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The MCMS Preferred Partner Program - We've Got You Covered!
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Beers with Peers Was a Huge Success!
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2016 is starting off with a bang! On February 4th the Society hosted "Beers with Peers." As you will see from all the smiling faces in our Facebook photo album, a great time was had by all! Congratulations to the door prize winners Dr. Mark Kartub and Carolina Espindola!View the album >> |
You're Invited to Attend AOMA's 94th Annual Convention
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April 13-17, 2016
Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association 94th Annual Convention -"We Are Family"
Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas
Scottsdale, Arizona
35.0 hours of AOA Category 1-A CME anticipated
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Are You Aware of the Hidden Dangers in Your Practice Website?
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By Michael J. Sacopulos, JD MedscapeNews.com
What could be more benign than a basic website? It conveys some information, has some images, and invites the public to "Contact Us." Most medical practice sites are straightforward, noncontroversial, and display the facts. Sure, the website might be as outdated as an avocado-colored appliance, but really, what could go wrong?
Sadly, plenty of things. Take what happened recently to a surgeon in south Texas.
The conversation started awkwardly. "Um, Doctor, there's something you need to know," said the surgeon's patient, who found a website designed to look like the physician's but was nothing of the sort. For example, the "About Us" section contained such statements as, "We recognize this may be a stressful time for you, so we'll do everything possible to make sure we maximize your pain and suffering." Inflammatory fake posts on the site included such comments as, "not so sudden death;" "deal with it, junkie;"" kicked to the curb;" and, a perennial favorite, "not my problem." Upon investigation, it was learned that the website had been active for several months.
The surgeon immediately contacted the authorities, who traced the website back to a disgruntled patient. The former patient also happened to be an amateur Web designer. Ultimately, he was arrested for felony online impersonation. However, it's impossible to calculate the actual damage done during the months this impostor website was active. Although this may seem like an extremely unlikely scenario, there are subtler versions of this behavior that could damage your practice. Recently, an optometrist in the Midwest contacted me to complain that the domain name for his practice-let's call it www.rogersoptical.com-had been purchased by a competitor, who was using it to route traffic to her own website. In other words, when someone typed "Rogers Optical" into a search engine, the rival optometrist's website was the first hit that appeared. Read more >> |
Ariz. House Panel OKs Bill to Restore Kids' Health Insurance
By Ken Alltucker, AZ Republic
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Arizona on Tuesday (Feb. 9) moved a step closer toward joining 49 other states that publicly fund health-insurance coverage for children in low-income families.
The Arizona House Health Committee advanced House Bill 2309, which would resume enrollment under the KidsCare health-insurance program for low-income families.
Arizona froze KidsCare enrollment in 2010 amid budget cuts following the Great Recession. In 2014, Arizona ended KidsCare, and families were sent to get coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act's marketplace or Medicaid expansion.
Advocates said that more than 26,000 children obtained health insurance through the state's Medicaid expansion after KidsCare ended in 2014. But families of about 14,000 KidsCare children were sent to the federal marketplace to buy subsidized plans that included cost-sharing requirements like co-pays and deductibles that many families can't afford, advocates say.
Read more >>
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DON'T MISS OUT ON INFORMED, ROUND-UP, AND OUR SOCIAL & EDUCATIONAL EVENTS IN 2016!
Please Remit Your 2016 Dues
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Please take the time to renew your Maricopa County Medical Society membership. You may do so by calling the MCMS membership office at 602-252-2015 and select option zero ("0") or by clicking here >> |
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| Why HonorHealth Closed Its Urgent Care Center | | HonorHealth closed its urgent care center at Tatum Boulevard and Thunderbird Road this week - fallout from the merger between the two nonprofit hospital systems that created HonorHealth.
In 2013, Scottsdale Healthcare and John C. Lincoln Health Network affiliated, creating Scottsdale Lincoln Health Network. At the time, it was just an affiliation, and not a full-fledged merger. Later, the two merged and became HonorHealth, each bringing to the table their own ancillary services, such as urgent care.
As a result, they ended up with two urgent care centers within three miles of each other.
This week, HonorHealth closed what was Scottsdale Healthcare's urgent care center at Tatum and Thunderbird, and is referring patients to what started out as JCL's immediate care center at Tatum and Union Hills Road.
HonorHealth no longer uses the urgent care terminology, instead embracing "immediate care" to refer to after-hours care at its medical group offices.
The Scottsdale-based nonprofit operates four of these facilities around the Valley, including one at 62nd Avenue and Bell Road, 24th Street and Indian School Road and one in Anthem in north Phoenix.
Joni Skogen, director of practice operations for HonorHealth Medical Group, said plans are in the works to add immediate care facilities in Fountain Hills and another three throughout the Valley within the next two years.
"It's really important to us that we provide access to care when it's convenient for patients," she said.
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17th Annual Southwest Nephrology Conference
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The Southwest Nephrology Conference planning committee invites and encourages all medical providers to attend this year's conference in early March. The program agenda includes a track of courses specifically designed to engage primary care providers with colleagues that represent other medical specialties such as nephrology, transplant medicine, cardiology, and endocrinology. This unique opportunity promotes cross-specialty collaboration by means of professional education that is presented by a panel of experts and open discussion with the audience. For example, with increasing kidney transplant recipients and living donors being managed by primary care providers, we have incorporated a case-based presentation on some of the issues primary care providers might encounter.
Chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and diabetes constitute a "triple threat" of interrelated risk multipliers. Our conference invites a more holistic vision of disease prevention, care, and treatment. That vision includes building bridges between physicians, providing medical education for scientists and healthcare providers, scientific and medical research projects, and population-level community health education.
Please join us on March 11-12, 2016 at the beautiful We-Ko-Pa Resort & Conference Center on the Fort McDowell Yavapai Reservation near Fountain Hills, Arizona. For more information, go to the conference website at www.swnc.org or call (602) 840-1644.
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| Midwestern University Awards Arizona Regional Brain Bee Winner after Record 29-Round Final | |
On Wednesday, February 3, Midwestern University welcomed
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| | From left to right_ BASIS Chandler students Irene Zhang, Vijeeth Guggilla, and Rohini Nott |
some of Arizona's top high school students for the annual Arizona Regional Brain Bee, an educational competition similar to a spelling bee that focuses on neuroscience. The 2016 Arizona Regional Brain Bee at Midwestern University was presented in partnership with the BHHS Legacy Foundation.
Eighty-five students from 12 Arizona high schools converged on the University's Glendale Campus to test their knowledge of the human brain, how it governs human behavior, and the science that helps medical professionals understand brain function.
After an event-record 29-round final, the top three Brain Bee finishers, in order, were Vijeeth Guggilla, Irene Zhang, and Rohini Nott, all from BASIS Chandler. BASIS Chandler won the team prize for the overall high score, with 13 students reaching the final round. All participants received commemorative Brain Bee pins and brain-shaped erasers.
For his performance in the Brain Bee, Mr. Guggilla won a $2,000 scholarship towards tuition in any Midwestern University program at either the University's Glendale Campus or the campus in Downers Grove, Illinois, as well as travel expenses to help him as he competes at the upcoming National Brain Bee in Baltimore.
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VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY:
Medical Students Need Your Supervision Performing Physicals at Upcoming TOPS Events.
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TOPS, or a Team of Physicians for Students, was founded in the 1970s by MCMS member and sports medicine specialist and family physician, Paul Steingard, DO. From his many years in private practice, he identified a tremendous need for young athletes to be screened and provided free physicals, including cardiac tests and consultations. Since its inception, over 40,000 youths from 8th grade to community college have received the FREE screenings. Other notable sponsors are Midwestern University, which joined the cause in 1998, and the Arizona Heart Institute, which provides the ECGs and Echo cardiograms, around 2006.
Physician volunteers to supervise medical students are needed at the following upcoming events:
April 2, 2016
7:30 am - 4:30 pm
Sunnyslope High School
All shifts are available.
Breakfast, snacks, and lunch will be provided for volunteers.
Parking is at the western part of the campus. Look for the signs leading you to the TOPS volunteer entrance from the parking lot.
April 30, 2016
7:30 am - 1 pm
Youngker High School, Buckeye
Any hours you can volunteer are greatly appreciated.
Breakfast, snacks, and lunch will be provided for volunteers.
Parking is at the westernmost part of the campus. Look for the sings leading you to the TOPS entrance.
The event covers general liability for the facility, but not for the physicians. However, there is legislation that helps protect physicians who volunteer for events such as this health fair.
Read the statue >>
To volunteer, please contact Ross J. Kosinski, PhD, Dean of Students, Midwestern University by calling 623-764-0511 or email him to rkosin@midwestern.edu. |
Letter to the Editor: Doctors offer further suggestions to prevent prescription drug abuse
Published Jan. 28 on www.azcapitoltimes.com
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We applaud Gov. Doug Ducey's commitment to combat drug abuse and misuse in Arizona. His creation of a team to address addiction of all drugs and his acknowledgement of the abuse of opioids and heroin in our population is welcome. As prescribers of opioids for patients dealing with pain, we offer additional suggestions for dealing with this issue, that we believe will allow those needing these important prescriptions to access them while preventing abuse and addiction. Tackle doctor and pharmacy shopping by further optimizing the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (e.g., real-time data, interstate data sharing, integration with provider workflow, notification systems).
Reduce paper prescription fraud by promoting electronic prescribing of controlled substances ("EPCS"). Ensure health plan policies support patient access and limit barriers to safer pain medicines, such as non-opioids and abuse-deterrent opioids (ADOs).
Expand AZ HB2489, which allows first responders access to the lifesaving overdose drug (naloxone) to include family members. We stand ready to support the governor and his team in the effort to stop abuse while providing treatment to those in pain.
J. Julian Grove, MD, is president of the Arizona Pain Society. Patrick Hogan, DO, is president of the Arizona Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. Jonathan Carlson, MD, is vice president of the Arizona Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. |
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