PCMS WORD TO THE WISE
Newsletter: May 2017 - Volume 17, No. 5

In this issue:
  • Executive Director Message - Free directory photos and new email address
  • Members on the Move: Anne Courtright, MD
  • Permanent prescription drug disposal sites
  • Colorado interChange issues
  • QPP resources
  • Health Solutions' local solutions webpage
  • Available: Colposcope
  • Sleep Awareness Week
  • National Nurses Week
  • Member benefit: Ent Medical Banking Package
  • News from Pueblo Community College - Hiring and degree feedback
  • News from COPIC - Humanitarian Award
  • News from CMS - Mega-merger victory and Colorado Drug Card
  • News from AMA - AHCA
  • Upcoming events - May 31 board meeting
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MESSAGE  
MEMBERS PICTURES TO BE TAKEN FOR THE DIRECTORY AND WEBSITE ON THURSDAY, MAY 18

Pueblo County Medical Society (PCMS) is working with D. D. Kuhn Enterprises to make it convenient for members to participate in getting a free photo taken for the 2017 Directory and Website. We will have photographer Sarah Moore at the PCMS office conference room, 1925 E. Orman Ave., Ste A448 (fourth floor of the St. Mary Corwin Annex Building), from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 18, 2017. Sarah is a Graphic Art graduate and will not be selling any packages; this opportunity will be strictly for free picture sessions for the Directory and Website. Of course, the PCMS will own the files so there will be a proof available if you want to make copies. If you wish to purchase pictures, Sarah will have business cards available, as well ( very soft sell opportunity). 

Should you have any questions, please contact Sarah at 719-506-5506 or myself. 
Remember, the directory is distributed throughout our community and we want to be sure all information is correct. Many thanks for your participation!

Cheryl
719-696-9670 (office) / 719-281-6073 (mobile)

Side note: My email address is changing to cheryl.law@pueblocms.org as of Monday, May 15, 2017. Please update your contact information by that date to make sure we can keep in touch! 
MEMBERS ON THE MOVE
This section of the PCMS newsletter highlights members who are making a difference in our community or medical field. Share your news with us! 
PCMS member to be honored during Hawkins Tribute dinner – May 13

Mental Health America of Pueblo is hosting its annual Hawkins Tribute Dinner on May 13 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Pueblo Community College Fortino Ballroom. PCMS member and retired psychiatrist Anne C. Courtright, MD, is receiving the 2017 Tribute Award.

This annual award is a very special honor intended to recognize an outstanding mental health leader or advocate during the month of May, Mental Health Month. This award is in honor of Robert Hawkins, who served as Superintendent of the Colorado Mental Health Institute of Pueblo until his untimely death in July 2002. 
You are invited to attend! Click here for more information.
GENERAL NEWS AND RESOURCES

Walgreens launches permanent prescription medication disposal sites in Colorado
Walgreens has announced the launch of permanent prescription medication disposal sites, located throughout Colorado. Walgreens' medication disposal kiosks are free to use, and will help to ensure Coloradans can safely and easily dispose of medications that are no longer needed.

For a list of medication take-back sites, click here.

New Colorado interChange resource
Health First Colorado has been live with their new claims processing system for more than two months now. To date, they have processed over 7 million claims and have paid providers more than $1 billion. Their last financial cycle yielded $104.5 million in payments (58% of claims paid) and they now have 44,647 providers enrolled.

As always, however, some issues persist. Health First has published a new Known Issues webpage so providers can check on the status of some of the widest spread known issues.

QPP fast facts in 5 minutes
Get the help you need to prepare for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Quality Payment Program (QPP) through the Colorado QPP Coalition. The coalition has released the first two in its series of "QPP Fast Facts in 5 minutes," which will be published regularly on the coalition webpage, www.cms.org/coqpp, and in coalition members' newsletters. Click here for the first two installments, which include basic questions-and-answers to QPP participation, eligibility and reporting options.

NEW! Health Solutions’ Local Solutions Webpage
Health Solutions’ new Local Solutions webpage is a community resource guide that provides individuals in Pueblo, Las Animas and Huerfano counties access to resource information regarding food, housing, health care and other necessities. Visit www.health.solutions/localsolutions to see what our area has to offer. If you are with an organization that has resources such as these and would like to be included in this list, please contact Teah Miller at teahm@health.solutions with your request.

Colposcope, Surgical Instrument Available
Donor: Dr. Christine Nevin-Woods
Interested parties only, contact: Ramona Chisman-Ewing, Executive Assistant, Pueblo City-County Health Department, mona.ewing@pueblocounty.us, Office: 719-583-4513 or cell: 719-252-1165

Are you getting enough sleep?
The National Sleep Foundation’s annual campaign to educate the public about the importance of sleep in health and safety was observed April 23-29, 2017. The amount of sleep a person needs changes with age. Adults need more than 7 hours each night to promote optimal health and wellbeing; children and adolescents require even more sleep. Sleep needs decrease from 12-16 hours of sleep per 24 hours (including naps) for infants aged 4-12 months to 8-10 hours of sleep for teenagers aged 13-18 years. For additional details about how much sleep the CDC recommends across a lifespan, click here.

Honor an outstanding nurse during National Nurses Week, May 6-12
Nurses are the key to the medical team caring for patients and their families. They are invaluable to our ability to provide the healing our patients and families need and the education about how to best manage their diseases at home. They share a deep commitment to providing the highest quality of care and compassion to each life they touch. Be sure to thank the outstanding nurses in your practice this week, May 6-12!

PCMS member benefit: Receive special products for medical practices if you join the Ent Credit Union
PCMS members who join the Ent Credit Union are eligible for the Ent Medical Banking Package. It has a number of special products for Medical practices including:

  • Business Dividend Checking with no maintenance fee
  • Visa Business Credit Cards
  • Special Business Lending packages
  • Business Money Market Savings
  • Special Merchant Services solutions with partner Newtek 
  • A personal business banker to take care of all of your banking and lending needs
  • Staff would be eligible for personal Ent accounts with all the benefits that come with being a member-owner as well. 

Read more here. Questions? Contact Rick Nieves at RNieves@ent.com.

NEWS FROM PUEBLO COMMUNITY COLLEGE

PCC is hiring! 
Pueblo Community College is looking for a PA, NP or MD to primary health care services to students at PCC. Funding is provided by student fees and office visit co-pays; PCC does not bill insurance for payment and does not accept Medicare/Medicaid. Patients are students, staff, faculty and family members only. Clinic is typically open Mon-Fri 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Malpractice insurance and CMEs are paid by the state of Colorado. For more info, please visit www.pueblocc.edu. Target start date: July 1, 2017.  

PCC needs your help!
Please provide feedback on a new paralegal/legal assisting certificate and/or associate degree program that Pueblo Community College is considering offering in the near future. It’s important to the college that programs meet stakeholders’ needs, and your comments on the proposed program, your ideas about its design, and the employment potential for its graduates are critical factors in their review.

Please call Erin Frew, PhD, at 719-542-6990 to schedule a time for an interview. Erin will be gathering information over the next couple weeks from several professionals in our area to get a better sense of how the proposed program can best serve our community. 

NEWS FROM COPIC

Do you know a physician who goes above and beyond the call of duty?
Consider nominating him or her for the COPIC Humanitarian Award in Honor of Harold E. Williamson. This annual award honors Colorado physicians for their volunteer medical services and contributions to the community outside of their day-to-day lives.

The award also comes with a $10,000 grant from the COPIC Medical Foundation to a 501(c)(3) organization of the recipient's choosing (on his or her behalf) to fund ongoing efforts to deliver and/or improve health care. Nominations for the COPIC Humanitarian Award are accepted from May 1-Aug. 31. Visit COPIC Medical Foundation for more information.

NEWS FROM THE COLORADO MEDICAL SOCIETY

Medicine claims another victory in insurance mega-mergers
On April 28, a federal appeals court upheld the lower court's ruling to block industry giant Anthem's proposed acquisition of Cigna. This is a monumental win for America's patients and physicians, which was made possible through medicine's joint leadership -- most notably collaboration between the Colorado Medical Society/Northern Colorado Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Read more here.

Colorado Drug Card, a free statewide Prescription Assistance Program (PAP), offered through CMS partnership
Compliments of the Colorado Medical Society: Reduce patient callbacks, HIPAA compliant, RX Savings up to 75%, click for free customization: COLORADO DRUG CARD.

NEWS FROM THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

AMA statement on House passage of American Health Care Act
American Medical Association President Andrew W. Gurman, M.D., released the following statement May 4 after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act:

“The bill passed by the House today will result in millions of Americans losing access to quality, affordable health insurance and those with pre-existing health conditions face the possibility of going back to the time when insurers could charge them premiums that made access to coverage out of the question. Action is needed, however, to improve the current health care insurance system. The AMA urges the Senate and the Administration to work with physician, patient, hospital and other provider groups to craft bipartisan solutions so all American families can access affordable and meaningful coverage, while preserving the safety net for vulnerable populations.”

Read more here.

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UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS

Please RSVP to join us Wednesday, May 31, 2017 for our next BOARD MEETING at 5:30 p.m. (NOTE THE NEW TIME), Parkview Residents Conference Room, 315 W. 15th St. 

Dr. Stan Sicher will be providing information on the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons (NBPAS) certification program. Discussion will be on an alternative method of certification and creating a movement to take this issue up at a state level. Here is a link to more information about NBPAS: https://nbpas.org/. Presentation will begin around 5:45 p.m.

Dr. Shaun Gogarty will also be joining us again to continue our discussion about the task force, drug problem and what we can do to get involved. Let’s get thinking about this issue sooner than later! Presentation will begin immediately after the NBPAS discussion, around 6:15 p.m.

RSVP by Friday, May 19 to events@pueblocms.org. Seating is limited!  

OTHER EVENTS

2017 COPIC Mock Trial Programs
Join COPIC’s legal team, claims consultants, and professional defense attorneys for one of its most popular education programs. The Mock Trial dissects a medical liability trial as YOU (the jury) weigh the evidence, listen to testimony, and ultimately render a verdict.   
 
Dates and locations:

  • Denver (COPIC) – Tuesday, May 23
  • Colorado Springs – Wednesday, June 7
  • Glenwood Springs – Wednesday, Sept. 13
  • Boulder – Tuesday, Oct. 10

Each program is an evening affair lasting from 6-9 p.m. with dinner included. COPIC-insured physicians will receive 2 COPIC points and 3 CME credits for attending. To register, please go to www.callcopic.com/education, look for “Mock Trials” under the listing of in-person seminars, and select a program date.

Board Officers: President: Henrique Fernandez, MD; President-Elect: Thomas Greidanus, MD; Secretary: Ross Patrick, MD; Treasurer: Lev Asherov, MD; Past-President: Alfredo Vargas, MD; CMS Representative: TBD |  Directors: Teresa Braden, DO; Donald Luebke, MD; Robert Manguso, MD;  Julie Newburg, MD; Robert Tonsing, MD; Atul Vahil, MD |  Executive Director: 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.