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MMS Vital Signs This Week

 
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October 31, 2014


DPH and Six Mass. Hospitals Announce Ebola Treatment System
 
The Mass. DPH announced today that six hospitals in Massachusetts have formed a collaborative system and are prepared to treat cases of Ebola.
 
Baystate Medical Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Medical Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Tufts Medical Center will accept transfers from other hospitals in Massachusetts based on existing referral relationships and capacity. Community hospitals will continue to identify and rule out low-risk individuals. Read more on Ebola from the DPH
 
Other News and Resources:
 
 

November Physician Focus TV:  Managing Your Chronic Disease 
 
Chronic diseases such as asthma, heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes affect more than half of all American adults, with two out of three patients having multiple conditions. Traditional care for chronic illnesses has centered on the physician’s role, but a new model of care is emerging: that of patient self-management. The November edition of Physician Focus examines this new model of care with representatives from The Healthy Living Center of Excellence, a collaborative program of Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley and Hebrew Senior Life in Boston. 
 
Guests for the program are Medical Director Robert Schreiber, MD., and Jennifer Raymond, J.D., M.B.A. They join program host B. Dale Magee, MD., a MMS past president. Watch the episode online here.  
 

Nov. 7 is Interim Meeting Deadline for Hotel Reservation and Print Handbook Opt-In
 
The 2014 Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates will be held Friday, December 5, at MMS headquarters and Saturday, December 6, at the Newton Marriott Hotel. 
 
Important Deadlines:
 

Nomination Deadline 2015 Senior Volunteer Physician Extended 
 
The deadline for 2015 Senior Volunteer Physician of the Year Award nominations has been extended to Friday, November 7, 2014. Nominees must be MMS members 60 years of age or older.  View the criteria and download the nomination form.
 
Nomination applications for the 2015 MMS Lifetime Achievement Award; Special Award for Excellence in Medical Service; Award for Distinguished Service to the Massachusetts Medical Society;  Grant V. Rodkey, MD, Award for Outstanding Contributions to Medical Education; and the Henry Ingersoll Bowditch Award for Excellence in Public Health, are being accepted through Dec. 2. Click here for more information and to obtain a nomination application.
 

Medically Uninsured/Community Action Grant Letters  Due Jan.  15 
 
The MMS and Alliance Charitable Foundation is currently accepting Letters of Inquiry for its Care for the Medically Uninsured and Community Action grant programs through Jan. 15.  The program is particularly seeking first-time grant applicants.  Please visit www.mmsfoundation.org for more information and view a list of grant resources.
 


MMS Events
 
Live CME Activities 
 
Unless otherwise noted, all events are held at MMS headquarters, 860 Winter St., Waltham.
 
Friday, November 14, 2014
 
Annual Oration: Medical Education Across the Continuum
At the MMS Interim Meeting
Friday, December 5, 2014
 
Ethics Forum: Ethics and Pay-For-Performance
At the MMS Interim Meeting
Friday, December 5, 2014 
 
The above activities have been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
 
Online CME Activities
 
Featured Online CME
 
 
This new online course presents a balanced view of the scientific evidence on the health risks and benefits of GMOs by evaluating and summarizing the positions of various consumer and medical organizations.
 
Mass. Required Risk Management Credit.
 
Fulfill your license renewal requirements for risk management, end-of-life care, effective pain management and prescribing of controlled substances.
Coming Soon -- Relieve Pain While Avoiding Overuse of Opioids
 
The above activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
 
For additional risk management online CME activities, visit www.massmed.org/cme.
 


Hampden County Physician Associates Facing Bankruptcy, Possibly Affecting 50,000 Patients 
 
Hampden County Physician Associates filed an emergency motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court this week, asking to close and liquidate its business under Chapter 7 of federal bankruptcy law. The filing could leave some 50,000 patients without access to their health care provider.
 

Gottlieb: Full Steam Ahead for Partners HealthCare 
 
Partners HealthCare CEO Gary Gottlieb's decision to leave the health care giant has critics calling for Partners to change strategy. But Gottlieb said Partners would not stray from the course it's on, which includes acquiring South Shore Hospital and Hallmark Health. Related news: Partners Chief Met a Trail of Resistance 
 

Two CEOs Leaving Lahey-Owned Hospitals 
 
Chief executives overseeing three community hospitals owned by Lahey Health are stepping down as part of a series of leadership changes taking place as Lahey expands its network to compete with other health care systems. Related news: New CEO at Addison Gilbert
 

Where Baker, Coakley Stand on Health Care 
 
Where do the gubernatorial candidates stand on some of the key concerns in health care? Here is a summary of the candidates' proposals for how to treat the health of the state. 
 

New Alternative Contract Payment Model Lowering Costs
 
A new health plan that rewards doctors for keeping patients healthy, rather than just doing expensive procedures, lowered health care spending and improved the quality of patient care for the fourth straight year.
 

State Report: High-Deductible Plans Trending in Mass. 
 
According to state survey results released this week by the Center for Health Information and Analysis, 45 percent of employers in Mass. offered high-deductible plans this year, up 12 percent since 2011, and double the national average. 
 

Insurers Unsure on Transgender Care 
 
Four months after the state Division of Insurance put health plans on notice that denying medically necessary treatment to transgender people is prohibited sex discrimination, insurers are still grappling with what constitutes medical necessity, and patients are struggling to find doctors who'll treat them. 
 

Nurses Union Wants Hospitals Penalized on ICU Staffing 
 
Members of a nurses union are pressing for hospitals to be penalized for not complying with a new nurse staffing law covering intensive care units.
 

High Suicide Rate in Massachusetts Prisons 
 
From 2001 to 2012, the suicide rate among the state's prison population was nearly twice the national average. During that period, 38 state and federal prisoners in Massachusetts committed suicide.
 

Mass. Homeless Population Rose 40 Percent Since 2007, Outpacing U.S. Averages  
 
The homeless population in Massachusetts increased faster than in any other state in the nation, rising 40 percent since 2007 even as overall homelessness in the country declined. But less than 4 percent of the homeless in Massachusetts live on the streets — one of the lowest rates in the country.  
 

Hypodermic Needles Litter Landscape South of Boston 
 
In addition to fatal overdoses and a sharp increase in the number of addicts, the heroin epidemic has brought with it another problem: Used — and often uncapped — hypodermic needles and syringes are being found in all sorts of public places. 
  

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