Make plans to join your colleagues for an engaging day of fun, education and camaraderie at the 2019 CMS Annual Meeting, Presidential Celebration and Inaugural Gala on Saturday, Sept. 14 at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS).

CMS will honor all volunteers to organized medicine at the semi-formal inaugural gala that also features dinner, drinks, music, exclusive access to the DMNS Gems and Minerals Exhibit, the sumptuous COPIC dessert buffet, and the swearing in of incoming CMS president David S. Markenson, MD, MBA (pictured).

Bring your family and guests to enjoy free access to the museum during the day. In the afternoon, physicians in all stages of their careers can attend three hours of educational programming geared toward the latest knowledge needs. Free childcare with fun activities will be provided by childcare experts in the Children's Activity Center.

A ticket fee of $70 per person for active/emeritus members and $30 for medical students will be charged for the Inaugural Gala. Discounted hotel pricing nearby is available through the CMS room block. Register online here. Find more information here.

CMS President Deb Parsons, MD, FACP, testified before the 2019 Legislative Study Committee on Opioids and Other Substance Use Disorders, chaired by Sen. Brittany Pettersen, at the committee's first meeting on July 9. Parsons joined other top experts Jonathan Clapp, MD, a pain specialist in Denver; Robert Valuck, PhD, RPh, executive director of the Colorado Consortium on Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention; and Ronne Hines, director of DORA's Division of Professions and Occupations.

Parsons focused on three areas of CMS' effort to address the pubic health crisis of opioids: positive trends in physician education and opioid prescribing; CMS' strong partnership with the Colorado Consortium; and the newly released "Spotlight on Colorado" report that showed Colorado leading the way in combatting the opioid epidemic. "We are eager to continue working with your Interim committee and are proud to support your efforts to curb opioid and other substance misuse," Parsons said. Read her full testimony here.

The July/August issue of Colorado Medicine explores the topic of physician wellbeing and burnout from a variety of angles and with a variety of voices. The contributors provide insight on resources and interventions on four levels: individual, practice, organization and culture. CMS encourages all members to fully explore this issue, starting with the cover story, " Physician wellbeing is about you, your workplace, our culture and beyond -- and the time to act is now," through the Final Word, " It's about changing the culture: From individualism to collegiality," and share with colleagues. The editorial staff extends a special thank you to the members of the CMS Committee on Physician Wellbeing, who guided the development and content of this issue. 

View individual articles on CMS.org or the full e-issue on Issuu, a virtual publications platform.

While the Colorado State Innovation Model (SIM) ends July 31, resources created with funding from the federally funded governor’s office initiative are available for free to all providers in the state. SIM invested in workforce development, including online educational modules that prepare providers for success in integrated settings and address provider burnout. Recognizing the challenges to delivering integrated behavioral and physical health or whole-person care in primary care settings, the SIM team customized educational modules to help care teams ensure that all providers are effective and working up to their licensure. With increasing demands on provider time and energy, the risk of burnout and dissatisfaction is high. Research shows that primary care providers more frequently report burnout due to growing demands of conflicting priorities – beyond actual patient care – and integrated care teams can help mitigate these issues. To build resilience, a SIM-funded team built a resource repository that can be accessed free of charge by registering here and using the “SIM” registration code. SIM encourages all physicians and practices to access and use these resources for your care teams.

The Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) has selected 19 individuals from across the state -- including CMS member Al Steinman, MD -- to participate in the Primary Care Payment Reform Collaborative. House Bill 19-1233, “Investments in Primary Care to Reduce Health Care Costs,” was passed in the 2019 legislative session and tasked the DOI with the formation of the Collaborative. The group will work toward evidence-based primary care strategies that reduce health care costs and incentivize value over volume. Group members will also provide advice to the Insurance Commissioner in the development of affordability standards and targets for investments in primary care by insurance companies. Ultimately, the Collaborative will focus on developing strategies for increased investments in primary care that deliver the right care in the right place at the right time. They held their first meeting on July 8 and will hold another meeting on July 31. For more information, visit the DOI’s webpage for the Primary Care Payment Reform Collaborative.

The Rural Telehealth Toolkit, developed by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) on behalf of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), is designed to help rural communities identify and implement telehealth programs. The toolkit compiles evidence-based models and resources to support organizations in identifying and implementing telehealth programs to address common challenges experienced in rural communities across the United States. Access the toolkit here.

The COPIC Medical Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2019 COPIC Humanitarian Award, an annual award honoring a Colorado physician who has demonstrated outstanding volunteerism and contributed greatly to the Colorado health care community. The award bestows a $10,000 grant to the health-related 501(c)3 organization of the recipient's choice. The nomination deadline is Aug. 31. Find more information and the nomination form here.

Get to know the candidates running for CMS leadership positions in advance of the August 2019 all-member election by reading their candidate statements, CVs and candidate profiles on the election page of CMS.org. Two candidates are running for CMS president-elect: Sami George Diab, MD, and Patrick Scott Pevoto, MD, MBA. Eight candidates are running for the Colorado delegation to the American Medical Association. All ballots will be cast electronically. Don't receive CMS email? Contact membership@cms.org to update your information. Taking the opportunity to vote affirms the significant commitment of our organization to engage all members in the governance process. If you have questions about the voting process, don't hesitate to reach out.

An interactive map available from the Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC) provides price comparison information for common health care services. The accompanying infographic shows the variation in prices for common health care services across regions, and that the regions with the highest and lowest prices are not consistent when comparing services. The map illustrates regional variation for 11 common services across the nine Division of Insurance geographic rating areas. "Understanding price variation across these regions is essential because cost of care plays an important role in setting premiums for people who live in those areas," CIVHC stated in a news release. "Equipped with a deeper understanding of how health care prices vary, communities, employers, policymakers and other stakeholders can better understand what is driving premiums and identify solutions to lower costs." See the map here.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking new ideas from the public on how to continue the progress of the Patients over Paperwork initiative. Since launching in fall 2017, Patients over Paperwork has streamlined regulations to significantly cut the “red tape” that weighs down the health care system and takes clinicians away from their primary mission of caring for patients. As of January 2019, CMS estimates that through regulatory reform alone, the health care system will save an estimated 40 million hours and $5.7 billion through 2021.  Read more here.