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IN THIS ISSUE

Maryland's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Querying Requirements Begin 7/1/18
MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Tuesday, June 26
Practice Management Update: Maryland's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program 

Tuesday, June 26
Paragon Private Health's Turning The Page Dinner on Concierge Practice at La Ferme
Details & RSVP

Wednesday, June 27 
CME: Maryland's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
CONNECT WITH US
The MCMS mission is to be  the foremost physician organization to advocate for and serve physicians, their medical practices, and their patients in Montgomery County, Maryland.
PLAYING VACCINE CATCH-UP THIS SUMMER

Summer vacation often gives students of all ages a break from homework and classes. But, for
healthcare professionals, summer appointments present an opportunity to educate young
patients and parents about their recommended vaccine schedule.
Survey: How Will PDMP Querying Requirements Effect Your Practice?  survey
MCMS would like to understand more about how the upcoming July 1st PDMP querying mandate for CDS prescribers will impact your practice. Please respond to this brief survey.

All respondents who complete the entire survey will be entered into a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card. One entry per respondent. Thank you!
Maryland's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Querying Requirements Begin on July 1, 2018  PDMP
Two Opportunities to Attend!

Practice Management Update & CME: 
Maryland's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
Tuesday, June 26, 8 AM, Breakfast Inc.I MCMS HQ
No Cost MCMS Members & Practice Staff
 
CME for Physicians: Maryland's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program
Wednesday, June 27, Dinner 6 PM, Prog. 6:30 PM 
No Cost MCMS Active Members  I  MCMS HQ 

Why Attend?
Beginning July 1, 2018, new querying requirements go into effect for Maryland's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.  Is your practice ready to comply? Participants will learn how to:
  • Describe the Maryland Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP)
  • Determine when PDMP query is required
  • Summarize what the PDMP query portal looks like
  • Confirm what states' data can be accessed through the query portal
  • Establish how to use the PDMP as a clinical tool
  • Identify how to use the PDMP to find safe opioid prescribing resources.
Presenter:
Colleen George is the Director for the Center for the Private Practice of Medicine for MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society. MedChi is the largest advocacy group for physicians in the state. The Center provides resources physicians need to thrive as clinicians and small businesses. Mrs. George works with medical practices regarding all aspects of practice management including updates on CRISP services, MACRA and MIPS.
 
Accreditation Statement:
MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Designation Statement:
MedChi designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
  
Post-Program  DrFirst  iPrescribe Demo
Begins immediately after the CME Program concludes at 9:15 AM!

iPrescribe's direct integration with CRISP and the Maryland PDMP allows you to meet the PDMP query mandate without having to leave your prescribing workflow to log into a separate tool.  DrFirst customers who use this unique in-workflow monitoring integration completed their prescriptions three times faster.
News You Can Use: Separations of Migrant Families, the Golden State Killer, CVS-Aetna Merger, & Morenews
American Academy of Pediatrics & the American Medical Association Condemn Separations of Undocumented Migrant Families
Both the AMA and the AAP issued strong statements in opposition of the separations. AAP President Colleen A. Kraft, M.D., M.B.A., FAAP, said in a press statement, "Separating children from their parents contradicts everything we stand for as pediatricians - protecting and promoting children's health. The new policy is the latest example of harmful actions by the Department of Homeland Security against immigrant families, hindering their right to seek asylum in our country and denying parents the right to remain with their children." To learn more, visit AAP News or the AMA Wire.

From The New England Journal of Medicine: Sociogenetic Risks - Ancestry DNA Testing, Third-Party Identity, and Protection of Privacy
"DNA testing has tremendous potential as a public health tool, but realization of its benefits will require continued cognizance of its potential for misuse." In this NEJM Perspective piece, Thomas May, Ph.D. explores the persistently inadequate mechanisms of the 2008 Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act and explains how California police used an obscure ancestry DNA website to track down the Golden State Killer. Read More...

American Medical Association Issues Statement: "CVS-Aetna Merger Should Be Blocked"
The AMA issued a press release last Tuesday urging regulators to block the CVS-Aetna merger. The document details evidence that the merger would likely to have anticompetitive effects on Medicare Part D, pharmacy benefit management services, health insurance, retail pharmacy, and specialty pharmacy. Read More... 
The AMA also created policy on gun safety measures, ACA marketplaces, health equity, alternative payment models, and drug shortages at its 2018 Annual Meeting. Read More...
Please Complete This Survey to Help Us Understand Your Practice's Preparation for Alternative Payment Models APMSurvey
MedChi and the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) would like to gain a better understanding as to how physician practices are progressing in practice transformation. The MHCC is an independent regulatory agency with broad responsibility in health care; one of its tasks is to advance innovative care delivery. MedChi and MHCC are asking for your assistance to complete a brief online survey regarding practice transformation. The survey questions center on team-based care, clinical quality and performance measurement, health IT, professional satisfaction, practice organization and finance. 

The survey should take about five minutes to complete and can be accessed at the following link:  

MedChi and MHCC plan to use the findings to identify innovative care delivery strategies to help physician practices meet the care delivery requirements under emerging alternative payment models. MedChi encourages all physicians to complete the survey, which will be available online through June 30th.

The MHCC will share the results of the survey with MedChi. The results will be anonymized and findings presented at a statewide level.  Please feel free to contact Melanie Cavaliere with MHCC at  [email protected] or 410-764-3282 with any questions.

Important Compliance Updates & Deadlines: PDMP, Records Fees & Morecompliance
Updated Medical Records Fees, as of January 2018
In Maryland, how much practices may charge for medical records copying fees is tied to the Consumer Price Index. Please note:  Federal HIPAA regulations do not allow a charge for a preparation fee for records provided directly to the patient.   Click here to download our update guidance regarding copying fees. 

New Medicare Cards Started Arriving April 1, 2018
The new Medicare card is a result of MACRA's requirement that CMS issue Medicare cards that do not display Social Security Numbers to address the risk of beneficiary identity theft.  New Medicare cards were issued beginning in April 2018 and physician offices must be prepared to accept the new Medicare identification number at that time. T he new Medicare cards will significantly impact physician practices' workflows.

Resources:
Maryland's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Querying Requirements Begin July 1, 2018
For full details on querying requirements, visit MedChi's Querying Timeline (it's printable!) or access MedChi's full PDMP knowledge base: www.medchi.org/PrescriptionDrugMonitoringProgram.

Beginning July 1, 2018 a prescriber must: 
  1. request at least the prior 4 months of a patient's prescription monitoring data before initiating a course of treatment for the patient that includes prescribing or dispensing an opioid or benzodiazepine; 
  2. request a patient's prescription monitoring data at least every 90 days until the course of treatment that includes an opioid or benzodiazepine has ended; and 
  3. assess the prescription monitoring data before deciding whether to prescribe or dispense or continue to prescribe or dispense an opioid or benzodiazepine 
As of July 1, 2018 prescribers also must document in the patient's medical record that the prescription monitoring data was requested and assessed. 

MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society, encourages members to consider DrFirst's PDMP workflow tool, which provides faster access and help with compliance. Find out more.
Montgomery County Medical Society    |   [email protected]  |    301.921.4300