Interpreter Services Can Save A Life WCMS Offers 24/7 Interpreters to the Region
Did you know that many limited English-speaking people admit they wait for an emergency to seek medical care? Why? Because they fear a situation where they are unable to communicate.
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Endorsed Vendor Programs
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Discount Programs
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WCMS Women In Medicine Section (6/20)
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Save the date for the next WCMS Women in Medicine event on Thursday, June 20th at 5:30pm at the home of Donna Burkett, MD. The topic of discussion will be Advocating for Women's Health.
The WCMS's Women In Medicine section offers an opportunity for women physicians to meet, network, and share experiences common to their profession. The WIM socials are held bi-monthly.
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2013 WCMS Foundation Annual Campaign
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 "Helping Our Community Navigate Healthcare Change"
Thanks to all of the individual physicians who have donated to the Annual Campaign. And now we even have practices donating together. Thanks to Mountain Kidney & Hypertension Associates for their recent $5,000 donation towards WCMS' charitable programs!
The Campaign goal is $50,000, so please consider joining Mountain Kidney and the 46 individual physicians who have already given and donate today!
To learn more about the 2013 Annual Campaign, go to: http://www.mywcms.org/About/Annual-Campaign-2013/PIP
Click here to view the current PIPs.
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Want to Meet with WCMS CEO? Just ask!
| Our strategic plan includes "visiting constituents from our key partner groups...from across the region to build relationships, draw in new members, refer physicians to appropriate resources, and identify new constituent needs." If you want a visit, phone call or email from Miriam or other WCMS staff to talk about issues, share ideas, get questions answered and/or get referrals to resources (we can answer just about every question you have directly or via our extensive network of "experts" locally and state-wide), or just vent (yes, that happens), we're here for you. Simply call the physician hot-line at 828-274-2267 and press 1, or drop Miriam a line at ceo@mywcms.org.
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Two WCMS physicians travel to Raleigh to advocate for WCMS members
| Drs. Frank Moretz and Frank Sutton, representing WCMS, are traveling to Raleigh on May 29 for the North Carolina Medical Society's White Coat Wednesday, where they will meet with legislators to talk about health care related bills and the budget. The two are also meeting with Carol Steckel, Director of Medicaid Services, to discuss WCMS' stance on the proposed "Medicare Reform" plan being touted by the Governor and Dr. Wos, Secretary of DHHS. (report to follow.)
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Toward Accountable Care Consortium update
| WCMS continues to participate in the statewide "Toward Accountable Care Consortium," for the purpose of providing the medical community with knowledge and tools needed to understand, participate in, navigate, lead and succeed in a value-driven health care system. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, has posted as a resource on its website the TAC Physician's Accountable Care Toolkit. Here is the link. AHRQ's mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare for Americans. The TAC Consortium now has 37 membership associations, including WCMS.
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WCMS launches new group in Linked In: WCMS' Communication Hub!
| This group offers western North Carolina physicians an opportunity to network, share information, engage in learning from one another, and build collegiality. To join WCMS' Communication Hub, you'll need to establish a Linked In account and then join our group here.
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Should you sell your practice to a hospital? Read this and post your comments to our blog!
| The link below will take you to a short, easy to read primer on the pros and cons of physicians selling their practices to hospitals. If you are not a Medscape subscriber, you can create a free account (sometimes you need to do that to read an article).
Here's the question:
Say the lead doctor in a 5-doctor primary care practice comes to you. "Our expenses are going up," he says. "The cost of the EHR has eaten into our budget. The cost of maintaining the office is going up. Medicare rates are being chipped away. All this consolidation is happening. I'm afraid we'll be left out or squeezed out of it. All these hospitals are buying up practices. Is this something I should do?"
What do you say?
Read the answer here.
After you read, please post your comments to this blog post.
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Free Webinars on Omnibus HIPAA Rulemaking
| The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) is launching a series of co-sponsored webinars on various aspects of the Omnibus HIPAA Rulemaking. The free 90-minute webinars are specifically designed for small health care providers, with a focus on practical strategies for implementing the Omnibus Rule changes within a small clinical practice.
The virtual sessions are scheduled for June 14, June 28, July 17 and July 26, 2013 from 1:00pm - 2:30pm Eastern Time on the following topics:
* HITECH Omnibus Overview of the Rule - June 14
* Drill down on the new HITECH Privacy Rule - June 28
* Breach and Enforcement under the HITECH Omnibus Rule - July 17
* Business Associates and the HITECH Omnibus Rule - July 28
Registration is free of charge and available at: http://www.wedi.org/forms/meeting/MeetingFormPublic/view?id=2C09800000249.
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The Arkansas Medicaid Model: What you need to know about the 'Private Option'
| Read the article.
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Member Announcements
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Are you a WCMS Member who is opening a new practice? Are you a 100% Member Practice who has hired a new physician? Send us your announcements and we will post them for you in our new Member Announcements section of Vital Signs to keep other members informed about what's happening in our WCMS community! Contact Nancy Caine, Member Services Coordinator at Nancy@mywcms.org.
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WCMS is a thriving 900-plus member professional association of the physicians of western North Carolina and a chartered component medical society of the NC Medical Society and the AMA. The WCMS is an organization run by physicians for physicians.
Our Mission
The WCMS is the physicians' voice advocating for the health of the medical profession, the health of the patient, and the health of the community.
Our Vision
To be a dynamic physician community dedicated to a healthy, vibrant Western North Carolina.
About WCMS
The purpose of WCMS is:
- To strengthen the voice of WNC physicians in advocating for the health of the medical profession, the health of the patient, and the health of our region
- To inform, educate and prepare physicians for rapidly occurring changes in health care at national, state, and local levels
- To share legislative and policy information and advocate on behalf of physicians in areas of mutual interest
- To share available resources in areas of mutual interest
- To promote physician-to-physician communication and dialogue in an open, honest and safe environment
We hope you enjoy our weekly e-newsletter. If you have questions or suggestions please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
 | | Miriam Schwarz |
Miriam Schwarz, MPA
WCMS CEO/Executive Director
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