PCMS Word to the Wise - November: Annual Meeting registration open; plus leadership updates, local news and more

WORD TO THE WISE

Newsletter: November 2019 - Volume 19, No. 10

In this issue:

Happy Thanksgiving!
Interim President's update: Dr. Marcel Junqueira invites you to the annual meeting
Update from your CMS BOD Rep: The public option for health insurance coverage
Member news roundup: Dues, directory, articles needed, volunteers needed for middle school substance use presentations
PCMS Events: Report on the 3rd Annual Symposium; RSVP for the 2019 Annual Meeting - Nov. 13
Other events: Nutrition presentation; mobile food pantry; Judy Sykes Symposium; Nightingale Awards
Community resources: Wildfire smoke education; new opioid guide; PCMS database of physicians who have closed practices
News: PCMS honors Senate President Leroy Garcia; Governor's budget
News from CMS: CMS urges action on prior authorization reform
News from AMA: Quick burnout tip - nurture leadership

Happy Thanksgiving wishes for everyone!

What a year it's been. Thanksgiving already! The season of gratitude is upon us and here’s our heartwarming thanks to all of you for the peace, joy and hope that you bring to your local medical membership society and community.

We’re really thankful to be serving our members and working together as a team with you to make a constructive difference to improve the practice of medicine and life of medical professionals, locally and statewide.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

PCMS Board of Directors and staff

UPDATE FROM YOUR INTERIM PRESIDENT:

Marcel Junqueira, MD

Join us for our PCMS Annual Meeting on Nov. 13

I wish to extend a personal invitation to attend the Pueblo County Medical Society Annual Meeting on Nov. 13 at Table 67 on the Riverwalk. RSVP here. This will be a very important meeting. We will hold elections for PCMS president, president-elect and secretary, and will elect two directors for the PCMS Board of Directors. Additionally, we will announce our goals and plans for 2020 and recognize outgoing president Tom Gredianus, MD, for his service as president and outgoing past-president Alfredo Vargas, M.D., and director Julie Newburg, MD. We look forward to seeing you there! Contact us at contactus@pueblocountyms.org with any questions.

UPDATE FROM YOUR CMS BOD REP: Brad Roberts, MD

CMS Board of Directors votes to support public option for health insurance coverage

After months of stakeholder meetings over the summer and fall, the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) and the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) issued a draft report in early October outlining a state option for health insurance coverage. CMS actively engaged during the information-gathering period by providing testimony and other comments, and analyzed the proposal through the CMS Work Group on Health Care Costs and Quality. The work group recommended that CMS support the proposal, while recognizing some legitimate questions, and after further deliberation, the CMS Board of Directors agreed. Read more about the initial proposal here and watch for more information as the proposal works its way through the proposal process and in the Colorado legislature.

MEMBER NEWS ROUNDUP

ALERT: It's dues season; please renew your membership today!

You should have received your CMS invoice for your 2020 membership dues; PCMS invoices are coming soon! We encourage you to renew your membership to allow CMS, largest organization of physicians in Colorado, champion health care issues that improve patient care, promote physician professional satisfaction and create healthier communities statewide, and PCMS to continue its mission to facilitate meaningful collaboration of medical professionals, locally. Note that associate dues have increased to $150 per year. Contact cheryl.law@pueblocms.org if you have any questions about your dues bill or if you do not receive one. Thank you for your continued support!

Directory delay

We would like to apologize for any inconvenience in the delay of the publication of our medical membership directory. We’re working hard to get it completed this week and in the mail to all our members and availability to the public for purchase. Thanks for your patience! - PCMS staff

Urgent plea for physicians, NPs and PAs to write articles for the newsletter

We need physicians, NPs and PAs to write articles for us. Believe us, you don’t have to be a great writer to share your stories, advice, comments, research and so much more with others. All you have to be is willing!

You can send a paragraph in an email or Word doc. 100-200 words is best because the whole story will be enclosed in the e-newsletter. Hyperlinks are great too. Our publisher will edit your work and send you a draft for final approval!

The publication deadline for the newsletter is generally the 7th or 8th of each month depending on the stories and any news deadlines.

Contact me, cheryl.law@pueblocms.org, with any questions or concerns and to submit your article - Thanks, Cheryl

Medical providers needed to provide education in district 60 middle schools

The Substance Use Response Ecosystem is working with the Pueblo County Medical Society, the Pueblo Department of Public Health, and school district 60 to provide education regarding substance abuse and dependence to middle school students in district 60. We are looking for interested health care providers who would be interested in helping.

We have developed an approximately 30 minute lecture with time for questions on how substance dependence works with specifics on vaping, alcohol, cannabis, opiates and methamphetamines. Our goal is to provide data-driven education to the students on substance abuse. You do not need to be an expert in substance abuse to help. We anticipate that anyone who has completed advanced level medical training such as physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants should be able to do it. It is something that many of us deal with in our practices. If there is a need for a refresher on any part of the topic we can also assist with providing the information if needed. We anticipate the commitment to be relatively small, possibly only one or two mornings or afternoons for the year. We would love your help.

If you are interested please email cheryl.law@pueblocms.org. Thank you!

PCMS EVENTS

Thanks to everyone who attended the 3rd Annual Symposium: Primary Care Updates 2019

As you know, our 3rd Annual Symposium happened on Oct. 12. Besides the impressive presenters, great food, and relevant agenda, it was so refreshing to come together and see local specialty and primary care physicians, PAs and NPs talking about medicine and connecting with one another. No one looked bored, seemed glued to their cell phone or carried on a side conversation.

Every single attendee was engaged in each speakers' presentation that centered around the advances in medicine, skilled solutions to better patient care, and getting things done to create a better health care community, locally. Every single person in attendance also proved to be a leader of health care in their own right.

I left feeling like PCMS was making a meaningful and constructive difference but also that we were all part of something real and greatly necessary. We all gained a sense of connection with each other in some sense and the takeaway was a renewed understanding in the potency of Pueblo's physicians and medical providers that transcended time and space. I think we need more of this! - Cheryl Law

RSVP today for the PCMS Annual General Meeting - Wednesday, Nov. 13, 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Make plans to join your PCMS colleagues and guests for the Annual Meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at Table 67 On The Riverwalk, 102 S. Union Ave., in Pueblo. Complimentary dinner and cash bar provided. Space is limited; no walk-ins please.

RSVP here.

Officers

During the meeting we will introduce the new Officers appointed by the Board of Directors. The open positions are:

President (one position)
President-elect (one position)
Secretary (one position)
Immediate Past-President (current President Dr. Tom Greidanus, MD will automatically assume the position upon the appointment of the new President)

Current nominees/candidates are:

President - Dr. Marcel Junqueira, MD (nomination by Dr. Tom Greidanus)
Secretary - Dr. Kathleen Brown, MD (nomination by Dr. Marcel Junqueira)

Directors

During the meeting we will hold elections for the two open Director positions on the Board of Directors. Current nominees/candidates are:

Director - Dr. Ross Patrick, MD (re-election & 2nd term)
Director - Dr. Jacob Mathew, Jr., DO (nomination by Dr. Marcel Junqueira)
Director - Dr. Teresa Braden, DO (nomination by Dr. Tom Greidanus)

OTHER EVENTS

Volunteers needed for the Mobile Food Pantry - Nov. 9 and 16

Calling volunteers! Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado is holding two large Mobile Food Pantry distributions outside their Pueblo facility this Saturday, Nov. 9 and next Saturday, Nov. 16 from 12-4 p.m. It is located at 100 Greenhorn Dr., Pueblo, CO 81004.

Care and Share has two goals: Saving 380,000 lbs. of highly nutritious food and supplying more than 1,000 neighbors. This abundance of food is a result of the trade mitigation and the tariffs placed on farmers preventing them to send it overseas. The timing works — as we start the holiday season when budgets are tight, the organization is able to offer ample fresh produce and grocery staples ready for large-scale distributions to families and individuals.

If you’d like to volunteer, please sign up for a 10:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. shift for either or both weekends. Ages 16 and up, please. Sign up here.

Now accepting applications for the 2020 Nightingale and Luminary Awards - deadline Jan. 15; awards presented in Pueblo March 27, 2020

Nominate an outstanding nurse for a Nightingale Luminary Award! The Nightingale Luminary Awards recognize nurses throughout Colorado who exemplify the spirit of the profession in the areas of advocacy, innovation and leadership. Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) and Nightingale Committees choose Nightingale Luminaries annually from among hundreds of nominations. Nominate a deserving and dedicated nurse from Southeastern Colorado who motivates others to strive for excellence. Nominations are open until Jan. 15. To nominate, go to www.ColoradoNursesFoundation.com. Read more here.

Then, save the date for the Nightingale and Luminary Award Ceremony in Pueblo on March 27, 2020. State Nightingale Awards will be presented in Denver on May 9, 2020.

Save the date: Judy Sikes, PhD Scholarly Activity Symposium - April 15, 2020

Save the date for the Judy Sikes, PhD Scholarly Activity Symposium presented by Parkview Medical Center and the Graduate Medical Education Department. The symposium will be held on April 15, 2020 at the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, Pueblo.

Dr. Teresa Braden, Director, and her committee, has created an impressive educational and informational platform. The event has been approved for CME credits. Practitioners and nursing staff throughout Southern Colorado are invited to attend the symposium. The following events will take place: oral presentations on cases, research and quality initiatives; poster presentations; judging of the events; prizes for top three oral presentations, best three posters in research/QI/safety and best three posters in clinical vignettes.

Contact Jodi Lopez at 719-595-7581 or jodi_lopez@parkviewmc.com with any questions or concerns.

COMMUNITY RESOURCES

Local provider education: Wildfire Smoke and Your Patients’ Health

Velma Campbell, MD, MPH, PCMS member and specialist in Occupational/Environmental Medicine & a resident of Pueblo, has seen the growing impacts of wildfire smoke in her practice. She plans to do a new online course described in the paragraph below and asked us to share this information with her colleagues & friends in Pueblo. Please feel free to pass this information along to others, as well.

Course Description

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a new online course, Wildfire Smoke and Your Patients’ Health -- with continuing education credit provided by the CDC. The free course includes sections on health effects, populations at greater risk of experiencing health effects, air quality and smoke, actions to take before and during a wildfire to reduce smoke exposure, and available resources. The course takes about 45 minutes to complete and is intended for physicians, registered nurses, asthma educators and others involved in clinical or health education. It compliments the recently updated publication: Wildfire Smoke: A Guide for Public Health Officials. More resources on Wildfire Smoke and Health can be found at the EPA’s Smoke-Ready Toolbox for Wildfires.

Guide for reducing or discontinuing use of long-term opioid analgesics

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a new Guide for Clinicians on the Appropriate Dosage Reduction or Discontinuation of Long-Term Opioid Analgesics. The HHS Guide provides advice to clinicians who are contemplating or initiating a change in opioid dosage. Compiled from published guidelines and practices endorsed in the peer-reviewed literature, the guide covers important issues to consider when changing a patient’s chronic pain therapy. It lists issues to consider prior to making a change, which include shared decision-making with the patient; issues to consider when initiating the change; and issues to consider as a patient’s dosage is being tapered, including the need to treat symptoms of opioid withdrawal and provide behavioral health support. For more information, go to: www.hhs.gov/opioids.

PCMS webpage to assist providers with patient medical records

PCMS will offer a centralized online location for providers to post information where their patients can locate their medical records should the provider relocate, retire or close practice for any reason. Doctors closing practices unexpectedly and not notifying patients beforehand, sometimes causing an inability for patients to be able to locate medical records, is known by the Colorado Medical Board as "patient abandonment." The Medical Record Retention and Protection policy is available here.

Please use the Contact Us portal to let PCMS staff know if you would like to be added to the list and how your patients can access their records, and/or share this information with a provider who would like to be on the list and ensure patient medical records are easy to locate according to policy. Read more here.

NEWS

Pueblo County Medical Society and Colorado Medical Society honor Senate President Leroy Garcia

The Colorado Medical Society and Pueblo County Medical Society presented an award to Senate President Leroy Garcia on Friday, Oct. 4, in recognition of his support of physicians’ health policy issues in the 2019 Colorado General Assembly – specifically his work on the Professional Review Act Sunset bill. The award presentation occurred at Solar Roast in Pueblo. From left: Gordon Rheaume, DPM; Cheryl Walker, DO; Senate President Leroy Garcia; Brad Roberts, MD; and Kendall Rockler, MD.

Gov. Polis submits budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2020-21

Gov. Jared Polis submitted his budget proposal to the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) of the General Assembly on Nov. 1. One of his top priorities is reducing the cost of health care to patients. He states in a news release:

"By establishing Colorado’s reinsurance program, we have seen an average 20.2 percent decrease in premiums on the individual market. This budget continues the success of this program."
"This budget also tackles the high costs of prescription drugs because Coloradans are tired of being ripped off. The budget funds the development of an innovative tool that physicians and other providers can use to make more cost-effective decisions about prescriptions."
"This budget includes $87 million in new Medicaid coverage for substance use disorder treatment and a new $15 million federal grant for combating the opioid crisis."