The official e-newsletter of the Maricopa County Medical Society

Volume 10 | Issue 1 | January 4, 2016

In This Issue

Don't Let Your MCMS Membership Lapse

How Many Workers Will AZ Four Largest Hospital Systems Hire in 2016?

You're Invited to a MCMS Alliance Event!

ABIM Suspends MOC Requirements

CMS Quality Measure Development Plan

Professional Intuition is Under Assault

Viral Hepatitis Serology Training Videos

Health Insurers to Face Fines for Not Correcting Doctor Directories

Op Ed by Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane: The Promise of the Cure Corridor

ESTABLISHED PRACTICE SEEKING PEDIATRICIAN FOR FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT

Robust benefits package includes:

$160k/year
1 week of CME
14 days of vacation plus major holidays
Malpractice insurance paid

J1 Visa candiates will be considered for the position.

For questions and/or to submit resume, contact Edward

Patterson, MD, Panda Pediatrics and Adolescent Care at

ep1psmg@netscape.net or
(602) 283-3165

UA, Cox Communications Team Up for Family-Friendly Event

The University of Arizona (UA), in partnership with Cox Communications, presents Connect2STEM 2016 - a family-friendly event celebrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Medicine. STEM enthusiasts have the opportunity to interact with 100+ tables of hands-on science activities. In 2015, the event drew more than 2,000 children and families.

Connect2STEM is a FREE event and will be held from 10 am - 3 pm on Saturday, January 9, 2016 at the UA College of Medicine - Phoenix, located in downtown Phoenix at 550 E. Van Buren Street, Phoenix (5th St. and Van Buren).

Connect2STEM is designed for school-age youth and is an official signature event for the 2016 Arizona SciTech Festival.

More information >>

Visual Hacking a Top Concern for Healthcare, 3M Report Says

By Mike Miliard, Healthcare Finance

Computer screens display sensitive information that could be easily compromised with the snap of a smartphone camera.

Healthcare organizations are bulking up their privacy protections with firewalls, encryption, data loss prevention software and more, but the much lower-tech visual hacking threat is still a concern, according to a new 3M educational campaign.

Visual hacking is the viewing or capturing of private, sensitive or confidential information on a screen device, workspace or copier for unauthorized use, and it's something healthcare organizations should be protecting against, 3M said.

Computer screens display sensitive information that could be easily compromised with the snap of a smartphone camera. Login credentials, personal health information and more are at risk of being compromised.

Read more >>

Single-Payer Health Care On Colorado Ballot In 2016

On a brisk morning in Denver recently, an ambulance pulled up in front of a downtown office tower. "I think the patient is going to make it," Dr. Irene Aguilar said as a team rolled out the gurney.

This wasn't a medical emergency, but rather a bit of political theater. The gurney held several big boxes of signed petitions to be delivered to the Colorado secretary of state's office. The group ColoradoCareYES gathered enough signatures - more than 100,000 - to put a single-payer health system on the ballot next fall.

Read more >>

MEDICAL OFFICE SUITE AVAILABLE TEMPE-MESA AREA

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

Contact 602-625-6298

Blue Cross, Abrazo Reach Agreement

With one day to spare, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona Inc. and Abrazo Community Health Network have worked through their contentious contract dispute. As it turns out, Abrazo Community Health Network and Carondelet Health Network will get to stay in the BCBSAZ network in 2016.

Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. accepted a four-year deal for all four of Blue Cross lines of business - individual, group, Medicare Advantage and its Federal Employee Program.

The agreement was effective Jan. 1 and includes all Abrazo hospitals, as well as Abrazo's employed physicians, ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care centers, and other outpatient facilities.

Contract negotiations originally began falling apart with Carondelet, which Tenet jointly owns with Dignity Health and Ascension Health. Those disputes over reimbursement rates then spilled over to Abrazo.

"This was an unusual situation in that it took much longer than anyone expected to reach an agreement. We are pleased it keeps reimbursement increases to market norm without jeopardizing the long-term affordability for our members," Jeff Stelnik, BCBSAZ senior vice president, said in a prepared statement. "In the end, members can have peace of mind knowing they will continue to have the same in-network options to select from at a fair price."

DUES PAYMENT DEADLINE EXTENDED Please Remit Your 2016 Dues by January 31, 2016
Please take the time to renew your Maricopa County Medical Society membership. You can do so by using the online portal (member ID# is required) or calling the MCMS membership office at 602-252-2015 and select option zero ("0"). Thank you!

How Many Workers will Arizona's Four Largest Hospital Systems Hire in 2016?

By Angela Gonzales, Phoenix Business Journal

Arizona's four largest health systems are planning to hire a total of more than 8,500 healthcare workers in 2016.

All four of the state's largest health systems are looking to fill clinical as well as non-clinical positions.

Earlier this month, the Big Four created the Health System Alliance of Arizona, an advocacy organization that represents 65,000 employees.

Tom Sadvary CEO of HonorHealth and a founding member of the alliance, said he plans to add about 2,000 to his employee base of about 10,600.

He said he needs people with skills in the areas of population health throughout the entire Scottsdale-based hospital system.

Sadvary said he's also making major investments in information technology, and will need IT positions to help with that process.

"We really want to help grow the healthcare workforce," he said. "We're still facing some pretty hardwired shortages in some critical professions - nursing, pharmacy, radiology, etc."

Join the MCMS Alliance at a Upcoming Event

The Maricopa County Medical Society Alliance is an association of Physician and PIT spouses / life partners that joined together to promote health related community services, and education and social activities as part of a network that spans thousands of counties throughout the nation. They support members from medical school through advanced training; from the start of active practice to retirement. Several events are planned in January:

January 14, 2016 - Meet for Coffee and Discuss "Black Man in a White Coat" by Tweedy
January 23, 2016 - Post Holiday Party at the Maxwellʼs

They also have a on Facebook page listed as a Group under Maricopa County Medical Society Alliance. While you are there send a "join" request!

For further information please contact: Mindie N. Factor, MCMSA President, mnfactor1@aol.com

ABIM Suspends Controversial MOC Requirements Through 2018

By Robert Lowes, Medscape Medical News

In a policy retreat longer than Napoleon's march from Moscow, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) once again has relaxed its controversial requirements for maintenance of certification (MOC).

ABIM announced December 17th that it is lifting the requirement that physicians earn MOC credits for improving patient care and safety and incorporating their preferences in medical decision-making for an additional two years. The three MOC activities in question go by the name of Practice Assessment, Patient Safety, and Patient Voice. The organization told diplomates in February that they won't have to complete these requirements, widely lambasted as busywork, for at least the next two years. The latest decision extends the suspension through the end of 2018.

Read more >>

CMS Quality Measure Development Plan Supporting the Transition to the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Models (APMs)

On December 18th, Kate Goodrich, MD, MHS, Director, Center for Clinical Standards & Quality at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a statement concerning the shift of Medicare payments from volume to value by posting a draft Quality Measure Development Plan. According to CMS, the Measure Development Plan is a strategic framework for future clinician quality measurement development.

Dr. Goodrich encourages physicians to read the Measure Development Plan and send comments, questions or thoughts by March 1, 2016, either online [https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/26NYQRB]; via the MDP dedicated email address [MACRA-MDP@hsag.com]; or by U.S. mail [Attn: Eric Gilbertson, CMS MACRA Team; Health Services Advisory Group, Inc.; 3133 East Camelback Road, Suite 240; Phoenix, AZ 85016-4545].

Read the full release >>

Professional Intuition Is Under Assault, Wachter Says

By Marcia Frellick, Medscape Medical News

Profession intuition - the gut feeling doctors get with experience and instinct that something just isn't right - is under assault, Robert Wachter, MD, professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told the audience at TEDMED 2015.

"It's suspicious, it's soft, it's squishy," said Dr Wachter, the physician who, along with Lee Goldman, MD, coined the word "hospitalist" in 1996 (N Engl J Med. 1996;335:514-517).

"There's not an algorithm for it, it's not evidence-based," he explained. And "it's antidemocratic, it's paternalistic."

Patients are urged to become their own doctors, to scour the internet and question their doctor's diagnosis. "They're egged on to buy apps and wearables and sensors that will monitor everything from the speed of their heart to the content of their sweat," he said. They buy do-it-yourself tests and treatments.

Read more >>

Viral Hepatitis Serology Training Videos

The CDC has updated the serology online training videos for hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E infection. The purpose of the training is to explain the serological diagnosis of the different types of viral hepatitis and understand the meanings of serologic markers. These training videos are helpful in interpreting laboratory test results: http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/resources/professionals/training/serology/training.htm

Health Insurers to Face Fines for Not Correcting Doctor Directories

New regulations will allow for penalties up to $25,000 per Medicare Advantage beneficiary

By Melinda Beck, The Wall Street Journal

St. Louis dermatologist Madhavi Kandula is listed in a UnitedHealth Medicare Advantage HMO directory for 2016, although she opted out of Medicare 10 years ago and isn't eligible to participate in the program.

"We just tell patients it is an error and they let it go at that," said Dr. Kandula who said she repeatedly has asked UnitedHealth Group Inc. to remove her name from its Medicare directory.

A spokesman for UnitedHealth declined to comment on Dr. Kandula's case but said: "We are working to simplify how care providers update their data and how it is reported."

For now, such mistakes are an inconvenience for patients. Starting January 1st they could be costly for insurers. New regulations allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to fine insurers up to $25,000 per beneficiary for errors in Medicare Advantage plan directories and up to $100 per beneficiary for errors in plans sold on the federally run insurance exchanges in 37 states.

Read more >>

The Promise of the Cure Corridor

By Jim Lane, Mayor of Scottsdale
Originally published Dec. 30, 2015, Arizona Republic

The impact of the Scottsdale Cure Corridor grows more apparent following the third annual gathering of the innovators, bio-scientists, doctors, healthcare and pharmaceutical managers, investors and government regulators who make up this collaboration.

These are the people who will improve the quality, accessibility and efficiency of healthcare as we collectively drive to the cure.

The mission of the Cure Corridor is more than to build an industry cluster or to sell real estate or create jobs. It is also more than providing a great business, political and market environment. It's all of those things of course, but in a more unique way it's building a reputation for collaborative technical innovation in the bioscience industry. It's an attitude...even a personality.

What does this mean to Scottsdale, the Valley and the state?

It means we have a growing bioscience business community that is intent on more than simply economic development. The Cure Corridor is scientists, techs, doctors and business innovators focused on curing deadly diseases. The results are advancing the length and quality of human life.

Scottsdale and Arizona have a history of healthcare, bioscience and bio-technical innovation. We are also a national (and to a lesser degree international) medical tourism destination, and the desert has always been great place to rehabilitate.