Western Carolina Medical Society: The Physicians' Voice for a Health Community
VITAL SIGNS
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May 28, 2014

Header Image: Healthcare 1

WCMS Circle of Friends: Van Winkle Law Firm & Johnson Prics Sprinkle, PA
In This Issue:
Women in Medicine Affinity Group
The ABCs of 2014 Clinical Quality Measures
How to Get Patients Actively Engaged and Accountable
New Members to WCMS
White Coat Wednesday
HeartStrings 2014 at Mountain Sports Festival a Success
The Poverty Problem in the Rural Mountains of WNC
The Economic Impact of Physicians in North Carolina
Great Opportunity to Learn More About the Practice of Medicine in NC
Medicine's Top Earners Are Not the M.D.s
Member Announcements
Job Board & Classified Ads
UPCOMING EVENTS 
 
Women in Medicine Affinity Group (5/29)
Join the WCMS Women In Medicine Section Tomorrow, May 29th at 5:30pm at the Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar, downtown Asheville.


Come join us for a relaxing evening of good wine, good food, and great conversation with your fellow women in medicine.

 


Bring a non-member physician along! 

Two Free tickets to see "Driving Miss Daisy" will be given to anyone who brings at least one non-member physician to this gathering  "Driving Miss Daisy" is scheduled for August 7th at the Asheville Community Theatre.

The ABCs of 2014 Clinical Quality Measures (MAHEC Event) (6/5) 
Beginning in 2014, the reporting of clinical quality measures (CQMs) will change for all providers. Eligible professionals (EPs), which include physicians, mid-level providers, dentists, podiatrists and chiropractors, will be required to report using the new 2014 criteria regardless of whether they are participating in Stage 1 or Stage 2 of the Medicare or Medicaid Incentive Programs.

MAHEC encourages a minimum of two persons per practice to attend this timely look into CQMs. They are offering a "Tag Team Special" registration fee of $175 for two participants from the same practice. Additional registrants from the same practice or individual registrants may enroll for $115 per person.

When: Thursday, June 5, 2014
    5:30pm (Registration & Dinner)
    6:15pm (Program)
Where: MAHEC Education Building

Click here for more information.
How to Get Patients Actively Engaged and Accountable (6/11) 
Please join us for an educational presentation by Susan Childs on "How to Get Patients Actively Engaged and Accountable".  Physician members and their practice managers are encouraged to invite non-member physicians to attend as their guest.  This event is free to attend.

Speaker: Susan Childs, Evolution Healthcare Consulting

When: Wednesday, June 11th
6:00pm - 8:00pm

Where: MAHEC Education Building
Blue Ridge Room A

Other: Heavy hors d'ouevres and beverages will be provided.

 

 Register Now


A necessary qualifier in new guidelines is that patients are required to be actively engaged in their healthcare decisions. This meeting will show how you and your staff can imbed processes that support these initiatives at every level of care throughout the entire practice.

 

Click here for more information.  

 

Sponsored by:

Mag Mutual logo
LOCAL NEWS 
New Members to WCMS 
View the newest physicians to join WCMS.  
White Coat Wednesday 
WCMS staff and member physicians are in Raleigh today participating in White Coat Wednesday.  We'll be meeting with WNC Senators and Representatives to discuss topics like Medicaid reform and reimbursement cuts, patient safety and other healthcare issues.  We have scheduled appointments with Senators Van Duyn, Hise and Apodaca and Representatives Moffitt, McGrady and Whitmire and hope to visit even more legislators. 

Want to see who what we're doing and who we're meeting with in Raleigh?  Follow us on Twitter!
HeartStrings 2014 at Mountain Sports Festival a Success 
HeartStrings Event Photo Local families faced off to raise money for a worthy cause, during this year's annual Heartstrings Fundraiser at the Mountain Sports Festival.  The family fun challenge teams competed in events like a noodle-javelin throw, the three-legged race, and frisbee golf. We saw lots of physicians' families come through to participate in the fun, along with local and visiting families. Thanks once again to our sponsors and to all of the awesome volunteers (Development Council, Blue Ridge Roller Girls and community members!) who made this event a success.

Donations will go to the Western Carolina Medical Society's Project Access, which helps uninsured residents of Buncombe County get access to medical care.

We look forward to seeing you all at the Mountain Sports Festival again next year!

View HeartStrings coverage from WLOS.
The Poverty Problem in the Rural Mountains of WNC 

"Rural North Carolina has greater health care needs and less of an ability to recruit health care professionals then our urban counterparts." A move toward improving access to health care in rural communities has meant that "it was the only sector of the economy from 2008 to 2012 that added jobs in rural communities."

 

In WNC, the health care sector accounted for 16 percent of regional rural employment.

 

Read more.
STATE NEWS 
 
The Economic Impact of Physicians in North Carolina
Given the changing health care environment, it is paramount to quantify the economic impact physicians have on society. WCMS' 2014 Strategic Plan calls for WCMS to "educate legislators and businesses on the high positive impact of a strong medical community on the economic development of WNC). To that end, WCMS is working with several business partners in the community (JPS, First Citizens, Parsec) to research and obtain key data for North Carolina and ideally WNC counties, which may be used by policymakers, legislators, and thought leaders in medicine to demonstrate how patient care physicians critically support local economies and enable jobs, growth, and prosperity in addition to ensuring the health of the community. By sheer coincidence and our good fortune, the AMA commissioned a state-by-state study of the economic impact of physicians.

Click here for a summary of the North Carolina findings.
Great Opportunity to Learn More About the Practice of Medicine in NC
From NCMS:

The Physicians Foundation, a non-profit group of physician and medical society leaders is conducting its third national survey of America's physicians. This survey has been instrumental in conveying how physicians feel about the current state of the medical profession, and for that reason we believe it is important that you participate. North Carolina specific data will be shared with the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS), so the more participation from North Carolina physicians, the more we benefit.

This landmark survey, which you may have read about in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and many other publications, is intended to give physicians a voice, and we greatly urge your participation. The deadline to participate has been extended to June 8, so please act now.

As an added incentive, all participants who include their email address will have the full survey report emailed to them, and will be entered in a drawing for a $10,000 travel voucher, a $2,000 Apple voucher, and multiple iPad Airs.

Most importantly, The NCMS and The Physicians Foundation have a long history of working together on behalf of physicians. NCMS CEO Robert Seligson serves as their Treasurer, giving NCMS national exposure and access to data and information on trends affecting physicians' practice nationally enhancing our ability to support your practice.

Thank you for participating in this important survey!
ITEMS OF INTEREST 
 
Medicine's Top Earners Are Not the M.D.s
"Though the recent release of Medicare's physician payments cast a spotlight on the millions of dollars paid to some specialists, there is a startling secret behind America's health care hierarchy: Physicians, the most highly trained members in the industry's work force, are on average right in the middle of the compensation pack."

Read article.
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
Job Board:
Certified Application Counselor  (WCMS)
Executive Assistant  (AllCare Clinical Associates)

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

WCMS is a thriving 700-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,

Photo: Miriam Schwarz, WCMS CEO
Miriam Schwarz

 

Miriam Schwarz signature




 

Miriam Schwarz, MPA

WCMS CEO/Executive Director