family planning clinics will no longer be required to give patients access to non-directive counseling on all their options; physicians are permitted to provide non-directive counseling, but are not required to do so.  Read more here.

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.

Board Officers: President: Thomas Greidanus, MD; President-Elect: open position; Secretary: Marcel Junqueira, MD; Treasurer: Robert Tonsing, MD; Past-President: Alfredo Vargas, MD; CMS Representative: Brad Roberts, MD |  Directors: Julie Newburg, MD; Ross Patrick, MD; Cheryl Walker, DO; Kevin Weber, MD | Chief Executive Officer : Cheryl Law, MA, MNM

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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