This week, MMS President Dennis M. Dimitri testified before the legislature’s Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse in support of a 7-day opioid prescribing limit with exceptions for chronic and hospice patients, and a sunset provision.  He also urged lawmakers to consider allowing “partial-fill” prescriptions and to reconsider a proposal calling for involuntary commitment on patients suffering from opioid addiction.

 

“We thank Gov. Baker and his administration for their leadership in attacking this crisis,” said Dr. Dimitri. “Massachusetts physicians consider the opioid crisis a top priority.  We are committed to doing everything in our power to end this crisis. Watch video from the hearing on Beacon Hill.   Read the full MMS testimony here.

 

The MMS expanded its Smart and Safe physician education and public outreach campaign this week with an open letter published in The Boston Globe and a new radio ad during New England football games encouraging physicians to prescribe smaller doses of opioids, and urges patients to ask their doctor about risks and possible alternatives.  

 

“We can beat this if we all work together. ... Your doctor stands ready to help you,” said Dr. Dimitri.   Read the full letter here.   Watch the ad on You Tube here.  

 

Later this month, the MMS will mail copies of its Opioid Prescribing Guidelines, which were adopted earlier this year by the state Board of Registration in Medicine, to all members.

 

Related news:

Hugh Taylor, M.D., vice chair of the MMS Committee on Legislation, testified this week in on a  bill that would promote team-based care and maintained opposition to a bill that that would allow nurse practitioners to practice independently.  

 

However, the MMS does acknowledge the national conversation about expanding scope of practice of nurse practitioners due to access demands in primary care. The Society is willing to engage in in further discussion, and has outlined elements that we believe are essential to include for patient safety and quality when independent primary care practice of nurse practitioners is considered. Read more about the testimony here. 

The 2015 Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates will be held Friday, December 4, at MMS Headquarters and Saturday, December 5, at the Newton Marriott Hotel.

The AMA recently presented MMS Executive Vice President Corrine Broderick with its Medical Executive Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors a medical association executive who has contributed substantially to the goals and ideals of the medical profession. Broderick, who plans to retire this May, is the first non-physician EVP in MMS history. Read more. 

MMS student member Christopher Libby was recently elected chair of the AMA Medical Student Section. A third-year student at UMass Medical School, Libby has been an active MMS member for the past several years, serving as on the Task Force on EHR Usability and Committee on Oral Health and as an AMA delegate.

The deadline for submitting your Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) measures to the CMS is February 26, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. MMS has arranged for a discount with PQRS wizard from CECity to help collect, validate, report and submit quality measure data from CMS.

 

Learn more during avoiding penalties with PQRS wizard at a live webcast Nov. 23, Understanding the Value Based Modifier.  Register here.  

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