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VITAL SIGNS
 The Weekly e-News of the Western Carolina Medical Society 

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January 22, 2014

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In This Issue:
The WCMS Physician Directory (Blue Book)
Women in Medicine Affinity Group (1/30)
WCMS Annual Celebration a Success
New Members to WCMS
MAHEC Signs Agreement to Manage Mission Practices
Join DocBookMD, a Clinical Communication Tool for Patient Care
WCMS CEO Visits Raleigh
WCMS Offers Patient Insurance Enrollment Services to Member Physicians in WNC
Doctors File Suit against NC, Call Medicaid Billing System 'Disaster'
What is Accountable Care? Family Physicians Edition
Member Announcements
Job Board & Classified Ads
2013-2014 "Blue Books" Available 
Has your practice ordered the WCMS Physician Directory yet?

This is a comprehensive regional directory of physicians, produced by WCMS that:
  • Includes physicians and practices from all 16 WNC counties
  • Is pocket size for easy access
  • Has a discounted price for practices with 100% members of WCMS! 
To place an order, go to www.mywcms.org/BlueBook and pay online or download an order form.

Have questions or need to know if you're part of a 100% member practice? Email us at membership@mywcms.org
UPCOMING EVENTS 
 
Women in Medicine Affinity Group (1/30) 

All women members are invited to join the WCMS Women In Medicine Section on Thursday, January 30th at 5:30pm at the new Isa's Bistro, downtown Asheville for wine, hors d'oeuvres and a free 'Ask the Expert' discussion with representatives from Parsec Financial.

The discussion will focus on:  

  • What are your financial goals?
  • Why are they important to you?
  • How do we get there?

RSVP today! Space is limited.

All women physician members are invited to attend, and encouraged to bring physician friends or colleagues (regardless of their membership).

LOCAL NEWS 
WCMS Annual Celebration a Success 
Physicians, practice managers, WCMS staff and guests celebrated another successful year at the 2014 WCMS Annual Celebration this past Saturday at CarePartners. Many thanks to CarePartners for hosting and sponsoring this event.

Attendees enjoyed delicious food catered by The Everyday Gourmet and music by the talented staff of CarePartners music therapy. We announced our new 2014 officers for the Association and Foundation and shared our 2013 Accomplishments.

2014 promises to be an exciting year for WCMS so stay tuned!  Want to know what we're up to in 2014?  Click here.

Thanks again to our Sponsor:
 
New Members to WCMS 
Click here to view the newest physicians to join WCMS!  
MAHEC Signs Agreement to Manage Mission Practices 
"Announced Thursday evening, the Mountain Area Health Education Center will now lead the primary care practices of Mission Medical Associates, the physician group practice of Mission Health system."

Read full article.
Join DocBookMD, a Clinical Communication Tool for Patient Care 
Seventy of your colleagues have already signed up for this free benefit. DocBookMD is a HIPAA compliant clinical tool- you can securely send text messages regarding patient care! Message content can include diagnosis, test results, or medical history. Physicians can also add a high-resolution image of an EKG, an X-ray, lab report, or anything that can be photographed with a smartphone.

DocBookMD also allows you to electronically search the Western Carolina Medical Society physician directory. Physicians can look up other physicians in WNC by first or last name or by specialty. Physicians can then contact other physicians by messaging, phone or email.

Want to sign up? Here's how: http://www.mywcms.org/Membership/DocBookMD/#SignUp

Click here to see who's already using DocBookMD. 
WCMS CEO Visits Raleigh 
On 1/14-15, Miriam Schwarz visited NCMS to plan communications and coordinated efforts between our respective organizations for mutually aligned legislative priorities (such as Medicaid reform).

On 1/14, Miriam attended the HHS Legislative Oversight Committee, where there was intensive questioning from legislators to HHS staff regarding NC Tracks, the Medicaid budget, spending trends, forecasting issues, and data quality.

On 1/15, Miriam attended a packed auditorium to see the Medicaid Reform Advisory Group in action. Fifty organizations and consumers had 5 minutes apiece to speak to the Advisory Group. Speakers included Academy of Family Physicians, NCHA, NCMS, NC Providers Council (MH/DD/SA), NC MGMA, Managed Care Organizations, practicing physicians, and consumers. NCMS' presentation (which was in line with many other provider presentations) strongly encouraged expanding existing physician-led, value-driven models of care rather than turning Medicaid over to for-profit managed care organizations. To view the NCMS presentation, click here 
WCMS Offers Patient Insurance Enrollment Services to Member Physicians in Western North Carolina
As you may know, the NC Institute of Medicine estimates that NC has 1.5 million uninsured residents under age 65.  WCMS is a Certified Application Counselor organization with the federal government, and as such, is qualified to assist patients with enrolling in the Federally Facilitated Insurance Marketplace. As a membership benefit, WCMS would like to send our Certified Application Counselor to your practice to educate, enroll and support your patients in the health insurance Marketplace. Patients who have an income that falls between the 100-400% of the Federal Poverty Level may be eligible for tax credits and subsidies to purchase health insurance in the Marketplace.  
 
Katherine Hensley is a WCMS Certified Application Counselor who has knowledge and experience in navigating the Marketplace. She is available to help your patients enroll, educate your staff, and assist you in understanding the Affordable Care Act. She would like to visit your practice in the next few weeks to screen patients for the Marketplace. Since the window for enrollments ends on March 31st we need to schedule these visits as soon as possible so that you and your patients can take advantage of this unique opportunity. You must be a member of WCMS to take advantage of this offer for your patient population. To make an appointment for her to visit please contact Katherine Hensley at 828-274-2267 or Katherine@mywcms.org.
STATE NEWS 
Doctors File Suit against NC, Call Medicaid Billing System 'Disaster'
"The suit alleges the state Department of Health and Human Services and some of its computer services providers were negligent in developing and implementing a new Medicaid claims billing system, known as NCTracks."

Read full article.
ITEMS OF INTEREST 
 
What is Accountable Care?  Family Physicians Edition- Take a Look at your Specialty Toolkit! 
Over 40 North Carolina medical societies and organizations- including WCMS- have joined together in a commitment to helping the medical community face the challenges of a changing health care environment, launching the Toward Accountable Care Consortium and Initiative. The Consortium was designed to provide the medical community with the knowledge and tools needed to understand, participate in, navigate, lead, and succeed in a value-driven health care system.

This week:
The Family Physician's ACO Blueprint for Success
Member Announcements 
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 Kristina Isenhour, Member Services Coordinator at kristina@mywcms.org   
Job Board & Classified Ads
Medical Assistant  (Our Family Doctor)
Family Physician  (Asheville Family Health Center)
PA or FNP  (Asheville Internal Medicine)
Physicians  (Extended Care Physicians)
Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant  (Extended Care Physicians)
Bookkeeper/Administrator  (WCMS)
Interpreter Network Program Administrator  (WCMS)
Certified Application Counselor  (WCMS)

   

To find out how you can post a Job or Classified Ad Click here.

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 signature




 

Miriam Schwarz, MPA

WCMS CEO/Executive Director