August 2020 edition  | www.ademedsociety.org
ADEMS President for 2020-2021
 Dr. Chris Linares
With great excitement, ADEMS would like to introduce ADEMS new president for 2020-2021, Dr. Chris Linares.

Dr. Linares is a Primary Care Physician at Lone Tree Family Practice and has been practicing in the Denver Metro area since 2000. She completed medical school at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C. followed by a family medicine residency program affiliated with Mount Sinai Medical School in New York City. Dr. Linares is Board Certified in Family Medicine and has been an active member of the American Academy of Family Physicians since 1997. She is the Chief of Family Medicine at Sky Ridge Medical Center.  Dr. Linares is active in promoting primary care and the patient centered medical home concept at Lone Tree Family Medicine where she currently practices.  Dr. Linares has been serving on the Arapahoe-Douglas-Elbert Medical Society Board of Directors for several years. 
Dr. Linares is a thoughtful and energetic leader and passionate about the patients she serves.  

Even though Dr. Linares begins her term during these uncertain times, we look forward to working with her as we assist our physicians and their practices with resources and information. 
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Attn: Primary Care Physicians
Doctors Care can help with your Medicaid/CHP+/Uninsured Patients

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Please Contact DORA about the Physicians Peer Assistance Contract
As you may have heard, the appeal submitted by the Colorado Physician Health Program (CPHP) asking for the state to reconsider the request for proposal (RFP) conditions and basis for awarding the peer assistance contract for physicians to Peer Assistance Services (PAS) has been denied. This occurred despite coordinated advocacy by CMS and the Colorado House of Medicine that included explaining to state leaders the importance to patients, physicians, and the health care of all Coloradans of physicians' unimpeded access to voluntary self-referral for support.

We believe this will have harmful consequences for patient safety, maintaining an adequate physician workforce for Colorado, and the mental health and well-being of physicians. Read the letter here.

As a Colorado physician it is imperative that you reach out to DORA Executive Director Patty Salazar (patty.salazar@state.co.us or 303-894-7866) to express your concerns with this decision. 

 Here are some sample talking points you can use:
  • DORA's decision to award the physician peer assistance contract to PAS in its current form is extremely concerning and will have harmful consequences for both physicians and patients.
  • DORA's decision to issue an RFP that required the awardee to have physicians sign releases for all referrals is counter to patient safety, mental health care and support, and physician well-being.
  • Confidentiality is key for physicians who voluntarily self-refer - they cannot be required to sign a release of information to the Colorado Medical Board.
  • Without this confidentiality, physicians will not feel comfortable getting the help they need.
  • When physicians can't get the care they need, it can turn into a patient safety issue.
  • Assuring the health, wellness, and ability of physicians to seek confidential support and treatment has been repeatedly proven to improve the quality of patient care.
  • Having a provider of support services and evaluation for physicians without experience in this type of support and evaluation and without physicians as part of the leadership team is unsafe, not a true form of peer-to-peer professional services, and below any accepted standard of care.
  • Especially during this challenging time, when everyone is feeling the strain of COVID-19's impacts, we need to make sure physicians are supported so that they can care for their patients.     Thank you for your support!
ADEMS physicians pick up first round of PPE orders - round 2 available now!
Thank you to all that physicians practices that participated in the previous CMS PPE order!  On Thursday, May 28th, ADEMS joined CMS and staffed a warehouse off of I-70 /Pecos for the PPE order pick up.  This location (notably outside of our catchment area) was necessary at the time as we needed a metro area warehouse to receive the semi-truck delivery and also provide us a safe location to disperse by limiting contact for all Denver Metro area physicians.   Thanks to all that participated for being so flexible!

Do you still need PPE?  
CMS has teamed up with ActionPPE.org to once again give members access to medical-grade PPE supplies. 

This time, all items are already in a warehouse in the United States, and orders ship quickly and directly to your office. 

You may view product details and certificates and order KN95, disposable tri-fold masks, disposable gowns and face shields through the following link: actionppe.org/3/cms/ 

Feel free to share this link with your colleagues.  
Thank you!  We are all in this together!
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COVID-19 Resource Pg:

Physicians in need of current information and resources and assistance on  
COVID-19 topics,
Please Click here 

MEMBER BENEFITS :
Did you know?
New cost effective Delta Dental group plan available to ADEMS/CMS members and their employees

Members:  CMS has collaborated with COPIC for a great Delta Dental rate for you and your employees.  Many small offices are seeing a 10-20% savings compared to their current plan.  
Why not check it out?  
Poor oral health can lead to and escalate serious overall health issues. That's why dental insurance is important and why we've collaborated with COPIC Financial Service Group and Delta Dental, the state's leading dental benefits provider, to offer CMS/ADEMS members an affordable dental benefits program for their employees and their families. Designed for small- to medium-sized organizations, this plan offers a combination of flexibility and cost savings to fit your group's needs. CMS worked closely with COPIC Financial Service Group to develop this association plan for members. It's a product we believe in. 
Read more here
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Medicine Wins Big in 
Legislative Primaries
Each election cycle ADEMS partners with COMPAC to interview candidates for local legislative seats in the 
months leading up to the primary election. These interviews are an opportunity for ADEMS physicians to 
brief candidates on health 
care issues such as maintaining a stable liability climate in Colorado, lowering the cost of care without impacting quality and access, and preserving the physician-patient relationship.
The results from the 2020 primary election are in and physician-endorsed 
candidates are well 
positioned heading into November's general election. To date, the bipartisan political arm of organized medicine in Colorado -- COMPAC -- has endorsed 71 candidates for 
the state legislature, all of whom won their primary races in June.  
Click here to see COMPACs complete list of endorsed candidates for state legislature
who will appear on the November ballot. 
This year, interviews included issues of increased 
importance in light of COVID-19, including maintaining the telehealth expansions made necessary by the public health emergency after it is over and working to increase vaccination rates, specifically among Colorado's school-age children.  

These candidate interviews present an important opportunity to educate potential leaders of our state about physician priorities and build personal relationships, whether or not a candidate agrees with COMPAC positions on all of these issues. Physician engagement is crucial in this process and ADEMS and COMPAC extend our thanks to Drs. Chris Linares, Chris Unrein, William Wright, and our ADEMS Board who participated in this cycle's interviews. 
It is only through your support that COMPAC has been able to powerfully advocate for physicians and the patients you serve during these critical last few months. Now, more than ever, we ask you to visit cms.org/contribute and consider contributing to COMPAC and the Small Donor Committee. SDC exclusively endorses candidates who commit to maintaining Colorado's stable liability climate.  
If you are interested in participating in future candidate interviews please let us know at ADEMSstaff@gmail.com



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