The official e-newsletter of the Maricopa County Medical Society

Volume 9 | Issue 16| September 15, 2015

In This Issue

Medical Student Perspective: To Care For or To Cure

New Federal Food Safety Rules Issued After Deadly Outbreaks

House Hearing on Insurers' Mergers Exposes Health Care Industry Divide

Why University of Arizona's Medical School Isn't in Danger of Losing Accreditation

Medical Schools Teach Students To Talk With Patients About Care Costs

Doctors Form Large Independent Practice in Valley

ATSU to Assist in National Study

Live Webinar for CEU Credit.

Please Volunteer Your Time at the 2015 ACT Kids Health Fair

Volunteers needed for Path to Wellness screening.

Two Path to Wellness screening events are scheduled for the remainder of calendar year 2015:

Saturday, September 19th at the Indo American Cultural Center, Phoenix

Saturday, December 5th at the First Institutional Baptist Church, Phoenix

Technical and general volunteers are needed. Technical volunteers will draw blood samples and/or operating Point of Care Testing Devices; general volunteers will greet and register participants, answer general questions, and other misc. tasks.

Volunteer agreement for 2015 >>

The completed form can be faxed to James Ivie at (602) 845-7955 or scanned and returned as an e-mail attachment.

BROADWAY EAST MEDICAL CENTER
MEDICAL SPACE AVAILABLE

Leasing medical space at Broadway & Sossaman, Mesa, near the 60 & 202.

Anchored by primary care practices. Located between 3 E. Valley hospitals. Incentives & tenant improvements.

Call 602-339-1860.

National Prescription Take-Back Day

September 26, 2015

10 am - 2 pm

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.

For more information, and to find a collection site near you,
click here >>

Pediatric Disaster Response Conference

November 2-4, 2015
Camelback Inn
Scottsdale, AZ

Conference is designed to provide tools, training, resources and information for physicians, nurses, first responders, public health and community planners, hospital administrators, educators and others.

A $100 discount on registration is available through Sept. 30.

For more information, click here >>

MEDICAL OFFICE SUITE TEMPE-MESA AREA

For lease in beautiful garden office complex. Includes covered doctor parking. Excellent location with easy access to 101 & 60 freeways & close to Desert Samaritan & Tempe St. Luke's Hospitals.

Contact 602-625-6298.

AOMA's 35th Annual Fall Seminar: Mind. Body. Spirit.

November 7 & 8, 2015

Hilton Tucson El Conquistador

Tucson, Arizona

An anticipated 12.5 AOA Category 1-A CME credits. Application will also be filed for AAFP Category 1 prescribed credits.

Save $75 - early registration deadline is October 11, 2015.

View the full agenda and register online >>

Call the AOMA office at (602) 266-6699.

Clinical and Laboratory Update in Thrombosis and Anticoagulation

November 18-20, 2015

FireSky Resort & Spa
4925 N. Scottsdale Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ, 85251

This conference will focus on clinically applicable and cutting-edge methods used in the evaluation and treatment of patients with arterial and venous thrombotic disorders including the increasing integration of novel anticoagulants.

Information and registration >>

LOT FOR SALE IN PINETOP, ARIZONA

BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME!

Advances in Medical and Surgical Management of Thyroid Cancer

January 15-16, 2016

Phoenix Marriott Tempe at the Buttes

Hosted by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists

For more information, click here >>

Collaborative Care in Chronic Disease

March 11-12, 2016

We-Ko-Pa Resprt & Conference Center

10438 N Fort McDowell Rd

Scottsdale, AZ 85264

17th Annual Southwest Nephrology Conference & 4th Annual Convention of Cardio Renal Society of America

Information and registration >>

Medical Student Perspective: To Care For or To Cure

left to right: Elaine Niggemann, MD,
David Beyda, MD, Alona Sukhina,MS2,
and Jennifer Hartmark-Hill, MD

Second-year medical student and MCMS Member, Alona Sukhina, claimed the 2015 University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix Student Growth and Self-Reflection Writing Award for her essay highlighting experiences that changed the way she views her future profession.

"My first year as a medical student humbled me to the powers we truly have over nature, illness and death," she wrote. "It has also redefined my understanding of the word 'patient', unveiled the truly remarkable ways we can help people and given me better insight into the sentiment we students hold so dear."

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Transition from Medicine to Health Care

Tuesday, September 29, 2015 |5-7 pm

Virginia G. Piper Auditorium

600 E. Van Buren St.

Phoenix, AZ 85004

Join Dr. Daniel Duffy for a stimulating look at

Dr. Daniel Duffy

the current healthcare challenges facing today's providers. Learn more about:

Democratization of the healthcare system.
Challenges of providing rural healthcare.
Utilizing evolving technology.
Minimizing healthcare disparities among populations.
Understanding clinical medicine versus public health.

Dr. Duffy is an internal medicine physician from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine's School of Community Medicine Track. He is a leader in medical education in the U.S. and is a founding member of the American Academy on Healthcare Communications. He has written and lectured on the incorporation of the principles of knowledge management into the core competencies for medical practice.

Register >>

For questions, contact Sheila Maddox or call 602-827-2007.

Midwestern University to Host Fun Runs/Walks to Raise Awareness for Grief Counseling, Parkinson's Avoidable Blindness

Midwestern University's Glendale Campus, located at 19555 North 59th Avenue in Glendale, will play host to a trio of community events designed to raise awareness and needed funds for good causes in October.

Second-Year Medical Student Appointed to Chair National Policy Board

Arielle Rubin, MS2

MCMS Educational Member Arielle Rubin has been appointed to an advisory post by the Latino Medical Student Association. The position guides regional policy within the association's five regions to lead members as they develop resolutions for Latino health policy and medical education.

Read more >>

New Federal Food Safety Rules Issued After Deadly Outbreaks

Food manufacturers must be more vigilant about keeping their operations clean under new government safety rules released Thursday, September 10, in the wake of deadly foodborne illness outbreaks linked to ice cream, caramel apples, cantaloupes and peanuts.

The rules, once promoted as an Obama administration priority and in the works for several years, ran into delays and came out under a court-ordered deadline after advocacy groups had sued. Even then, the Food and Drug Administration allowed the Aug. 30 deadline to pass without releasing the rules to the public.

Get Your Electronic Health Record: It's Your Right

A growing number of mobile apps seek to help patients gather and organize medical information into a unified digital health record.

Personal health record apps function similarly to technology that's long been available in the banking industry, says Bettina Experton, president and chief executive of Humetrix, which develops mobile health applications, including the iBlueButton app.

"You bank at Bank of America, Citibank and so forth, and you use a Quicken app to assemble all your information in a practical way for you to manage your finances," Experton says.

There's good reason to pull your medical records together. Viewing them, experts say, can help doctors better coordinate your care and allow you to identify and correct inaccuracies that can lead to dangerous or lethal outcomes.

Read more >>

House Hearing on Insurers' Mergers Exposes Healthcare Industry Divide

Doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies clashed Thursday, September 10, over the merits of mergers planned by four of the five biggest insurers in the United States.

The confrontation came at a hearing of a House Judiciary subcommittee that is investigating competition in the industry and how it would be affected by mergers combining Aetna with Humana and Anthem withCigna.

Daniel T. Durham, an executive vice president of America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade group for the industry, told Congress that the consolidation could promote competition and benefit consumers, achieving economies of scale that reduce costs.

Why University of Arizona's Medical School Isn't in Danger of Losing Accreditation

Students at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix were shaken when they heard that their college might be in danger of losing accreditation - a death knell for any school.

But Dr. Joe "Skip" Garcia, UA's senior vice president for health sciences, said the Liaison Committee on Medical Education's warning status is a long way from an actual loss of accreditation.

Several other medical schools across the country have been issued a warning status as they geared up, and eventually earned full accreditation, so there's hope, he said.

"These are absolutely predictable growing pains," he said. "We're committed to getting to the next level. I think we will. We are working with LCME and will absolutely get done what we need to get done to move that accreditation process forward."

Read more >>

Medical Schools Teach Students To Talk With Patients About Care Costs

Time for a pop quiz: When it comes to healthcare, what's the difference between cost, charge and payment?

"Does anyone want to take a stab at it?" Sara-Megumi Naylor asks a group of first-year residents at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Naylor answers her own question with a car metaphor. "Producing the car might be $10,000, but the price on the window might be $20,000, and then you might end up giving them [a deal for] $18,000, so that's cost versus charge versus payment," she explains.

It might seem natural for new doctors to learn about the cost of the care they're providing, but, in fact, doctors have been taught to provide the best care possible, leaving the cost considerations aside.

Now, in a stark departure from the past, the vast majority of the country's medical schools now integrate discussions of cost, value and effectiveness into their curricula.

Read more >>

Doctors Form Large Independent Practice in Valley Instead of Joining Hospital Groups

As doctors across Arizona and the nation look for ways to stay alive in the dog-eat-dog industry created by the Affordable Care Act, a group of doctors in the West Valley have created the area's first independent primary care group.

Of course, there are several large physician groups here in the Phoenix area, including Banner Health Network and Arizona Care Network, but Arizona Primary Care Physicians, LLC is the only independent group of primary care doctors affiliated under one tax ID number and not associated with a Valley hospital system.

APC is starting with more than 75 physicians in 32 locations across the Valley, bringing together family practice, internal medicine and pediatric physicians all connected by a single electronic health records system.

The group's goal is to manage the health of its patients - rather than just reacting to illness - while keeping costs down.

ATSU to Assist in National Study to Curb Injury Among Young Athletes

Mesa youth football program is focus of 2015 study

A.T. Still University's (ATSU) Athletic Training program has been

selected to participate in a national study to observe player health and safety among the Mesa Youth Football program.

Directed by USA Football and the Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention, ATSU will observe the effectiveness of Heads Up Football�, a program developed by USA Football aimed at comprehensive coach education and various health and safety protocols, including concussion awareness, to advance safety among young athletes.

The study is comprised of select athletic trainers and youth football leagues throughout the United States. Now in its fourth year, the study evaluates the effectiveness of Heads Up Football and the restrictions of contact, like tackling and blocking, during practices and games. The risk of injury and head impacts are then compared among players who are following Program standards, against coaches and athletes who are not.

Read more >>

Live Webinar for CEU Credit

ICD-10: Last Minute Tips for October 1st

Tuesday, September 22, 2015 | 1- 2:30 pm EDT

One hour webinar and 30 minute Q&A session

There are only 30 days until October 1, 2015 -- the ICD-10 implementation date. Learn what final preparation steps you should take to mitigate delays in your reimbursement.

Join ASPA for a complimentary live webinar on Tuesday, September 22nd at 1:00 pm EDT/10:00 am PDT: ICD-10: Last Minute Tips for October 1st.

During this 60-minute webinar and 30-minute Q&A session, Practice Management Institute ICD-10 expert Pam Joslin, MM, CMC, CMIS, CMOM, will discuss how to:

Conduct a business analysis of current processes.
Understand the essentials that need to be in place to be ready - including a contingency plan.
Familiarize your practice with the new code set and documentation requirements.
Education, training, and staff needs necessary for success.

Participants can earn 1.5 Continuing Education Units (CEU) from the AAPC, Practice Management Institute and PAHCOM by attending the live webinar.*

Registration >>

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Phone: 602-252-2015 | FREE Physician Referral Line: 602-252-2844
Preferred Partner Program Inquiry Line: 602-251-2374

InforMed Society is published by the Maricopa County Medical Society

Questions or Comments, please e-mail us at: InforMed@mcmsonline.com