|
|
December 2009
|
Volume 3, Issue 22
|
|
|
|
InforMed Society
Offical E-Newsletter of the Medical Society
Keeping you InforMed about the latest health care news!
|
|
|
|
From the President
|
 Brian R. Riveland, MD
"HIPAACMSOSHAPQRICCHITHEDISCOBRAICD10CL
IAOIGRBRVSCONCHAMPUSHMOPPOEHRPHRPCM
HRVSMLRFFSDMESTARKDRGEMTALAERISAEOBH
L7NCQAJCAHONPDBPPPRACRAFARRASCHIPHHS
NHINHITECH"
Ok, I know what you are thinking. This is Riveland's last article he had his 3-year-old
granddaughter do it for him. I wish I
was that smart. Maybe we would get more
wisdom and insight from her than from me.
But alas you are stuck with me for this last month...
Complete article...
| |
 |
"It
is not enough to take steps which may some day lead
to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step
likewise."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
|
| |
|
Update from Dr. Bob England
|
Dear
Colleagues,
Current
situation
While we appear to be on the
downside of the 2nd wave of the
epidemic, some of our indicators (e.g., school absenteeism for influenza-like
illness) rebounded a little after an earlier decline. So I think it may be a
long and bumpy road down.
More importantly, we must anticipate
a 3rd wave of the
epidemic. It might come as early as our regular flu season, perhaps in January,
or it might come months later. To mitigate it, our strategy is to build enough
herd immunity in children to decrease transmission to all of us. You can read
the explanation in more detail in my November 13 update at the above
link. Click here for more information. |
H1N1 & Seasonal Flu Shot Locator - Where to get
the shot!
|
For physicians to
direct their patients to get the H1N1 vaccine or the regular seasonal flu
shot, the Arizona Department of Public Health has an excellent shot locator at
http://www.azdhs.gov/flu/flushotlocator.htm
Just
type in the city or zip code and it will give you locations that provide the
regular seasonal, H1N1 or both types of shots.
|
| PACeHR appoints Executive Director to lead Arizona EHR Initiative
|
PACeHR (Purchasing & Assistance Collaborative for Electronic Health Records), a nonprofit corporation committed to fostering Electronic Health Record (EHR) adoption, successful use, and information sharing, today announced that Kristin Raffaelle has been selected as the Executive Director.
"Kristin Raffaelle is the ideal person to lead this initiative", said Roger Hughes PACeHR Board President and Executive Director of St. Luke's Health Initiatives, a public foundation in Phoenix. "Kristin has demonstrated leadership success within the technology and healthcare IT fields and is versed at developing innovative solutions targeted towards the physician office. Her experience will position PACeHR as the trusted partner to the broad community of interest."
During her 18 years in high technology and healthcare markets, Raffaelle has lead efforts resulting in the successful launch and adoption of new solutions to new and existing markets. Her prior corporate experience spans iMedica's Vice President of Marketing; GE Healthcare's Centricity Healthcare Information Technology division, and Lucent Technologies, where she led a global group of marketing and sales support for the Convergence Solutions. Kristin holds a degree in Industrial Technology and Engineering from Arizona State University.
Complete press release here
|
CDC warns of increasing pneumococcal disease associated with H1N1 Flu
|
Rates of serious pneumococcal infections associated with H1N1 influenza are increasing around the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced.
Anne Schuchat, MD, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, led a press briefing. According to Dr. Schuchat, in the Denver metropolitan area, 1 of 10 active bacterial core surveillance sites where investigation into this issue is ongoing, the number of cases of invasive pneumococcal disease has tripled compared with the 5-year average for the month of October.
"Most of that increase has been in adults under the age of 60," Dr. Schuchat noted. "The findings in Denver probably reflect findings that are occurring in other parts of the country where the surveillance hasn't been as intensive," she added.
The findings highlight the fact that "pandemics put us at risk for not just flu problems but also bacterial pneumonia problems," and they also point to the need for prevention efforts, Dr. Schuchat said. Only about 25% of high-risk adults younger than 65 years have received the vaccine that protects against pneumococcal disease, she said.
Complete Article...
|
Liability premiums stay stable, but insurers warn this might not last
|
For the fourth straight year, medical liability insurance premiums have eased nationwide.
That's according to the annual Medical Liability Monitor
survey, which showed 94% of premiums holding steady or dropping in
2009. Fifty-eight percent of premiums had no change, up from 50% in
2008. Another 36% of premiums fell, down from 43% last year.
While those figures are encouraging, physicians and insurance
executives say premiums still must shrink from sky-high levels.
Insurers expect improvements to continue into next year but are
cautious of some potentially unfavorable trends suggesting that results
could be short-lived.
"It does ease the pain, but the pain is still there because rates
are still dramatically higher" than they were before rising in the
early 2000s, said Robert D. Francis, chief operating officer of The
Doctors Company, a Napa, Calif., physician-owned liability insurer that
participated in the survey.
Meanwhile, jury awards are climbing steadily, counteracting the
major premium reductions needed to get back to more reasonable pre-2000
levels, he said. "So we're getting to the end of the point where rates
are going to keep coming down," Francis said.
Complete Article...
|
The Comeback of AIDS Activism
|
After the first case was reported in 1981, America soon found itself
in the middle of an AIDS crisis. For the next several years, the
country was on high alert: men and women were dying quickly and
painfully. Activists groups like ACT UP made headlines with disruptive
and shocking protests demanding better care. TV shows devoted very
special episodes to safe sex, and the global health community seemed
united in its effort to eradicate AIDS.
But 28 years
is a long time to be in crisis mode. And thanks to the 1996 development
of the antiviral cocktail, a combination of drugs that largely stemmed
the fatal and fast-moving elements of the disease while eliminating
many of its highly visible indicators, the feeling of immediate danger
that spurred so many people to action is now gone.
"When I was diagnosed, I was told I had a year left and I would have
done anything if I thought it would've saved my life," says Regan
Hofmann, the editor in chief of POZ magazine,
who received her diagnosis in 1996. "But then three months later they
said, 'You're going to be OK, you might even have a normal life span'.
. . I was no less adamant about wanting to fight HIV/AIDS, but the
urgency was gone."
Since that time, free condoms have
largely disappeared from bars; red ribbons, once so ubiquitous at
awards ceremonies, are rarely seen, and other health issues-from
obesity to cancer-have taken up space in the public consciousness.
Complete Article...
|
RX for Business Seminar
|
Saturday, January 23, 2010 9:00 - 2:00 PM 320 N. 44th St. in Phoenix (Doubletree Guest Suites Phoenix) Presenters: Ann Couch, CPA & Sara Eversden, CPA $175 per person (breakfast/lunch will be served) Register here or for more information, call 602-955-5952
The Institute
for Healthcare Business Education was formed in 2009 to provide quality
business instruction to physicians and other health care providers in
Arizona. Rx for Business, its first
course, is a 5-hour class designed to educate physician residents who will soon
be establishing their own small business - a private medical practice. The
course is intended to teach physicians the essential knowledge they must have
to make wise business choices and informed decisions as they build their
medical practice. The course is led by
two local certified public accountants with 40+ years combined experience
serving physician practices and other health care organizations.
The course topics will include:
- Choice of business entity
- Financing options for starting a
physician practice
- Filing and registration mechanics of
getting a medical practice started
- Debt, leases and financial statement
metrics
- Accounting topics
- Requirements of operating a business and more!!
|
2010 Seminars/Conferences
|
Attention Members!!
We need your help! The Society would love to be a part of seminar or conference for 2010. We would like to represent the
Society and attempt to garner more members. All we need from you is the
conference name, dates and any other information you can provide us regarding
those seminars or conferences. We would like to compile a list of them as soon
as possible and even ones that you get solicited for but do not attend, please
let us know.
You can email Claudia Bair at cbair@mcmsonline.com, fax the
info (602-256-2749) or send us the information/flyer or brochure by mail (to Claudia's attention) that you receive regarding a potential
opportunity for us.
Thanks in advance!
|
Visit us on Facebook and Twitter!
Search for "Maricopa County Medical Society" on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter at:
twitter.com/medicalsociety
|
|
|
|
Featured Business
MedaBytes focuses its attention on the medical community and its computer
needs. With MCMS's history dating back to 1892 we have experienced many changes
in the medical industry and have risen to meet the needs of our members.
Our Technical Support Representatives (TSR) have more than 20 years combined
experience troubleshooting, installing and running a wide range of networks. We
have extensive experience with all versions of Windows, OS X and popular Linux
distributions. medabytes.com |
|
Refer a new member and save 50%
on your MCMS
membership dues!
For more information, visit us here...
|
|
|
Serving medicine, serving the community
since
1892...
InforMed
Society is published by the Maricopa County
Medical Society.
Copyright
© 2009
Questions
or Comments, please email us at: InforMed@mcmsonline.com |
|
|
|
|
|
